Short-Handled Hoe, 1950s and 1960s
Short-Handled Hoe, 1950s and 1960s
- Description
- Migrant farm workers had to use the short-handled hoe or el cortito for thinning and weeding. Because it required them to stoop during long hours in the fields, the hoe became a symbol of the exploitive working conditions. Campaigns by the United Farm Workers and others helped outlaw use of the hoe in 1975.
- American agriculture’s dependence on Mexican labor has always been a source of great conflict and great opportunity for field workers and the agriculture industry. In the U.S., agricultural labor was overwhelmingly Mexican and Mexican American. Issues of legal status, workers rights, and use of domestic workers are issues the unions, agricultural producers, and the federal government have been struggling with since the 1920’s.
- Object Name
- short handled hoe
- Physical Description
- iron (overall: blade material)
- wood (overall: handle material)
- iron (overall: handle material)
- Measurements
- overall: 12.3 cm x 15.3 cm x 42 cm; 4 13/16 in x 6 in x 16 9/16 in
- blade: 9.2 cm x 15.3 cm; 3 5/8 in x 6 in
- handle: iron portion: 20.3 cm; 8 in
- handle: wooden portion: 21.7 cm; 8 9/16 in
- ID Number
- 2009.0134.01
- catalog number
- 2009.0134.01
- accession number
- 2009.0134
- Credit Line
- Gift of Luis Diaz Zavala
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Agriculture
- Cultures & Communities
- Food
- FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
- Exhibition
- Food: Transforming the American Table
- Exhibition Location
- National Museum of American History
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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Comments
Tess Browne
Mon, 2019-02-04 08:55
Tom Gilbertson
Wed, 2018-12-19 08:52
Silvester Okoth
Mon, 2017-11-27 16:30
Martin J Camp
Thu, 2017-04-20 09:07
Rodrigo Silva
Fri, 2017-03-31 09:18
William Peterson
Tue, 2019-09-10 08:52