It was on this date in 1862, that President Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture.  The head of this department was not a cabinet member, and he referred to it as the people’s department.  I was surprised to discover that Lincoln was doing something like this during the Civil War. For info: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Agriculture http://www.nal.usda.gov/lincolns-agricultural-legacy