History

Since the Civil War, the federal government has played a critical leadership role over research innovation in the United States, and facilitating research has been one of the core historical and contemporary roles and responsibilities across nearly every federal agency.

The United States Department of Agriculture, for example, was founded in 1862 with the purpose of identifying and sharing agricultural research between farmers and farming communities across the country. One early research insight emerged from the USDA’s Bureau of Animal Industry, which discovered that ticks spread cattle fever as Texas cattlemen “began to drive their stock to northern markets…[leaving] a trail of fever…along the way.”¹ The insight led to new practices, including inspection and quarantine protocols developed by USDA, that stopped the spread of disease.

The U.S. Geological Survey was created by Congress in 1879 to classify and examine public lands and natural resources across the country, including early research into the geology and technology of western mining districts to support industry.² Today, the USGS is the biggest source of R&D funding for the Department of the Interior, and federal research dollars support USGS’s effort to identify critical minerals necessary for the US to remain a global technological innovator and meet increasing demands for chips that power smartphones, artificial intelligence (AI), and other technologies.

These and other federal investments have fostered innovations that create economic growth, promote science and technology, and improve the lives of everyday Americans – enabling the US to ready troops for armed conflict abroad, land on the moon, and develop life-saving medical treatments.