In the Sweat of Our Brow: Citizenship in American Domestic Practice During WWII—Victory Gardens

Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Genesis 3:17-19 There is no reason, then, for anyone forbidding us to see in the Garden, symbolically, the life of the blessed; in its four rivers, the four virtues of prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice; in its trees, all useful knowledge; in the fruits of the trees, the holy lives of the faithful; in the tree of life, that wisdom which is the mother of all good; and in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the experience that results from disobedience to a command of God. The punishment which God imposed on the sinners was just and, therefore, good in itself, but not for man who experienced the taste of it. Augustine of Hippo, City of God, Book XIII, Chapter 21, p. 287 In the sweat of our brow We should eat our bread? Good doctors don't allow Eating when in a sweat The Dog Star twinkles now. Of what is this a sign? In the sweat of our brow We should drink our wine! Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, Section 39, of "Joke, Cunning and Revenge: Prelude in German Rhymes" Because citizens so harkened to the voice of the state, even as Adam hearkened unto his wife, victory gardens remain one of the most compelling memories of domestic participation in the Second World War. Victory gardens, planted by individuals and families in surplus space to offset food sent to Europe, reveal elements of the relationship between the nation and individualism during the war, including the recuperationas an element of state powerof one of the most powerful metaphors of an earlier notion of freedom: familiar self-sufficiency. Citizens were encouraged to become self-sufficient to benefit the state. Furthermore, gardening addressed concerns of a perceived loss of order in a world at war. Gardeners looked to their plots for conformation of a physical order in the world, and one added to domestic life through the increased introduction of efficient management and production methods. Finally, victory gardening was one of the earliest elaborations of the significant postwar configuration of citizenship as a function of consumption-often the function of mothers, wives, and daughters-to encourage efficient production. Planting a victory garden encouraged thrift through consumption. With no apologies to St. Augustine, there is no reason, then, for anyone forbidding us to see in the garden, symbolically, the life of the blessed.1 Government The term victory garden originated with the conclusion of World War I. During that war, the nation-state encouraged citizens to grow War Gardens. Following Armistice Day, the government continued to encourage civilian production but suggested a name change to Victory Gardens.2 "The War Garden was the chrysalis. The Victory Garden is the butterfly," rhapsodized Charles Lathrop Pack, president of the National War Garden Commission in its 1919 pamphlet, Victory Gardens Feed the Hungry, The Needs of Peace Demand the Increased Production of Food in America's Victory Gardens (6). While there was no National War Garden Commission in World War II, the American nation-state did extensively promote the personal (and familial) production of food. Most of this national promotion occurred under the aegis of the Department of Agriculture. The department printed and distributed information for the victory gardener, including plans, "schemes," timetables, and guides to ordering seeds (Authentic Guide 9, 11, 48, 49). …