Brendan
Forte
Blog
1: Surviving The Dust Bowl
Summary
Beginning in the 1930s there was a
period of drought causing severe dust storms that lead to death of crops,
animals, and even people. This period was known as the Dust Bowl. It began when
thousands of settlers, looking for a new prosperous start settled in the
southern plains to harvest wheat on virgin land. States and railroad companies lured people in, hoping to start something
great. Every inch of the southern plains was being turned into profit from
crops of wheat. Farmers went from horses to tractors, plowing about fifty acres
of land a day. Over 100 million acres of empty plains were turned into wheat
farms with no concern that anything bad might happen. Greed was the driving
force and that was the beginning of the Dust Bowl.
Geography
The southern plains in Texas, Oklahoma,
and some parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas started as rich green
fields. When settlers moved in, they took it over making it farmland filled
with grains. Thousands of people moved into the area with the same plan.
Eventually 100 million acres of green plains were turned into wheat filled
crops. A lot of that land should not have been touched. What the farmers failed
to realize is that you can only remove so much topsoil before the land is made
barren. It was not a natural cycle for so many millions of acres to have soil
and grass removed. The effects on the land were devastating.
In 1931, the rain stopped. Drought set in
causing the wheat to wither upon the naked and vulnerable land. Winds blew
continuously, drying out the fields and blowing layers and layers of heavy,
dirty dust everywhere. On April 14th 1935, the skies turned black,
and there was silence. Seconds later there were clouds covering the southern
plains like no one has ever seen. Nothing was left on the farmlands turning it
virtually into waste. It took over one thousand years to build up one inch of
soil, and it took one day to blow it all away. That day was eternally named,
“Black Sunday”.
Demography
When word got out that the southern
region would be a great area for success, the population increased
significantly. It went from about 800,000 in 1880 to about 5.6 million in 1930.
The farmers got off to a good start with their new land. Although the 1920s Great
Depression was just ending, they learned to make a living with the farmlands
that they created. Everyone was looking
for the next great adventure to make money and the Great Plains seemed to have
the answer. People in the Great Plains were not suffering from the depression
because in the beginning of the 1930’s,
the crops were fruitful and money was being made. The influx of population was
tremendous to the area . The people who
came to farm provided a reason for the area to be built up with other jobs in
mercantile and banking . The crops and the profit justified the growth of towns
and businesses. But then the dust came and everything changed.
The farmers stayed as long as they
could. Some declared defeat before others.
Due
to the continuing tragedy of the dust, cows were bought by the government and
slaughtered because farmers couldn’t feed them. Food was scarce and starvation
was a real concern. Many were resolved to stay no matter what. In fact, a man
named John McCarty, who was the editor of a Texan newspapers assured people the
rain would come again and one week after Black Sunday, created the “Last Man
Standing Club.” It was started to build up the courage of the farmers and make
them want to stay on the land . They even had a pledge that they repeated when
they met. Some were strong enough. Others suffered as much as they could and had to go. Death and disease were
rampant. In 1935 over 1/3 of the deaths in Kansas were due to dust pneumonia and it was similar in the other
states in the Dust Bowl. By 1938 with
the drought still continuing and the dust still blowing, the faith of the
people started to snap. For many it was time to move on.
Economics
When 1931 hit and the rain stopped, the
economy went downhill. Many individuals had hoped that it was just temporary,
but as years past the feelings died down. People started to give up causing
them to fall into another economic depression. The Dust Bowl contributed to
hardships such as unemployment, business losses, and bank closures. In 1932, the
first Federal aid was given for drought relief and in 1937, it was reported
that drought was the main reason for people getting economic assistance. The
drought was big enough to affect the nation as a whole. The government reached
about $1 billion in economic relief due too drought.
The government also stepped in in 1934
and purchased the cows from farmers for $16.00 and calf for $3.00. Cattle
slaughter was heart wrenching for the farmers who said it was horrible to see
them killed as they are what had provided milk for their families. It was what they had to do. Money was scarce
and farmers could not make a living.
In 1938, a massive conservation crusade
began and Washington said that farmers
would be given incentives if they adopted the conservation methods to farm . It
was a desperate time and they would do anything to help boost the economy.
Politics
During 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt
was the President. The government had to respond to the situation so they came
up with the New Deal. This was “a series of economic programs enacted in the
United States between 1933 and 1936” (Rosenmen, 1945). The New Deal government
enforced reform plans to try to recover from the downfall. When people had
nothing left including food and water, Roosevelt’s New Deal made sure that the
government would offer them some. Many did not want to accept the fact that
they could not provide for their families but they were forced to.
There were also programs for recovery,
like the “Farm Security Administration” who stressed “rural rehabilitation” to
improve the lifestyle of sharecroppers, and tenants. Another example is the
Soil Conservation Service. This group made sure that the soil was not going to
be eroded and they made it more suitable for efficient farming. One more important
group was the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation. They did something called
“cattle slaughter”. This means that they sent all of the cattle that they could
find and cent them to a slaughter house to be killed and used for meat. The
meat was packaged and distributed to the poor and the hungry. All of these
organizations under Roosevelt’s new Deal were very helpful in the recovery and
during the Dust Bowl.
Conclusion
The
1930s were a struggle for many thousands of people. It was looked at, and advertised
as a new beginning but it turned into a disaster. Farmers moved into the
southern Great Plains and turned it into 100 million acres of farmland. They
had a successful start but they soon learned that they might have overdone it.
The air was dry and rain was nowhere to be seen. Not only was there a drought, but
also dust was picked up from the ground and tossed, creating mounds of dirt.
Soil that took a thousand years to make was gone in one day. Crops died leaving
all of the land to be wasted. It was hard for many people to breathe, and some
even suffocated because of the thick clouds of dust that was over them
everyday.
After years of no rain, horrible living
conditions, sickness and death, people started to pack their belongings and
move west. Franklin D. Roosevelt tried
to make recovery reforms with his New Deal Plan but it was not easy. The damage
that had been done was tremendous and some would never recover. Most hope was
lost and many felt the rain would never come again. At the end of 1938, the
rain did begin to fall and soon hope was reborn.
The Dust Bowl was a disaster for farmers
looking for a way to get rich. Greed had dominated the mindset. By baring all
of the natural covering of grass and topsoil and farming it with crops of
wheat, in addition to the fact that a drought had set in, the Dust Bowl was created.
The harsh years of the Dust Bowl forced people to accept the limits of the
land. This time period in the Great
Plains remains one of the most devastating times in American history.
Bibliography
Roosevelt,
Franklin D.; Rosenman, Samuel Irving, ed. The Public Papers and Addresses of
Franklin D. Roosevelt (13 vol, 1938, 1945); public material only (no
letters); covers 1928–1945.
Michele
Buonanduci (Lead Author);Jeffrey Lee (Topic Editor)
"Dust Bowl". In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland
(Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for
Science and the Environment)
