Primary Source Set

Tobacco, Part 2: Culture & Influence

This part of the tobacco series explores the way that the tobacco industry maintained its influence even as the dangers of tobacco use became clear. Through advertisements, photographs, scrapbook entries, and video, this set of primary sources shows some of the cultural importance of tobacco in North Carolina.

Time Period

20th century

Grade Level

8 – 12

A newspaper clipping with a photograph of two adults standing on either side of a novel machine.

Transcript

Oxford Men Demonstrate Curing Tobacco By Electronics A. B. Wilson, left, and R. H. Royster, right, both from Oxford, are the co-inventors of a process whereby tobacco reportedly can be cured by electronics in a matter of minutes. They are seen here with a machine used yesterday to demonstrate the process. The machine is the property of N. C. State College in Raleigh, where the demonstration was held. (Staff Photo by Cooper) Electronics Tobacco Curing Plan Brings Different Reactions Gov. Kerr Scott Included In Group At Demonstration By Tom MacCaughelty Herald Staff Writer Raleigh, Feb. 3 - A demonstration designed to show that tobacco can be cured by electronics was greeted with mixed reactions here today. Interest was high as some 75 persons, including Gov. Kerr Scott, crowded into Room No. 1 of the Electrical Engineering Building at State College to watch single leaves of greenhouse tobacco be exposed to high frequency radiation developed between the metal plates of an industrial R. F. generator. Before the demonstration began, State College Chancellor J. W. Harrelson explained that the college was not putting its stamp of approval on the experiment, but was only allowing the use of its machine. Of the process he said: "It will dry tobacco, but whether or not it will cure tobacco has yet to be proved, and whether or not it is economical also has yet to be proved." Others said they saw the possibilities of the new method which the co-inventors R. H. Royster and A. B. Wilson both of Oxford, claim. After examining a leaf that had been exposed to the radiation, tobacco farmer J. L. Lyon of North Side, Granville County, said: "That leaf was drying all right. They'll have to make some adjustments, but I think they'll get it right in a year or so." An initial hitch in the proceedings came when some very green leaves were brought into the room to be placed in the machine. Royster intercepted the leaves and commented, "We can't cure green leaves like this. All that we can claim is that we can cure ripe tobacco. Can't you get us some leaves like we used the other day?" Turning to the crowd of onlookers, he held up the green leaves, and several persons, presumably farmers spoke out: "Oh no, they're too green." After a considerable delay, some differently colored leaves were brought to the scene of the experiment. These leaves were of a paler color than leaves ripened in the field, and were tinged with green. One such leaf was placed between the plates of the machine, and the current was turned on by Prof. K. B. Glenn of the School of Engineering, who operated the machine throughout the demonstration. After 25 minutes, he extracted the leaf and offered it for inspection. The co-inventors had claimed previously that tobacco had been cured in 15 minutes on the same machine. Professor Glenn explained that at the demonstration today, he operated the machine at lower power, "because it was arcing, and I have to protect the machine." He said that so operated, drying of the leaf would take longer than if the machine were operated at full power. The exposed leaf appeared to be dry. Its color seemed not to be affected by the exposure. The machine used in the demonstration was not specifically designed for tobacco curing, but is part of the college's laboratory equipment. Royster and Wilson said they envisaged a machine that would utilize the same principal of creating heat in the leaf through electronics, but which would have a conveyor belt upon which ripe tobacco leaves would move between the radiating plates and come out cured in a matter of minutes. Present conventional flue-curing requires about four days. Durham Morning Herald, February 4, 1949

"Electronics Tobacco Curing Plan Brings Different Reactions," Durham Morning Herald [February 4, 1949]

North Carolina’s large tobacco industry inspired several technological advances in farming and manufacturing. This article, which ran in the Durham Morning Herald in 1949, gives an example of the kinds of opportunities available for inventors within the tobacco industry. These two inventors from Oxford, N.C., presented a machine that they claimed could cure tobacco leaves electronically (rather than the traditional process of hanging them in barns). In this case, the inventors were based at N.C. State College (now N.C. State University) in Raleigh, which specialized in agricultural science and engineering. 

Contributed to DigitalNC by Granville County Public Library

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Raleigh, N.C. (Wake County)

Tobacco, Part 2: Culture & Influence

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Background

For decades, tobacco has been one of the most important products in North Carolina’s economy and culture. This was especially true in the century between 1880 and 1980, when several major tobacco companies formed the base of North Carolina’s economy. Tobacco generated so much money in the state that it touched the lives of every North Carolinian, either directly or indirectly, through their jobs, their schools, and the cities they lived in.

Tobacco is a plant that is used to make cigarettes, cigars, dip, and other products (usually for smoking). Nicotine is a chemical in tobacco leaves that can make a tobacco user feel relaxed, but it is also highly addictive. Tobacco products often lead to several grave health consequences, including cancer, heart disease, strokes, and lung disease, plus increased risk for several other illnesses. Even though smoking was known to be dangerous in the 1950s, tobacco companies used marketing and advertising to distort public perception and continue their business for decades longer. It was especially difficult for North Carolinians to condemn the tobacco industry, even in the 1980s and ‘90s, because of the tremendous influence it had in the state. Since then, the decline of the tobacco industry has led to population and job decreases, particularly in the eastern part of the state. This major shift in North Carolina’s economy led to some of the prominent agricultural industries of today, including hog, chicken, and soybean farming.

This influence of tobacco extended to the culture of North Carolina as well. Generations of farmers developed traditions around the planting, harvesting, drying, and auctioning of tobacco plants. Tobacco companies brought new technology into their factories, and workers in those factories advanced civil rights and labor protections. Cigarette advertisements shaped the marketing industry, even appearing in high school and college newspapers. Money from tobacco was used to build up rural communities, cities, and schools. Some of the biggest names in tobacco are still recognizable today, including the Duke family in Durham (owners of the American Tobacco Company), William T. Blackwell and Julian S. Carr (two partners of Bull Durham tobacco), and Richard J. Reynolds of Winston-Salem (proprietor of R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company).

Discussion Questions

  1. Look at the photos from tobacco parades: the Tobacco Queens contest and the Chesterfield float. What do you think about them? Have you seen anything like this before? Have other industries replaced tobacco in these kinds of public spaces?

  2. Tobacco companies focused on advertising to distract the public from the risks of smoking. What strategies do these two ads use to get people to buy cigarettes? Do you find these ads convincing? Have you seen similar ads (maybe for other products) today?

  3. The tobacco industry created a few rich and powerful families, including the Duke family and the Reynolds family. Looking at the photo of the Babcock children (Reynolds’ grandchildren), what do you think life was like for these families? What impacts did they have on our state?

  4. Consider some of the landmarks that still carry the legacies of the major tobacco families today. Some examples include Duke University, Wake Forest University (financially supported by the Reynolds family), and the town of Carrboro (named for Julian S. Carr of Bull Durham Tobacco). Why do you think tobacco magnates spent so much money on landmarks and schools? 

  5. Throughout the 20th century, tobacco companies were the subject of anti-trust lawsuits, which found that a few major companies were monopolizing the whole industry. How does this letter from L.W. Davis to R.J. Reynolds illustrate the relationships between tobacco executives?

  6. Tobacco brought a lot of wealth, jobs, and development to North Carolina, but it also sold products that were dangerous to people’s health. Do you think the influence of tobacco in the state was overall positive, negative, or some of both? Why?

This primary source set was compiled by Sophie Hollis.

Updated January 2025