Bankhead%E2%80%93Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 - Wikipedia

The Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 (P.L. 75-210) was passed on July 22, 1937, [ failed verification ] and authorized acquisition by the federal government of damaged lands to rehabilitate and use them for various purposes. Most importantly, however, the law authorized a modest credit program to assist tenant farmers to purchase land, and it was the culmination of a long effort to secure legislation for their benefit.

Management of Bankhead-Jones lands

Both the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management manage some Bankhead-Jones lands. Some Forest Service Bankhead-Jones lands are National Grasslands .

National park

In 1937, the federal government purchased distressed farmland for the Laura S. Walker National Park under a Federal Land Utilization Program authorized by the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. The park was named for Waycross, Georgia , conservationist Laura S. Walker , in recognition of her work promoting forestry and other civic activities. Work on the park was undertaken by the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps . In 1941, the national park was deeded over to Georgia , becoming the State's 13th state park.

First tenant farmer loan repayment

In February 1943, Roddie and Lucile Pridgett of Rankin County, Mississippi , "became the first Negro farm family in the United States to repay their 36-year farm purchase loan to the Farm Security Administration which they obtained under the provisions of the Bankhead-Jones Tenant Purchase Act." They repaid their loan of $1,495 in only five years.

Notes

1 2 3 "Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937" . www.novelguide.com . Archived from the original on 2008-03-16.

↑ "Laura S. Walker State Park Established 1941" (PDF) . Georgia Department of Natural Resources . Retrieved April 13, 2018 .

↑ Thomas J. Straka; S. Knight Cox; Heather T. Irwin. "Current Use of Federal Land Utilization Projects Granted to State and Local Agencies" (PDF) . Department of Forestry and Natural Resources Clemson University . Retrieved April 13, 2018 .

↑ "Laura S. Walker: The Woman Behind the Park" . Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites . Retrieved April 13, 2018 .

↑ "Thirty-six Year Loan Repaid In Five By Rankin County Negro". The New York Age . February 16, 1943.

References

Banfield, Edward C. "Ten Years of the Farm Tenant Purchase Program." Journal of Farm Economics 31 (1949): pp. 469-486.

Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. U.S. Statutes at Large, 50, Part 1(1937): 522-33.

McIntire, George B.; Wilkins, Tivis E. (August 1942). "An Analysis of the Land Acquisition Program under Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act" . Washington, D.C.: Soil Conservation Service - United States Department of Agriculture. OCLC 871208337 .

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (August 27, 1936). "Summary of the Great Plains Drought Area Committee's Preliminary Report and Conclusions Submitted during Drought Inspection Trip" . Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 301- 305.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (September 21, 1936). "The Beginnings of a Plan to Improve the Farm Tenancy Situation" . Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 373- 374.

Roosevelt, Franklin D. (November 17, 1936). "White House Statement and Letter on the Appointment of a Special Committee on Farm Tenancy" . Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service. pp. 590- 593.

Peters, Gerhard; Woolley, John T. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: 'Message to Congress on Farm Tenancy' February 6, 1937" . The American Presidency Project . University of California-Santa Barbara .

This article incorporates public domain material from Jasper Womach. Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition (PDF) . Congressional Research Service .