US history is full of surprises! Today, we dig into Johnny Appleseed. Why did he plant all those apples? And…. did he plant all those apples?

Edit 12.3.25: There are some questions I’m coming up repeatedly in the comments.

Nope, John Chapman wasn’t planting trees to claim homesteads. Tree claims came with the Timber Culture Act of 1873. The idea was to get people to plant trees on the western prairies Think Minnesota on west. John Chapman lived & worked much further east, in the Ohio Valley. It was already full of trees so there was no need to get people to plant them. He also died in 1845 decades before “plant some trees to prove the land is yours” was a thing you could do.

-“But he couldn’t have just taken over older orchards! Those are older trees! And he was selling saplings!” You’ll never guess what happens in abandoned orchards… saplings sprout from the fallen fruit.

-Yes, the British redcoat uniform was dyed with red madder. If you heard that they used cochineal, cochineal was for officers. It made a slightly more saturated color, but it was also more expensive. So officers, who bought their own uniforms and tended to come from a higher class background, bought themselves redcoats that were dyed with cochineal. And officers are a small minority in the military. Regular troops were given government-issue uniforms. These were dyed with red madder. Because it was cheaper, and still bright red. Source: https://research.colonialwilliamsburg…

Note: For food systems of Eastern Woodlands tribes, I did the best research I could with the sources available- mostly written by European missionaries and traders. They can be pretty patchy when it comes to food, since farming and cooking were both women’s work in the Eastern Woodlands. If you’re part of these communities and have better information, let me know!

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