Arthur Capper, a United States Senator from Kansas, is inducted for his sponsorship of the Capper-Volstead Act of 1922. This federal legislation is fondly referred to as “The Magna Carta of Cooperation,” for it guaranteed the rights of farmers to organize and operate cooperatives without fear of governmental anti-trust reprisal.

The Capper-Volstead Act was important because of the effects of earlier legislation, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 and the Clayton Act of 1914. While anti-trust laws were supported by many farmers at the time of enactment, they later caused conflicts with farmers seeking to develop organized marketing associations.

The Capper-Volstead Act, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Warren G. Harding in 1922, paved the way for business efficiencies in the agricultural industry by removing anti-trust discord. Congressman Andrew J. Volstead, of the Minnesota seventh district and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, co-sponsored the legislation in the House of Representatives. Senator Capper was a publisher from Topeka, Kansas and served in the United States Senate for thirty years.