{"product_id":"the-john-deere-story-a-biography-of-plowmakers-john-and-charles-deere-hardback-9780875803364","title":"The John Deere Story; A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere (Hardback) 9780875803364","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe John Deere Story\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eNeil Dahlstrom (Author), Jeremy Dahlstrom (Author), David Vaught (Introduction by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780875803364\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 31 March 2005\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e224 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm, 0.907 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eA most useful addition to the literature on Deere and Company, and the environment in which the business operated.\u003c\/p\u003e (Agricultural History Review) \u003cp\u003eLucidly written... an interesting picture of John and Charles in a concise and very readable book.\u003c\/p\u003e (Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society) \u003cp\u003e[An] outstanding study in business history... particularly illuminating on the close relations that bound industry to agriculture during the pioneering period of settlement in the Midwest. It is an enthralling story.\u003c\/p\u003e (Indiana Magazine of History)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday, John Deere is remembered—some say mistakenly—as the inventor of the steel plow. Who was this legendary man and how did he create the internationally renowned company that still bears his name? He began as a debt-stricken blacksmith who, fleeing debt in New England in the 1830s, set up shop in a little town on the Illinois frontier. There, in response to farmers' struggles, he designed a new plow that cut through the impervious prairie sod and lay open the rich, heavy soil for planting. The demand for his polished steel plow convinced him to specialize in farm implements.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the decades before the Civil War, John Deere envisioned a company supplying midwestern farmers with reliable, affordable equipment. He used only high quality, imported steel and resisted pressure to raise prices. At the same time, he won respectful affection from his employees by working alongside them on the shop floor. Upon taking the helm in the 1860s, John's only surviving son, Charles, expanded the Moline factories to increase production, started branch houses in major midwestern cities to speed distribution, and began to transform the company into a modern corporation. The transformation didn't come without difficulties however: Charles found himself battling the Grange, facing threats of labor unions and strikes led by his own employees, and enduring patent suits and blatant thefts of product designs and advertising.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable of Contents\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgments\u003cbr\u003e Introduction\u003cbr\u003e 1. Young and Enterprising\u003cbr\u003e 2. John Deere, The Plow King\u003cbr\u003e 3. C.H. Deere's \"Celebrated Moline Plows\"\u003cbr\u003e 4. Raging Abolitionist\u003cbr\u003e 5. The Case of \"The Moline Plow\"\u003cbr\u003e 6. Supply and Demand\u003cbr\u003e 7. \"'Tis Purely Business\"\u003cbr\u003e 8. Father Deere\u003cbr\u003e 9. The Plow Trust\u003cbr\u003e 10. Sick Forever\u003cbr\u003e Epilogue\u003cbr\u003e Appendix—Time Line\u003cbr\u003e Notes\u003cbr\u003e Works Cited\u003cbr\u003e Index\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Northern Illinois University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52681262137624,"sku":"9780875803364","price":20.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-john-deere-story-a-biography-of-plowmakers-john-and-charles-deere-hardback-9780875803364","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}