[1] Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times in the organization's original motto head, heart, hands, and health, which was later incorporated into the fuller pledge officially adopted in 1927.

The focal point of 4-H has been the idea of practical and hands-on learning, which came from the desire to make public school education more connected to rural life.

[6] During this time, researchers at experiment stations of the land-grant universities and USDA saw that adults in the farming community did not readily accept new agricultural discoveries.

Club work began wherever a public-spirited person did something to give rural children respect for themselves and their ways of life and it is very difficult to credit one sole individual.

[12] The national 4-H organization was formed in 1914, when the United States Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service of the USDA by passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, it included within the CES charter the work of various boys' and girls' clubs involved with agriculture, home economics and related subjects.

[17] Warren expanded the scope of girls' activities under the program (promoting garment making, room decorating, and hot lunches), and wrote extensive training materials.

[19][20] 4-H membership hit an all-time high in 1974 as a result of its popular educational program about nutrition, Mulligan Stew, shown in schools and on television across the country.

[citation needed] In the southern United States during the mid-1960s 4-H began to broaden its programming to cover life experiences unrelated to agriculture.

[22] The National 4-H Council's programs are also supported by a number of corporations including Google, Verizon, Microsoft, Land O'Lakes Inc., and Tractor Supply Co.[23][24] Past Honorary Chairmen of Council have included U.S. Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.

The official 4-H emblem is a green four-leaf clover with a white H on each leaf standing for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.

The idea of using the four-leaf clover as an emblem for the 4-H program is credited to Oscar Herman Benson (1875–1951) of Wright County, Iowa.

He awarded three-leaf and four-leaf clover pennants and pins for students' agricultural and domestic science exhibits at school fairs.

[32] Through the program's tie to land-grant institutions of higher education, 4-H academic staff are responsible for advancing the field of youth development.

[1] Professional academic staff are committed to innovation, the creation of new knowledge, and the dissemination of new forms of program practice and research on topics like University of California's study of thriving in young people.

The volunteers' goal is to help youth achieve greater self-confidence and self-responsibility, learn new skills, and build relationships.

The National 4-H Hall of Fame honors 4-H volunteers, extension professionals and staff employees, donors and others, according to a criterion of "significant impact on the 4-H program and/or 4-H members through the contribution of time, energy, financial resources, etc.".

Participation in these quality programs which use experiential and cooperative learning have all been found to contribute to children's social development and academic success.

The world's first 4-H camp was held in July 1915 on the Crouch family farm along the Tygart Valley River near Elkwater, West Virginia.

A stone marker honoring Camp Good Luck had been placed adjacent to US 219 near the site, but was moved to a spot off of Bell Crouch Rd.

Some states offer programs for youth in grades K-2 called Cloverbuds, Cloverkids, 4-H Adventurers, Primary Members, or Mini 4-H.

Finding its roots in the early 4-H movement in West Virginia, the 4-H All-Star program strives to recognize and challenge 4-H members and volunteers.

It was following the pin consecration ceremony in 1919 that the official West Virginia 4-H All Stars organization was chartered, becoming the Alpha chapter of the nationwide 4-H honorary.

Throughout the conference, 4-H delegates attend numerous workshops, participate in community service activities, and listen to speakers in an effort to develop compassion and increase social awareness.

Throughout the week in Washington, D.C., participants visit monuments, meet with members of Congress, and develop communication, leadership and citizenship skills.

A complaint to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Civil Rights in 2002 and an ensuing investigation that threatened to cut off funds to the state's program[54] prompted the West Virginia University Extension Service to abandon offensive and stereotypic practices such as face-painting, and use of imagery not a part of the culture of local Native people, such as tepees and totem poles.

[54] They also eliminated the practice of having children wear feather headdresses, and stopped having campers engage in "stereotypical motions and dances," including chanting "Ugh!

However, the state program deemed the dividing of campers into groups, called "tribes" named after actual Indian Nations, to be respectful and acceptable.