...The Dust Bowl, also known as the dirty thirties, lasted a decade. It started in 1931 and lasted until 1939. The Dust Bowl happened to come when America was already suffering from the Great Depression. It is said to be one of the worst environmental disasters in history. In this research paper you will learn about life before, during and after the Dust Bowl. People came to the plains in search of a new beginning. Some people came to claim a homestead. A homestead is a piece of farming land with a house on it. What drove them to the plains was the Great Depression. It was an economic crisis where the stock market had crashed. During the Great Depression the U.S.’s business activity was low. Dust storms were created in Oklahoma, Colorado,...
Words: 982 - Pages: 4
...Dust Bowls 1930s and 1940s Introduction The dust bowls of the ‘dirty thirties’[1] hurt and helped our nation. They cost us not only currency, but in lives, land, and social instability. Years before, the world has just gotten out of a huge economically depression, and right around the corner, another World War would insure. Beginning of the Events The Great Depression did wonders and caused a lot of problems for the American republic, and the rest of the world. This caused farmers to rush west for the land that became available. This, in turn, caused a great increase in wheat. The price of wheat increased and that meant more profit was made. The land practices became crude, and the same plant planted in the same place ruined...
Words: 715 - Pages: 3
...and climate problems negatively affected people in the 1930s. The dust bowl forced people to fix their bad farming habits and forced many others to have to move locations. In Steinback’s novel, he displays the poverty of the 1930s through George and Lennie’s journey. The Dust Bowl ruined American lives. The traveling homesteaders moved to the Dust Bowl 30 years before World War 1. Once the farmers harvested their crops, they left the soil exposed, which resulted in dust storms. “The organic matter, clay, and silt in the soil were carried great distances by the winds, in some cases darkening the sky as far as the Atlantic coast,” (Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia) The dust got into every crevice of homes and everyone was breathing it in. People began to develop health problems as a...
Words: 708 - Pages: 3
...The Dust Bowl is an area of land where plants stop growing and soil turns into dust, mainly caused by poor farming techniques. In 1931, the midwestern and southern plains began experiencing severe droughts and crop damages. These crop damages were caused by “black blizzards.” A black blizzard is when the soil dried, then turned to dust and blew to the east and south in large dark clouds. Dust storms were caused by drought and overused land. In some places the dust would drift like snow, covering cities and farms. These dark clouds would leave well sealed homes covered in dust. By 1932, there were fourteen dust storms reported. In 1933 when Franklin Roosevelt became president, he declared a fourday bank holiday. During this time, the Congress...
Words: 919 - Pages: 4
...The stock market collapse began in 1929, this led to the Great Depression which had a significant impact on people socially, but in the 1930s the Dust Bowl (which was was a period of severe dust storms that damaged the southern great plains which forced many to leave and migrate), had a significant impact and change in people's entertainment and had a considerable impact on Americans but mostly, their music. The poverty and suffering people lived through sparked many lyrics, song names, artists and had a pivotal uprise of new music genres such as folk and country music. Which encouraged many to keep on pushing forward and try to start a new beginning. Songs of the dust bowl often reflects the struggles, hardships and resilience of the people...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
...Imagine living through a storm that lasted six years. The Dust Bowl lasted from 1930 to 1936. It was a severe drought caused by overworked land and factory pollution. Dust filled the air in parts of many states including Oklahoma, Nevada, Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado. In some areas, the dust was so thick you couldn't see your own hand in front of you. This catastrophic time period led to low crop prices, high machinery costs, and better land management approaches. Of all those who were affected by the Dust Bowl, farmers had the worst. With many farm workers fighting in the war and the government requesting for higher farm production, the farmers needed a way to increase production without too many workers. So, farmers bought expensive machinery through loans to help increase production during the war,...
Words: 524 - Pages: 3
...The Dust Bowl affected many families that lived in the Western Plains. Environmental problems were not only a problem in the 1930s, but continue to be a problem in today's society. The problems that occurred were the Dust Bowl, Lennie getting into trouble, and the wildfires. One of the biggest problems of the 1930's was the Dust Bowl. One example of this problem was that the Dust Bowl was a huge dust storm that harmed many people (White). The huge cloud of dust got trapped in people's homes; the intake of the dust caused people to get very sick. There were thick layers of dust on everything that was in their homes. Another example of this problem was, a period of drought, extreme weather, dust storms, and extreme temperatures (Waiser). The dust caused...
Words: 770 - Pages: 4
...The Dust Bowl How did the Dust Bowl start? How widespread was it? How long did it last? I. How did the Dust Bowl start? 1. Migrants A. Many people migrated towards the Midwest in accordance with the Homestead Act of 1862. The Homestead Act of 1862 was a grant for free federal land open to any adult with a family and willing to commit to living on the land for 5 years and also pay a small registration fee. B. Generations of families lived on the land that was once used for cattle to graze. 2. Plowing A. No matter where people moved to in the Midwest it was almost certain that the land would be plowed to plant crops. B. Over plowing the land diminished the nutrients which would yield no results for trying to grow crops. 3. Wealth A. Settlers...
Words: 744 - Pages: 3
...After the civil war, technology for farming was evolving rapidly. This included better tractors, better plows and combines. These inventions helped increase the cultivated land percentage three times than what it was before. Due to this, farmers needed more land to grow more crops. The government made it easy, cheap and appealing to buy new land. So farmers had no problems buying land for more crops. Many farmers ended up purchasing land. In the 1930s, many people started plowing the land making it loose and ready for crops. That is what started the dust bowl, soon to devastate many. In April 18th, 1935, a big black cloud of dust came over the horizon killing everything in its path. Many people started to move away, scared that it...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...The Dust Bowl Essay Where was the Dust Bowl? The Dust Bowl was in southeastern Colorado, southwest Kansas, the extreme northwestern of Oklahoma, and Texas. What was the Dust Bowl? The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the town's and the fields. Severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion caused the curiosity of the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl forced many families to move. Some families didn’t leave because they still wanted to see if they could produce goods to make money. One common question asked is when did the Dust Bowl start? The Dust Bowl started in 1931. Another common question asked is how long did the Dust Bowl...
Words: 638 - Pages: 3
...Imagine yourself having to work on a farm with different storms of dust daily. Now imagine having plenty of your belongings covered in piles and piles of dust and grime. When going back to the “dirty 30s,” as people call them, you had to experience all of this. Tons and tons of debris covered all sorts of items which caused a large number of people to die. The Dust Bowl storms were extremely powerful storms of dust that ravaged the farming and grazing lands, mainly in the Great Plains throughout the 1930s. This ruined and affected a fair amount of people's daily lives, health, and fears throughout the years. It affects their physical, personal, and finally, emotional life in many different ways depending on your spot in society. The Dust Bowl...
Words: 977 - Pages: 4
...Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was from 1930 to 1936. The dust was over 10,000 ft in the air and killed lots of people and animals only 2 dozen survived. Some were killed, while others even took their own lives, or just severely blistered, or injured but there was those that did survive. Most all of their livestock was killed by people and the dust. How did they keep the dust out? The Dust Bowl affected many people and their livestock. To try and keep the dust out people put rags in the windows, but hardly anything worked. It was exhausting for people trying to keep the dust out. Even during the night they would wake up covered in dust. It was almost impossible keeping anything...
Words: 388 - Pages: 2
...The dust bowl One day there was a really strong breeze and the farmers would over farm there fields and caused the “dust bowl”.The dust would affect manny family's homes and lives. Such as getting there homes filled with sand or dirt or running there personal belongings. But one day a family woke and they accidently left a window open and their hole house was field with dirt.That night the before they someone in the family left a window open and it let all of the sand in and made there home field with with sand.Then they tried to take out the dirt/sand but it didn't work because when they opened the door more sand and dirt came in.Then they went outside and realized that there home is almost covered with dirt. Then...
Words: 336 - Pages: 2
...The story and crazy tragedy of the way the 1930’s turned during the major dust storms. Hundreds of thousands of people died from natural causes but others died from dehydration and starvation because there was no food or water. The wind dried up all the water and the crops dried out, with no water there was no food and with no food people were starving to death. The dust bowl began in the early 1930’s it came to us in waves of three. First in 1934 then during 1936 and third during 1939-1940. The dust bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies. During the drought the soil began to turn to dust and get bigger as the wind blew from every direction. The storm forced out thousands...
Words: 784 - Pages: 4
...The Dust Bowl SWOOSH! BOOM! The rocks are hittin houses banging on windows.What is happening? The year of 1930 there this storm that killed mostly about 7 thousand people. This storm was called the “The Dust Bowl”.The dust bowl was a serious storm it affected a lot of people especially children. This storm had spread all over a good section of the great plains of the united states that had also extended over Southern Colorado,Southwestern Kansas the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma,and now New Mexico. The Dust bowl was known as the “Dirty Thirties”, because it happened in the 1930’s and its main supporter was the dirt so it was basically a storm made mostly of dirt. In 1932 there was about 14 storms on the great plains. Some reasons that may have caused the dust bowl were over-farming, livestock overgrazing, droughts, and poor-farming practices. More than 100 million acres was destroyed while this storm was happening. The Dust gots it’s name after the black Sunday that was on April 14, 1935....
Words: 594 - Pages: 3
