...The Dust Bowl, an event that will live in infamy. It terrorized American farmers and affected nearly everyone in America. It wrecked homes destroyed towns and also messed with the economy. This made the Dust Bowl a challenging time in American history. It dramatically affected American lives, caused the economy to go into a downward spiral, and created political disorder. So I decided to write this paper informing you about the tragedy that the dust bowl caused for American culture. I have split my paper into five parts. In the first part I will explain how the dust bowl affected farming. The second part will be about the affect the dust bowl had on how it affected american society and the devastation it caused families. The third part will...
Words: 980 - Pages: 4
...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
...The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of time during the Depression in the 1930s. The Dust Bowl consists of several severe dust storms causing major damage to the environment and farm lands to the American and Canadian prairie lands. During the drought of the 1930s, the soil turned to dust because there was not any natural deep rooted grass to keep it in place. Once the soil was turned to dust the wind carried it eastward and southward in large dark clouds, which blackened the sky. The dark black cloud would reach cities on the East Coast, such as New York and Washington, D.C. The Atlantic Ocean was the final spot where most of the soil ended up deposited in the Atlantic Ocean, carried by strong winds which were created by the dry and bare soil conditions. These terrible dust storms which terrorized many people changing their lives were given names such as "black blizzards" and "black rollers" and they often reduced visibility to just a few feet. The Dust Bowl affected millions of acres of land changing many people lives, causing many to relocate, and other to try to survive, it was possibly the greatest natural disaster of its times. “The Dust Bowl got it name after Black Sunday, April 14, 1935. More and more dust storms had blown up in years leading to that day. In 1932, 14 dust storms were recorded on the Plains. In 1933, there were 38 storms. By 1943, it was estimated that 100 mill acres of farmland had lost all or most of the topsoil to the wind. By April...
Words: 894 - Pages: 4
...The Grapes of Wrath a well-known classic by John Steinbeck was published in 1939, and before it was published, migrant workers were living in very harsh conditions in several parts of the United States. The Grapes of Wrath is about an Oklahoma Dust Bowl family, the Joads, who suffer various hardships while migrating to California. The Dust Bowl was a period of time in the 1930s where harsh droughts led to severe dust storms which ruined million acres of prairie land in America. This story tells us the plight of all those migrants during the Great Depression through the perspective of the Joad family. In The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck uses intercalary chapters to provide background for the various themes of the novel, as well as to set the tone. Steinbeck’s previous book had bought him much success and Steinbeck did not want his success to weaken his commitment to the intellectual goals of his writing. So later, he embarked upon a trip from Oklahoma to California with a group of migrant workers. He worked and lived alongside them in a work camp in California. His experience was the inspiration for this novel. The story begins just after Tom Joad is released on parole from McAlester prison for homicide. On his journey to his home in Oklahoma, he meets former preacher Jim Casy whom he remembers from his childhood and the two travel together. He finds out his family has been evacuated from their land and are leaving for California. Tom and Casy join them. Going west on Route 66...
Words: 1351 - Pages: 6
...In this essay, I will go over the time period of American history infamously known as the Great depression. The Great Depression was the longest-lasting economic failure in the industrialized western world. The Great Depression started on October 29, 1929, this day known to many as “Black Tuesday,” this economic downturn would last for ten years within the American nation. Ultimately, it would bring the country to its knees as many of the nation’s banks closed, millions of individuals lost their money in the banks, people lost their jobs, agriculture began to see the worsening effects of the depression, and individuals began to abandon their land and move to the city. Although the American people were suffering the president at the...
Words: 1329 - Pages: 6
...farmers kept plowing and planting with gradually dreary outcomes. In the years 1930 and 1931, Oklahoma and Texas panhandles were known as the wealthiest states in the country. For plains farmers, the era opened with prosperity and growth. In the summer of 1931, the farmers challenged the most difficult eight years of their lives. The rain was finally over. It took a thousand years for Nature to build an inch of topsoil on the Southern Plains, but it took only minutes for one good blow to sweep it all away. The water level of lakes dropped by five feet or more and the wind picked up the dry soil that had nothing to hold it down. Black clouds of dust started to splotch out the sun. There are some places where dust glided like snow, making the sky dark for days, covering well-sealed homes with thick layers of dust on everything. Dust storms overcame entire towns. The main...
Words: 642 - Pages: 3
...Daniel xxxxxxxxx Professor xxxxx History 102 5/17/2015 The Dust Bowl During the 1930’s our country was going through some tough times economically which was known as the “Great Depression”. To make things worse the farmland of America was experiencing what became known as the dust bowl. The Dust Bowl lasted for about a decade and it significantly impacted the southern plains. The northern plains were not hit as hard, but they still experienced major drought, strong winds and saw a big decline in their agricultural industry. The Dust Bowl is also responsible for many Americans leaving and moving from the southern plains. For nearly 10 years a yellowish brown dust from the southern plains and a black wall of dust from the northern plains swept through the heart of our country. This made everyday life in this region extremely difficult. Simple acts such as breathing, eating, and even talking while walking were no longer so simple. Mothers were forced to make their children wear dust mask to and from school, wet sheets were hung in front of windows in an effort to stop the dirt from entering their homes. Many farmers were defeated and slowly watched all their crops blow away (About the Dust Bowl). It was best stated by John Steinbeck in the novel “The Grapes of Wrath” “And then the dispossessed were drawn west from Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas, families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out. Car loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand...
Words: 1067 - Pages: 5
...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
...Introduction Written by John Steinbeck in 1939, “The Grapes of Wrath” is an in-depth look at how economic forces of the time had a tragic effect on the lives of the working class. The story and examples of the five economic structures are told, as the Joad family travels to seek a new life in California. The novel details how the economic changes that were taking place impacted the Joads and the people of Oklahoma, making them desperate to find a new life. Forced from their homes and land, they hoped that migrating west would allow them to find work, allowing them to provide for their families. Steinbeck shows in detail how economic forces and externalities, can affect the lives of individuals, families, communities, and the nation. While...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
... It was last year when the news spread about the opportunity that lied in the wild west. You know, the land, the riches, and opportunities. Right around then my family was suffering in the south after the economy crashed, our money was completely worthless! The living was much too crowded for my taste. The thought of a better life ahead for my two young children overwhelmed me with hope. We packed our bags as fast as possible. My family was fortunate enough to afford a train ticket. Railroads first started after the shame of the civil war. A time period we know as reconstruction. These railroads provided fast, safe and easy transportation to the wild frontier. When we arrived we received land from the homestead act and ever since, life has been pretty much ideal. Ideal except for the extreme weather, it wasn't at all the same as the south. Brutally hot summers and unbearable winters, we barely got through! I’ll never forget our first tornado, my wife almost fainted, we managed to bunker down in our sod house. Smart right? We were forced to build shelter with sod since there were barely any trees. This sod house protected us from tornados and the dreaded cicadas, they ate all of my crops! Don't get me wrong, the west is pretty great. However, it is not all forgiving. After the cicadas ate my crops, I had to replant. To be honest, they weren't growing that well in the first place. Though, I had heard about a new invention that was invented for dry western farming. Some sort of wind...
Words: 484 - Pages: 2
...In The Grapes of Wrath, the Dust Bowl hit the Great Pains where dust storms destroyed agriculture and farms. Vegetation did not get enough water because irrigation and dry land farming techniques did not work. Since farmers could not produce food because of the drought, many were kicked off the land with no money, and went looking for jobs. This quote fits within the narrative because this little story discusses the typical life of a family in the Great Plains who lost their job because of the Dust Bowl. The point of the book was to explain the hardships of this time period through the eyes of a family who is dealing with them. This quote is important because it underscores the difficulties that the farmers and their families are experiencing...
Words: 445 - Pages: 2
...Picture yourself not being able to shower for months or having to drive for about an hour to shower. These are some of the hardships residents of East Porterville are experiencing due to the extreme water drought. As a matter of fact there are multiple cities in California that are facing these hardships. How can the government and it’s people prevent this drought to worsen or expand to the rest of our country. Resident of East Porterville, Angelica Gallegos declared that she has gone five months without showering due to the drought her city is going through (Source two). This is all due to the fact that water ground reserves have been exploited without regulations or consideration of future water needs. Jerry Cadagan, resident in Stanislaus County, says “‘You’ve got to put reasonable restrictions so people are only pumping out a reasonable amount of water that underlies their land’” (Source three). He is now suing farmers for taking water from his property and getting more than they need. Water drought has also affected the unemployment rate for cities in which farming is the main source of jobs. Bob Zimmerer, owner of Zim Industries, has had to let go of many employees because of the water drought. This is another direct consequence of what is happening now without groundwater regulation (Source three). In addition to farmers losing their jobs, food prices are increasing and its supply reducing, which are both bad for the economy. California’s farmers believe that the percentage...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
... “The best laid schemes Of Mice and Men often go askew.” is a great quote that sums up Of Mice and Men and is from the poem, To A Mouse. The story, Of Mice and Men takes place in California during the great depression. George and Lennie are farm laborers who are searching for work. The have one dream that propels them forward is to own a house and live off the fatta’ the land. John Steinbeck used many sneaky ways at hinting about future events. He used foreshadowing when the farm dream was dead, when Curley’s wife died and when Lennie died. One way Steinbeck used foreshadowing was with the farm dream being dead, an example of this is when George stops his fantasy. The author states, in doc C, “ Listen to the rain commin’ down on the roof… Nuts! I ain’t got no time for more.” This explains that George realizes this dream may not happen, and stops his vision in disappointment. Another way Steinbeck used foreshadowing was when Crooks made a comment about how crazy Lennie’s dream was. The author states on doc C, “I’ve seen hundreds of men walk these paths… and they never ever reach their goal.” This is saying that Crooks has seen a lot of people try and get land but they never do. Why are George and Lennie any different? The farm dream had many clues to never working out, George and Crooks only said a few things. Another way Steinbeck hinted an upcoming event in the book, was when Curley’s wife died. Curley’s wife said her hair was soft like mice, and Lennie kills mice. The author...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
... In chapter twelve of Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, tenant farmers filled up cars on the migrant road, Highway 66, to reach California. Due to the fact that many were evicted off their land back home, many began to believe that California was the new site to achieve goals such as, maintaining a steady job, and earning wages for the family. Steinbeck utilizes repetition,asyndeton, and negative diction to establish the recognition of the hardships faced. Therefore, Steinbeck enforces these techniques in order to evoke sympathy upon the families, such as the Joads, because of the number of issues that occur during this journey and for the future. The daily life in areas such as Oklahoma, have been completely destroyed from the banks, hence why many families, like the Joads, have to gather their belongings and depart. California was the only place that offered a sense of hope to distract the families from their losses. Therefore, since so many families are migrating west, Steinback dedicates one chapter to display the challenges that spark sympathy for those who are unaware that these conditions will continue to grow worse. Steinbeck chooses to use Highway 66 to express this journey, because no matter what route, a family will always come across this road in order to get to California. Out of all the eight paragraphs, the number “66” (1-34) is repeated in five of them. The number is repeated so many times to resemble how long this process is. Many individuals...
Words: 733 - Pages: 3
...The Okies/Migrants The Dust Bowl was a time of hard work, sacrifice, and most of all: sadness. The Dust Bowl occurred in the 1930's and was a time of great depression when droughts had struck the Great Plains in America. These droughts dramatically effected farmers in Oklahoma and Texas, and other neighboring areas, and eventually lead to farmers being forced off of their land in search of work in the West (“History”). These farmers who migrated to the West were formally known as “Okies”, a nickname given to them by Californians. Therefore, the Okies played a significant role during the dust bowl due to the incredible amounts of people who migrated to places, such as California, the hardships they experienced during the Dust Bowl era, and the long journey it took to find work in the West. Certainly, Okies experienced the most heartache and difficulties during the period of the severe droughts that struck America. Something that really catches the eye...
Words: 1347 - Pages: 6
