93–123. In the end, it was a combination of willpower, stamina, humor, pride, and, above all, optimism that enabled many to survive the Dust Bowl. Ironically, the Ogallala Aquifer is not being depleted to feed American families or to support the kind of small farmers who hung on through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years. It was the most damaging and prolonged environmental disaster in American history. Although the 1930s drought is often referred to as if it were one episode, there were at least 4 distinct drought events: 1930–31, 1934, 1936, and 1939–40 (Riebsame et al., 1991). Many bought plows and other farming equipment, and between 1925 and 1930 more than 5 million acres of previously unfarmed land was plowed [source: CSA].With the help of mechanized farming, farmers … These qualities are succinctly expressed in the comments of one contemporary Kansan: “We have faith in the future. The depression and drought hit farmers on the Great Plains the hardest. Before the 1930s drought, federal aid had generally been withheld in emergency situations in favor of individual and self-reliant approaches. These newcomers were often in direct competition for jobs with longer-established residents, which created conflict between the groups. The Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Collecting Expeditio n This Library of Congress collection was created by Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin, both ethnographers, who provide a glimpse into the everyday life and cultural expression of people living through a particularly difficult period of American history, the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era. Today, farmers use no till equipment, parts, and techniques to increase crop yields and protect the soil from another potential “dust bowl” catastrophe.. During the Great Depression, millions of unemployed men became “hobos,” homeless vagrants who wandered in search of work. Many of these measures were initiated by the federal government, a relatively new practice. In the summer of 1931, rain stopped falling and a drought that would last for most of the decade descended on the region. Clothes in the closets are covered with dust. By 1941, most areas of the country were receiving near-normal rainfalls. When drought began in the early 1930s, it worsened these poor economic conditions. The Dust Bowl resulted from years of unsustainable agriculture that eroded soils and destroyed native grasslands that held the earth in place. Link, I.; T.J. Woofter, Jr.; and C.C. The fact that the Dust Bowl happened during the Great Depression in the 1930s, caused even more economic problems for farmers. At that rate, it will be completely dry within a century. The resulting agricultural depression contributed to the Great Depression’s bank closures, business losses, increased unemployment, and other physical and emotional hardships. And how did the Dust Bowl affect farmers? Some of the land use patterns and methods of cultivation in the region can be traced back to the settlement of the Great Plains nearly 100 years earlier. Some voluntarily deeded their farms to creditors, others faced foreclosure by banks, and still others had to leave temporarily to search for work to provide for their families. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. Climatic Constraints and Human Activities, pp. PBS Ken Burns Dust Bowl Series: gpb.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/economics-dust-bowl-gallery/ken-burns-the-dust-bowl/ Determining the direct and indirect costs associated with this period of droughts is a difficult task because of the broad impacts of drought, the event’s close association with the Great Depression, the fast revival of the economy with the start of World War II, and the lack of adequate economic models for evaluating losses at that time. The region had been plowed from 1914 and 1920 to meet demand for wheat generated by World War I. The dust storms started at about the same time that the Great Depression really began to grip the country, and it continued to sweep across the Southern Plains—western Kansas, eastern Colorado, New Mexico, and the panhandle regions of Texas and Oklahoma—until the late 1930s. Mental Health‎ > ‎ The Impact of the Great Depression on Mental Health. Drought Hazard in the United States: A Research Assessment. Houghton-Mifflin. The 1930s drought and its associated impacts finally began to abate during spring 1938. During the 1930s, many measures were undertaken to relieve the direct impacts of droughts and to reduce the region’s vulnerability to the dry conditions. The Dust Bowl was a decade-long catastrophe that swept up 100 million acres of topsoil in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. Migrant Farmers and Living Conditions. ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. Some of the most famous events include the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, the 2008 coal ash spill in Tennessee, and the Love Canal toxic dump disaster that came to light in the 1970s. A bulletin by the Works Progress Administration reported that 21% of all rural families in the Great Plains were receiving federal emergency relief (Link et al., 1937). To cope with and recover from the drought, people relied on ingenuity and resilience, as well as relief programs from state and federal governments. It was the worst drought in North America in 1,000 years. In some areas, the storms didn't relent until 1940. 2005. The soil became so dry that it turned to dust. Excerpt from Donald Worster, Dust Bowl: The Southern Plain in the 1930s (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 4-5. The Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s was arguably one of the worst environmental disasters of the 20th century. The term "Dust Bowl" was coined when an AP reporter, Robert Geiger, used it to describe the drought-affected south central United States in the aftermath of horrific dust storms. Talene Tse. The PBS documentary about the Dust Bowl was amazing – what a disaster of epic proportions and a reminder of how important the soil is to our lives! These lower prices meant that farmers needed to cultivate more acreage, including poorer farmlands, or change crop varieties to produce enough grain to meet their required equipment and farm payments. 1966. Whether they stayed or moved into the drought regions or migrated to other areas in hopes of a better life, families encountered new hardships and obstacles that would require ingenuity, resilience, and humility. In addition, because of poverty and high unemployment, migrants added to local relief efforts, sometimes overburdening relief and health agencies. Since most of the best farming areas were already being used, poorer farmlands were increasingly used. 1991. In 1937, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) reported that drought was the principal reason for economic relief assistance in the Great Plains region during the 1930s (Link et al., 1937). At its worst, the Dust Bowl covered about 100 million acres in the Southern Plains, an area roughly the size of Pennsylvania. 1981. The Northern Plains weren`t so badly affected, but the drought, dust, and agricultural decline were felt there as well. Fortunately, the lessons learned from this drought were used to reduce the vulnerability of the regions to future droughts. Hurt, D.R. The worst dust storm of all hit on April 14, 1935—a day that became known as "Black Sunday." These caused major damage to the Dust Bowl areas' economies, … We are here to stay” (quoted in Hurt, 1981). (1980) claims that financial assistance from the government may have been as high as $1 billion (in 1930s dollars) by the end of the drought. Crops withered and died. The Dust Bowl was caused, in large part, by excessive tillage of the soil. This meant that conservation programs and research were significantly reduced during this period. Sitemap. The Dust Bowl was a significant disaster for the United States, resulting in large economic and agricultural losses, farm abandonment, and a level of human migration that, in the recent historical period, is comparable only with the evacuation of New Orleans in 2005 (4, 10). Congressional actions in 1934 alone accounted for relief expenditures of $525 million (U.S. House of Representatives, 1934); the total cost (social, economic, and environmental) would be impossible to determine. Men were taken off work programs to enter the armed forces and to produce for the war effort. It was caused by several concurring factors—rising wheat prices, a series of unusually rainy years, and generous federal farm policies prompting a land boom. When winds blew, they raised enormous clouds of dust. According to the federal Soil Conservation Service, the bowl covered 100 million acres in 1935. The primary impact area of the Dust Bowl, as it came to be known, was on the Southern Plains. The Dust Bowl eventually resulted in the mass migration of people to the state of California. By using these areas, farmers were increasing the likelihood of crop failures, which increased their vulnerability to drought. The term Dust Bowl was coined in 1935 when an AP reporter, Robert Geiger, used it to describe the drought-affected south central United States in the aftermath of horrific dust storms. Although repeated droughts tested settlers and local/state governments, the recurrence of periods of plentiful rainfall seemed to delay recognition of the need for changes in cultivation and land use practices. In the 1930s, drought covered virtually the entire Plains for almost a decade (Warrick, 1980). Drought and Natural Resources Management in the United States: Impacts and Implications of the 1987–89 Drought. These rains, along with the outbreak of World War II, alleviated many of the domestic economic problems associated with the 1930s. How Grandfather Clauses Disenfranchised Black Voters in the U.S. 7 New Deal Programs Still in Effect Today, 1900 Galveston Hurricane: History, Damage, Impact, The Great Depression, World War II, and the 1930s, The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution. In addition to this inaccurate information, most settlers had little money and few other assets, and their farming experience was based on conditions in the more humid eastern United States, so the crops and cultivation practices they chose often were not suitable for the Great Plains. Once-thriving farms are still abandoned, and new dangers are again putting the Great Plains in serious jeopardy. Many crops were damaged by deficient rainfall, high temperatures, and high winds, as well as insect infestations and dust storms that accompanied these conditions. Furthermore, during the 1920s, many farmers switched from the lister to the more efficient one-way disc plow, which also greatly increased the risk of blowing soil. Most areas of the country were returned to receiving near-normal rainfalls. IIASA Proceedings Series, Vol. The "Dust Bowl" is a phrase used to describe prairie regions of the United States and Canada in the 1930s. The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent the aeolian processes (wind erosion) caused the phenomenon. In his epilogue to "The Worst Hard Time," Egan writes: In the 21st century, there are new dangers facing the Southern Plains. The areas most severely affected were western Texas, eastern New Mexico, the Oklahoma Panhandle, western Kansas, and eastern Colorado. The drought’s direct effect is most often remembered as agricultural. And how did the Dust Bowl affect farmers?   Unsustainable farming practices worsened the drought’s effect, killing the crops that kept the soil in place. Several actions in the 1920s also increased the region’s vulnerability to drought. Nelson Hall, Chicago. That grave title belongs to the 1930s Dust Bowl, created by the drought, erosion, and dust storms (or "black blizzards") of the so-called Dirty Thirties. The Dust Bowl exacerbated the effects of the Great Depression and sparked the largest American migration in the shortest amount of time. ­The seeds of the Dust Bowl may have been sowed during the early 1920s. Another drawback was that with the return of the rains, many people soon forgot about conservation programs and measures implemented during the 1930s droughts. Those who remained in the drought regions were forced to endure severe dust storms and their health effects, diminished incomes, animal infestations, and the physical and emotional stress over their uncertain futures. .” Works Progress Administration, Washington, D.C. Riebsame, W.E. United States House of Representatives. Although a larger area was affected during the 1950s drought, the conservation techniques that many farmers implemented in the intervening years helped prevent conditions from reaching the severity of the 1930s drought. The Economics and Effects of the Dust Bowl. Imagine soil so dry that plants disappear and dirt blows past your door like sand. New computer simulations reveal the whipped-up dust … 1937. Decades later, the land is still not completely restored. But despite their tragic consequences, none of these events come close to being the worst environmental disaster in the United States. Farmers could no longer grow crops as the land turned into a desert. 1975. Several factors including a market crash started a period of economic downturn known as the Great Depression. This ecological and economic disaster and the region where it happened came to be known as the Dust Bowl. Although adverse conditions forced many settlers to return to the eastern United States, even more continued to come west. In all, assistance may have reached $1 billion (in 1930s dollars) by the end of the drought (Warrick et al., 1980). (Image: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection, LC-DIG-fsa8b28231 DLC). As important as these programs may have been, the survival of a majority of the families and enterprises undoubtedly rested solely with their perseverance and integrity. Many other proactive measures taken after the 1930s drought also reduced rural and urban vulnerability to drought, including new or enlarged reservoirs, improved domestic water systems, changes in farm policies, new insurance and aid programs, and removal of some of the most sensitive agricultural lands from production (Riebsame et al., 1991). The Dust Bowl was an area in the Midwest that suffered from drought during the 1930s and the Great Depression. Follow the NDMC on social media to receive the latest information and updates about our work. Last weekend no one was taking an automobile out f… However, broad calculations and estimates can provide valuable generalizations of the economic impact of the 1930s drought. In addition to overproduction and falling crop prices, the Great Plains suffered a phenomenon that became known as the Dust Bowl. One drawback (described by Hurt, 1981) was that the start of World War II shifted remaining funds and priorities away from drought-related programs. Dust Bowl in Text: Persuasive Rhetoric in the Dust Bowl Story Objective: Students will understand examples of persuasive language and will learn about conditions in the Dust Bowl region in the mid-1930s by examining a speech by Franklin Delano Roosevelt and a … Instead, the agricultural subsidies that began as part of the New Deal to help farm families stay on the land are now being given to corporate farms that are growing crops to be sold overseas. If the water runs out, there won't be any for the cotton or the inexpensive clothing, and the Great Plains could be the site of yet another environmental disaster. Although the 1988–89 drought was the most economically devastating natural disaster in the history of the United States (Riebsame et al., 1991), a close second is undoubtedly the series of droughts that affected large portions of the United States in the 1930s. The Devastation is Furthered by the Dust Bowl. Warrick et al. By 1937, the Soil Conservation Service had been established, and by the following year, soil loss had been reduced by 65%. Effects of the Plains drought sent economic and social ripples throughout the country. Thus, even though the exact economic losses are not known for this time period, they were substantial enough to cause widespread economic disruption that affected the entire nation. The Dust Bowl. When droughts hit, topsoil dried up and blew away. In 2003, U.S. cotton growers received $3 billion in federal subsidies to grow fiber that would ultimately be shipped to China and made into cheap clothing to be sold in American stores. Several expeditions had explored the region, but they were not studying the region for its agricultural potential, and, furthermore, their findings went into government reports that were not readily available to the general public (Fite, 1966). At that time, little was known of the region’s climate. Many accidents and natural disasters have done serious environmental damage to the United States. Another severe drought spread across the U.S., but its impacts were lessened due to the lessons learned from the Dust Bowl years. ; S.A. Changnon, Jr.; and T.R. Baker; and W. Brinkman. It was reflected in legislative acts such as the Timber Culture Act of 1873, which was based on the belief that if settlers planted trees they would be encouraging rainfall, and it was not until the 1890s that this idea was finally abandoned (White, 1991). Warrick et al. https://study.com/academy/lesson/dust-bowl-facts-lesson-for-kids.html Farmers, unable to see through the blowing sand, tied themselves to guide ropes to make the walk from their houses to their barns. Still, children and adults inhaled sand, coughed up dirt, and died of a new epidemic called "dust pneumonia.". It sifts into everything. Warrick, R.A.; P.B. In 1936, the people got their first glimmer of hope. Even though short-term conditions seemed to be relatively stable, this production growth had some drawbacks. Farm family, Sargent, Nebraska, 1886. White, R. 1991. The Dust Bowl of the 1930s stands as the United States’ worst environmental disaster in history. These events occurred in such rapid succession that affected regions were not able to recover adequately before another drought began. Government Camps During the Dust Bowl. According to the WPA, three-fifths of all first-time rural relief cases in the Great Plains area were directly related to drought, with a disproportionate amount of cases being farmers (68%) and especially tenant farmers (70% of the 68%). In these areas, there were many serious dust storms and droughts during the 1930s. The Dust Bowl And Hobos. Moreover, items such as gasoline and replacement parts were redirected from federal drought and conservation programs to the war efforts. Fite, G.C. Affected Texas cities included Dalhart, Pampa, Spearman, and Amarillo. Program on Technology, Environment and Man Monograph #NSF-RA-E-75-004, Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado, Boulder. Nevertheless, the drought continued until the autumn of 1939, when rains finally returned to the parched and damaged prairie. Many of these farmers were forced to seek government assistance. A 1937 bulletin by the Works Progress Administration reported that 21% of all rural families in the Great Plains were receiving federal emergency relief (Link et al., 1937). Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. Areas of Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, … Thanks, Scott W. Alexandria, VA. Great question, Scott! Have you ever returned from a day at the beach only to find sand everywhere? We've been having quite a bit of blowing dirt every year since the drought started, not only here, but all over the Great Plains. These events laid the groundwork for the severe soil erosion that would cause the Dust Bowl. Misleading information, however, was plentiful. Trainer; E.J. For example, millions of people migrated from the drought areas, often heading west, in search of work. Additional Resources. Revisiting the Dust Bowl: Some graphs that detail how bad the drought was. That’s what really happened during the Dust Bowl. Through their efforts, the first soil conservation districts came into being, and demonstration projects were carried out to show the benefits of practices such as terracing and contouring (for a discussion of the activities of the SCS during this period, see Hurt, 1981). Learn more about this period and its impacts. 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