Dudley M. Hughes, a Congressman from Georgia, is inducted for his participation in federal legislation that laid the foundation of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) in American high schools.

Hughes, the son of a plantation owner, always had an interest in agriculture. After attending the University of Georgia, Hughes returned home to manage his family’s plantation, and later went on to create a large farming complex known as Magnolia Plantation.

In 1908, Hughes was elected by the citizens of Georgia to serve four Congressional terms and was known to focus on legislation to benefit farmers. As Congressman, Hughes became Chairman of the House Committee on Education and was appointed to study the concept of national vocational education.

Resulting from his committee research, Hughes co-sponsored the Smith-Hughes Act alongside Senator Hoke Smith. The legislation, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson as the Vocational Educational Act of 1917, established the Federal Board of Vocational Education.

The Act provided allocation of federal money to the states to train teachers in specialties of agriculture, trades, industries, and home economics and to then teach these subjects in public schools. The implementation of the Vocational Educational Act had far-reaching influences on rural education and economics.