The Historical Significance of the Dust Bowl In one of the most fertile places in the United States, one of the nation's worst disasters occurred, the Dust Bowl. It began when an area in the Midwest was severely affected by an intense drought throughout the 1930s or what proceeded to be called the Dirty Thirties. The drought killed crops that had kept the rich soil in place, and when the strong root system was not there the soil was not kept grounded. Due to the soil left with no crops, the high and strong winds blew the topsoil away. This drought lasted for almost a decade, and during that time, many people had to learn new ways to adapt, make new innovations, or move to a different region. Though the difficulties it had brought about were …show more content…
This 150,000 square-mile storm area encompassing Oklahoma, Texas, and neighboring parts of states including Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico was not an issue to be taken lightly. When winds easily picked up topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds call "black blizzards", it was hard to not be terrified for your life. These enormous clouds of dust deposited mounds of dirt on anything you could imagine. The dust also began to cause the choking of cattle and pasture lands. Children were even beginning to get pneumonia. As a first reaction, many people fled to different regions to get away from dust storms completely. Close to 2.5 million people had left the Midwest, 60 percent of the population. The dust storms caused migrant farmers to lose their businesses and homes. Families migrated to California to find work that ended up not being available when they got there. As a result, many ended up living homeless in shantytowns. Except there were still new innovations and ideas that were coming about in an attempt to survive the dust storms. Not every farmer, but a good amount of them who still had faith in their land, were ready to stick around and fight through the storms. Previous survival techniques were brought to the table and put into practice to try and make do. A majority of farmers increased they milk cow herds and the cream from the …show more content…
A majority fled to other regions to get completely away from the harsh dust storms, except some farmers stayed and decided to fight through the issues and come out on top. Not only did land and crops get ruined, but people's homes and belongings did also. Living during the time period of the Dust Bowl was harsh and to make it even worse people also were suffering from the Great Depression. The Federal Government was a big contribution to solving the issues with the Dust Bowl, they took control and came up with New Deal agencies that farmers were able to improve from and learn new methods with plowing to sustain their lands. There ended up being some positive outcomes of the harsh disaster. Farmers who chose to stay back eventually found new technologies and methods for farming that somewhat helped the situation. If another Dust Bowl, even though farmers would not be able to control the winds, they would still be able to use these methods and greatly increase the odds of less
The livestock was another group that was affected in the dust bowl. When the AAA demanded the farmers to plow over there land they killed 6 million young pigs were slaughtered. Many of those pigs just starved because the farmers were no longer working so they could not feed them. When the dust bowl came money farmers and ranchers livestock were killed and when they cut them open there was only dust in there lungs and guts. The cattle grazing was reduced and millions of more acres were plowed and planted.
As long as they can earn money, the farmers will continue in these practices. Worster spends several chapters focusing on the different solutions to the Dust Bowl and how those solutions were utilized only when the farmers were being paid through President Roosevelt’s New Deal. However, once the quality of the land started to improve or it rained the farmers abandoned the practices in favor of more profit. He focuses on the solutions proposed by the conservationists, ecologists, and agronomists.
During the Dust Bowl some people made the decision to stay at their farms. Huge drifts of dirt piled up on homesteaders’ doors, came in the cracks of windows and came down from the ceilings. Barnyards and pastures were buried in dirt. After about 850 million tons of topsoil was blown away in 1935 alone. The government responded to this by saying “Unless something is done, the western plains will be as arid as the Arabian desert.”
The area quickly became known as the Dust Bowl; many cities were forced to evacuate the streets during some of the most powerful dust surges. Dry winds and loose dust further harmed crops and livestock, forcing many farmers and ranchers out of work and in search of new jobs (“The Great Depression.”). While agriculture was not the most profitable workforce in the United States, it played perhaps the largest role in the American economy. Agriculture made up 27% of the workforce during the 1920s, however,this high percentage fell to just 15% by 1940 (“Historical Timeline - 1930.”). Because of this, the drought is yet another studied factor of the Great
As the drought began, prices of crops were decreased. This desperately caused farmers to start purchasing more and more crops, which then led to more soil being destroyed (17 Interesting Facts). The prices of crops were lowered, which allowed the farmers to add more acres, thinking they would produce more crops (Drought Basics). As the Dust Bowl proceeded, the farmers did not just watch their crops blow away, but their jobs as well (17 Interesting Facts). The farmers were not reeling in much money as they are used to, which inspired farmers to cultivate their fields (Drought Basics).
Dust Bowl and Economics of the 1930s The Dust Bowl was a very desperate and troublesome time for America. The southwestern territories were in turmoil due to the arid effect of the drought causing no fertile soils. As the rest of America was being dragged along with the stock market crash and higher prices of wheat and crops since the producing areas couldn't produce. This was a streak of bad luck for the Americans as they were in a deep despair for a quite some time.
mobs of people who already lived there went to where they camped out with weapons like clubs and ax handles, and tried scaring them off because they were over crowding public places like schools. After The Great Depression ended things began to get better, farmer started being able to grow things again and everyone started making money again, and in a few years rain began to come again. Even though it all got better it was considered the worst Dust Bowl of the
The use of tractors made it easier for grass to be harvested. This increased the amount of grass that was harvested and caused there to be less grass on the plains. With less grass holding down the dirt, the dirt was then added to the dust storms. With extra dirt being brought into the storms, the storms were then more dense and powerful. In 1879, the average number of harvested crops in eight Great Plain states was 10 million acres.
Farmers were using techniques that were not well suited to the dry conditions of the Great Plains. They relied on deep plowing, which left the soil exposed and vulnerable to erosion, and used monoculture crop rotation, which depleted the soil of its nutrients. Additionally, the lack of proper irrigation systems made it difficult for farmers to conserve water and keep their crops from dying during drought conditions. The effects of the Dust Bowl were devastating for the people who lived through it. The massive dust storms not only ruined crops, but also caused respiratory problems and eye infections.
The dust bowl was considered the “Worst hard time” in american history. The Dust Bowl was a big cloud of dust that took place during the 1930’s in the middle of the Great Depression. The dust bowl was located in the southern great plains as it affected states like Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. The three main causes of the Dust Bowl were drought (Doc E), amount of land being harvest (Doc D), and the death shortgrass prairie (Doc C).
It has been 76 years since the dust bowl had ended. The dust bowl swept across Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas throughout 1930-1940. Before the dust bowl many people traveled to these states for good land. The dust bowl was caused by a drought and strong winds. The dust from the drought was being blown around by the strong winds and covering everything.
The Dust Bowl negatively affected people who lived there in a personal way. By 1940, more than 2.5 million people had fled from the regions affected by the Dust Bowl. Nearly 10 percent moved to California. It was devastating for generations of families because it changed their lives forever. (History.com staff) “2.5m people fled the areas that had been affected by the dust bowl”.
Unfortunately it became worse. Document D states “Many more, however, stayed put, covering their windows with a water-soaked sheet, eating jack rabbit stew at a kitchen table where an “eating” cloth covered all the plates and drinking cups. Children died from breathing in dust. They called it “dust pneumonia.” Writer Timothy Egan has titled his book on Dust Bowl history as The Worst Hard Time.”
In a very bad way. The dust bowl was very hard for the people living in it. They could do nothing because it was very hard to go outside and have something to do. It was even harder to get away from the dust because it could get through the cracks in your
Livestock could not breath or find food sources. Thousands of people lost their homes due to the storm. Changes in farming and agriculture in the early 1900s altered the landscape and soil creating the perfect environment for the Dust Bowl and impacted living conditions and economic policy. First, changes in farming and agriculture over the years led to the conditions that caused the Dust Bowl and impacted the Great Plains. “Wind and drought alone did not create the Dust Bowl.