Causes and Effects of the Dust Bowl (Chapter 1 - 10, Option A) *

The Great Plains

Originally, the Great Plains were viewed as unsuitable for European-styled agriculture by early European and American exploration. The land was too dry, and the lack of surface water and available trees made it unsuitable for pioneers to settle. However settlement was encouraged by the Homestead Act of 1862 and with the end of the Civil war, waves of immigrants came to the Great Plains and cultivation of the land increased significantly. An unusually wet period later, let settlers and the federal government to believe that "rain follows the plow", and that the climate had permanently changed. With the onset of World War I, agricultural prices in the US significantly increased as demand for food in Europe increased, which further encouraged farmers to cultivate the in the Great Plains. But as the Great Depression hit after the war, farmers turned to mechanized farming techniques in an attempt to raise profits. 

The Dust Bowl

Dust storm approaching Stratford, Texas. Dust bowl surveying in Texas

In the previous decades leading up to the 1930's, settlers in the Great Plains failed to use dryland farming techniques to prevent wind erosion. The plow-based farming that was used in this region, suitable for the more wet regions in Europe and the east coast, tore up the topsoil and displaced the native, deep-rooted grasses that usually trapped the soil and moisture. The mechanization of farming gave farmers to a greater reason to convert the arid grasslands to cultivated cropland. The drought dried the topsoil, and over time became dried and powdery. Without the native plants to hold the soil, the high winds that often occurred in the plains blew away the unachored topsoil into black clouds. These black dust storms, often called "black blizzards" or "black rollers" decimated the land and the people living in the Dust Bowl. 

Houses buried by wind-blown dust

The winds had blown away this dried topsoil, which was needed to farm, and the crops were covered by the dust left behind by the dust storms. People were rendered homeless after the dust had destroyed their homes, and both animals and people suffered from the inhalation of the dust, and often contracted dust pneumonia.

The problem was further exacerbated with the poor agriculture economy after WWI and during the Great Depression. Post WWI, European farms began to recover, leading to a drop in agricultural prices. This greatly impacted farmers who had taken out loans in order to buy machines to keep up with production and increase profit during the agriculture price boom during WWI. This combined with the Great Depression left many farmers unable to repay debts to banks. 

Many families were forced to leave their homes and travel in search for work. The drought and dust storms had rendered many people homeless, many others lost their houses due to foreclosure, and others felt no other choice to abandon their farms in search for better work. Many of these families, often called "Okies" migrated to California and other states to find work, only to face conditions not much better than their own due to the Great Depression.

Connection to The Grapes of Wrath

In The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck depicts the many problems people faced while in the Dust Bowl. He describes the feelings of families in the aftermath of one of many dust storms that occurred during the era. Additionally, Tom Joan and Jim Casy find the Joan homestead abandoned, just like how many other families were forced abandon their homes during the 1930's.

Sources

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