Liberty Hyde Bailey, the Country Life Commission and the formalization of farm credit in the USA

Purpose This paper reviews the life of Liberty Hyde Bailey and highlights his contributions to the structure of US farm credit 100 years after the Country Life Commission. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a qualitative historical review. Findings The paper provides a chronology of life events that led Liberty Hyde Bailey to evolve from botanist/horticulturalists to one of America's most vocal proponents of agricultural and country life, culminating in the recommendation in 1909 that rural credit in the USA be developed along the lines of cooperative principles. Research limitations/implications The biography is limited to issues of social science, culminating in 1915. Practical implications The paper offers a historical perspective on conditions in agriculture in the early twentieth century and provides insights into how the present system of rural credit in the USA evolved. Originality/value This paper provides a historical perspective on US rural credit that is of use to students of rural credit in the USA while providing insights to students and scholars outside of the USA with a perspective on the evolution of US credit reform and cooperative credit.