With no natural vegetation to hold the earth together, the earth itself flew away, along with the livelihoods of thousands of farmers. In the 1930s, what would become to be known as the Dust Bowl blew across the Southern Plains region of the United States. As people moved to this region seeking land grants from the federal government, so did the droughts. However, these droughts themselves were not entirely responsible for the Dust Bowl’s namesake. Instead, it was the monumental dust storms that terrorized the inhabitants of the Southern Plains. As a result from the drought and dust storms, farming was all but impossible, leaving many families to rely on the federal government and relief organizations just to stay alive. Also occurring …show more content…
A total of “270 millions acres, or 10% of the area of the United States was claimed and settled under this act.” (About the Homestead Act) Due to this act, anyone, including newly arrived immigrants, could gain 160 acres of land for a total filing fee of $18. However, some believed that the “… Homestead Act of 1862, limiting an individual holding to 160 acres, on the western plains almost an obligatory act of poverty.” (Egan 268) As a result, the act was followed up with the Enlarged Homestead Act of 1909 and later the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916. These acts expanded the amount of land one would receive, and “Once again the plains became a feverish scene, as thousands rushed to get their share of the last agricultural frontier.” (Worster 87) Although these acts were instrumental in populating the west and ultimately the country, they led to a tremendous influx of new and inexperienced …show more content…
With dry-farming “… the land could be kept from reverting to useless grass …” (Worster 87) This new dry-farming method required “… deep plowing in the fall, packing the subsoil, frequently stirring up a dust mulch, and summer fallowing—leaving part of the ground unplanted each year to restore moisture.” (Ibid.) As a result of this push for dry-farming, Congress passed the aforementioned Enlarged Homestead Act. Arguably, this new method of farming was only possible due to industrialization. Specifically, automobiles, trucks, and tractors. In other words, the new machines of the industrial age allowed “The grassland … to be torn up to make a vast wheat factory: a landscape tailored to the industrial age.” (Ibid.) Unfortunately, the plains were not suited to this new style of dry-farming, and it ultimately “… led to the systematic destruction of the prairie grasses.” (Dust Bowl During the Great
The Dust Bowl negatively affected people in an economic way. How Drought played a big role in The Dust Bowl “ Federal aid to the drought-affected states was first given in 1932, but the first funds marked specifically for drought relief were not released until the fall of 1933. In all, assistance may have reached $1 billion (in 1930s dollars) by the end of the drought (Warrick et al., 1980). “ ( Source - http://drought.unl.edu/DroughtBasics/DustBowl/EconomicsoftheDustBowl.aspx )
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 Dust Bowl were huge storms caused by all the eroding soil from the crops and the farming. Not only did it lead to physical devastation, but it also led to economic devastation. Almost 2.5 million Americans migrated from the dust bowl stats, and as a result the east became very populated. Finally the California Drought is the final final major event that impacted the many migrant workers. The drought is known as the “worst drought in in history,” or a “megadrought.”
Luckily Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to shine some light with a new deal. The Dust Bowl was what they called the Great Depression in the drought stricken areas. The condition of the areas around Oklahoma and Texas made living dangerous and futile. “When drought struck
Many farmers were forced to abandon their land and move to cities in search of work, while others simply packed up and left the region. The Dust Bowl had far-reaching consequences, not only for the Great Plains, but for the entire country as well, as it contributed to the ongoing economic hardships of the Great
During the Great Depression a Midwestern phenomenon called the Dust Bowl affected many lives of newly settled Americans throughout the Great Plains region. Otherwise known as the “Dirty Thirties”, a storm of dry weather caused farmers and villagers to abandon their homes in hope to survive the deadly threat of the storm. The Dust Bowl was a big contributing factor to the Great Depression agriculturally, and economically. During the 1930’s America suffered extreme temperatures. A drought forming across all farm lands due to failure of successful crop rotation cause dust to form.
The dust bowl was a frightening time for most people during the 1930s. severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion. The Dust Bowl negatively affected people who lived there in a personal way. During the Dust Bowl a lot families and people had to migrate to a different state.
Evidence from Doc D, shows that over 100 million acres were harvested crops. How this was possible was advances in machinery. The tractor at the time was a new type of technology used to help farmers plant soil for crops. Since the soil was not watered because of the drought in the previous paragraph, this caused the soil to turn into dust.
The amount sand and dirt in the air interfered with human health and it damaged the air quality. When the dust storms would go by, the name or phrase would be “Black Blizzards” because of how dark it would become outside. Even though, the dust storm was in the states like Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado, sometimes dust piles were spotted in places like Washington D.C, and New York. However, the dust piles in New York and Washington D.C looked like snowdrifts. After the tremendous disaster, President Roosevelt made programs where farmers would have to learn how to conserve the soil and practicing how to sustain their farms.
The U.S had gained a lot of land, or frontiers in the West from Mexico. The land was undeveloped, therefore the U.S had to find a way to develop the land. The U.S would come up with the Homestead Act. The Homestead Acts states that any citizen or anyone planning to become a citizen is eligible to gain 160 acres of land, typically to form farms. The plan was intended to make the people stay in that land and create a
In fact, there were nine years of below-average rainfall resulting in droughts. As a consequence of the drought, it caused the land to be arid and created a water shortage that led to crops dying. This is an impeccable condition for Dust Bowl as the wind blew across the plains to pick up the dirt forming massive swirling dust storms. To sum up, the dust bowl was provoked by both humans and nature combined, poor farming techniques and droughts. If people had not over-plowed and over-grazed the prairie plains, maybe the dust bowl might not have taken place.
The Dust Bowl is an environmental disaster that hit the Midwest in the 1930s. A combination of a severe water shortage and harsh farming techniques created it. Some scientists believe it was the worst drought in North America in 300 years (History.com staff)
During the 1930s, however, this climate became even more extreme due to a prolonged drought that lasted nearly a decade. This lack of rainfall caused crops to wither and die, leaving soil exposed and vulnerable to erosion. In addition to the drought, high winds were also common in the Great Plains region. These winds picked up loose soil and created massive dust storms that could last for days at a time. The combination of drought and wind made it nearly impossible for farmers to grow crops or maintain healthy soil.
“Dry land farming on the Great Plains led to the systematic destruction of the prairie grasses. In the ranching regions, overgrazing also destroyed large areas of grassland. Gradually, the land was laid bare, and significant environmental
Nature’s delicate balance of wind, rain, and grass had been disturbed by human settlement. Fifty years earlier, a strong protective carpet of grass had covered the Great Plains. The grass held moisture in the soil and kept the soil from blowing away (Holley).” Before the Great Plains were settled, its geography was covered in lush grasses that made it perfect for farming and raising livestock. As the population grew and more and more people settled there, the grass was removed so that they could farm the land.