Evolution of

Family and
Consumer
Sciences

By Matasia Willis
HFED 101-02

1840s to 1860s
1841: Catharine Beecher writes her novel Treatise on Domestic
Economy.
1862: The First Morrill Land Act was passed. This act gave
Federal lands to states to be sold to support agricultural and
mechanical colleges.

1870s
1871: Mary B Welch begins teaching home economics at Iowa
State College. This is believed to be the first effort to teach
home economics to college students.
1873: Kansas State begins its domestic economy curriculum.
Ellen Richards, the first woman to earn a Bachelor of Science,
receives her degree from MIT. She later receives a Master for
her thesis from Vassar College. She is the first woman to receive
an advanced Science degree.

Picture of Ellen Swallows Richards

1880s
1882: Ellen Richards publishes The Chemistry for Cooking and
Cleaning: A Manual for Housekeepers.
1885: The Boston public school system introduces domestic
science courses.
1887: The Hatch Act is passed which gives 15,000 dollars for
state agricultural experiment stations.
1887: Ellen Richards conducts the great Sanitation Survey that
modernized municipal sewage treatment and developed the
first water purity tablets and water quality standards.

1890s
1890: The second Morrill Act is passing giving further funding to
black student colleges.
1893: The World Columbian Exposition which was the Rumford
kitchen of nutrition.
1894: In Boston, Ellen Richards launches the first nutritional school
lunch program.
1899: The first Lake Placid conference convenes. This later created
the American Home Economics Association.
1899: An emphasis is given on childcare and an enduring family life.

1900s
1901: Practical education beyond the 8th grade is backed by the
state. Secondary education includes vocational training.
1909: Marie Cromer, a teacher, organizes the first girls tomato
club (4-h) through agricultural extension.
1909: The American Home Economic Association is created.

1910s
1910: The Journal of Home Economics is created by Ellen Richards.
1911: Ellen Richard dies.
1912: Two white woman become home demonstration agents in South Carolina.
1914: The Smith-Lever Act is passed. It specified that Agriculture Extension Services
provide farm women with knowledge about home economics and men with knowledge
in agriculture.
1917: The Smith-Hughes Act is passed. It established federal support for vocational
education.
1917-1919: As part of the war effort, home economists teach the nation the roles of
substitution to increase eating fruits and vegetables.
1918: AHEA sets goals to create instruction in home management for elementary and
high school girls and home economics for boys.

1920s
1920: The American Association of Land-grant colleges adds
home economics.
1920: Parenting classes are encouraged.
1925: Childcare is recognized as an important element of home
economics.
1926: Food corporations begin employing home economists to
create recipes and nutritional information for those in the
classroom.
1926: The Betty Lamp is adopted by the Home Economics
Association as their symbol.

1930s to 1940s
1931: Home economists become recognized as experts in
human nutrition.
1941: The chair of the department of Home Economics at the
University of California Berkley, Agnes Faye Morgan, is
appointed to serve on President Roosevelts first nutrition
conference.
1946: The USDA Bureau of Home Economics becomes the
Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics.

1960s
1960s: The integration of black and white schools.
1960s: Women feminists criticize home economic experts for fostering
restrictive roles for women.
1960s: Specialized programs emerge.
1961: The accreditation of undergraduate home economic programs begins.
1962: Florence Law seeks to eliminate racial discrimination within the
organization.
1963: Vocational Education Act allows gainful employment outside the home.
1968: The Vocation Education Act is amended to include elderly and disabled
people.

1970s to 1980s
1973: The 11th Lake Placid Conference is held to develop
consensus among members.
1976: The Home economists begin focusing on men.
1989: AHEA launched Project 2000 designed to meet greater
diverse needs.

1990s
1991: Cornell University sponsors a conference entitled,
Rethinking Women & Home Economics in the 21st Century.
1993: Scottsdale meeting recommends name change.
1994: The name changes from Home Economics to Family and
Consumer Sciences.
1998: The association membership begins to decrease and the
FCS programs struggle to stay in the schools.

2000s
2008-2009: The hundred year anniversary of AAFCS is
celebrated.
2008: The first Lake Bonneville Summit is held at BYU-I to
commemorate and generate positive networks.

2010s
2012: I graduated high school with a desire to do family and
consumer sciences in college.
2015: I made the decision to be a family and consumer science
teacher in secondary schools. I hope to inspire students to a better
future.
2025: I hope to use my degree in the community to teach classes
to lower income people. I want to teach my children and
neighborhood children these life skills,
2050: I hope to continue to teach and share my experience with
others. My life knowledge can help those.

Bibilography
Ellen Richards. From Ellen H Swallows Richards, Retrieved from: http://
www.chemheritage.org/discover/online-resources/chemistry-in-history/themes/pub
lic-and-environmental-health/public-health-and-safety/richards-e.aspx
AAFCS: Retrieved from: http://www.aafcs.org/res/branding/aafcs_logo.jpg