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Show fifiK bicentennial briefs Farming was so much a part of the Early American life style that Congress was slow in setting set-ting up a standing committee on agriculture. Commerce and manufacturing manufactur-ing were already being served by Congressional committees before the need for one on agriculture ag-riculture was recognized. One senator from Maine, in fact, questioned whether any issues would arise in agriculture agricul-ture which would call for study by a Congressional committee. In 1820, the U.S. House of Representatives established a standing committee on agriculture agricul-ture and the Senate followed suit five years later. A bill establishing a Department Depart-ment of Agriculture was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 and Isaac Newton was named commissioner of agriculture. agri-culture. Twenty-seven years later, Congress elevated the Department De-partment to Cabinet status in recognition of agriculture's importance im-portance to the nation's economy. |