The Great Depression was a time of economic destress in the United States that eventually affected the whole world. The stock market crashed causing chaos among the people. Everywhere people were going to banks demanding they get their money back. However, these banks were not prepared for this and did not have the money to give back. As banks began to fail, business failed as well. The number of unemployed people rose steadily and homeless loitered the streets. Most families could not even put meals on the table. However, the group of people that were hit the hardest by this depression were the American farmers. They struggled to make money selling their crops, were faced with the Dust Bowl, and became bankrupt and kicked off of their farms. …show more content…
The number of crops that were grown increased each month, yet farmers still struggled. Prices for crops continued to raise and people could no not afford to buy food. After a season of crops is grown, it is important to give the soil time to rest and have the nutrients restored. However, because farmers needed to grow so many crops to earn the little money they did, there was not time to give the land a break. Each year the soil grew worse. A drought was brought upon in California along with dry, hot winds. The winds grew increasingly strong and started what is known as the Dust Bowl in 1930. Crops were ruined and it was almost impossible to grow new ones because of how dry the soil was. The Dust Bowl created a huge burden to all farmers everywhere. Dealing with the banks and loans also contributed to the problems the farmers had to face. New machinery was invented to help improve farming. It made things much faster and easier than using manual labor. Manual labor was no longer practical because of the need to produce mass amounts of crops, so farmers began using this new technology. However, these machines were expensive, and the American farmers could not afford them. To solve this problem, they began taking loans out of the bank. This caused a new problem when the farmers could not pay back these loans and became bankrupt. The banks kicked farmers off of their land and forced onto the
Throughout the history of The United States the government has taken various actions to address the troubling circumstances with the nation’s economy. Two actions that addressed the nation’s ever so troubling economic crisis at the time include Regan Era Tax Cuts and President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal”. These actions were proposed to society during two time periods where American citizens were facing an immense amount of strife and despair, the two plans offered hope and a plan of relief to the economy. The New Deal during “The Great Depression” and Regan Era Tax cuts which was during a terrible recession both provided a breath of fresh air during a time period where American’s and the economy were at an ultimate crisis and standstill
The great depression was a very hard time for almost all Americans. In 1930 there were 5 million people unemployed and it was up to 13 million by the end of 1932 in America. Almost all of America was classified as poor and didn’t have a living wage and most of America was falling apart. The three most impactful reasons that the Great Depression happened in the United States was because of the stock market crash, unregulated banking institutions, and overextension of credit/excess consumerism.
The drought killed the grass which made the soil lack the roots as an anchor, “So the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds, called black blizzards”(“Dust Bowl”). This dust wasn't just destructive it was also deadly. The dust could kill if people inhaled enough of it. The dust was more deadly to infants and elderly people.
The Dust Bowl consisted of a series of perfidious storms that occurred in the 1930's, the Dust Bowl affected everyone in the United States, mainly people in the Midwestern states. (The Dust Bowl even affected the world.) The Dust Bowl affected many things, such as the economy, farming, and of course the people of the United States. However, after the Dust Bowl came to an end, it taught us new methods of farming and give us new technology. But more importantly, it taught us ”what not to do.”
The prairie turf that had been in the Plains for 35,000 years was destroyed to grow wheat. Hordes of insects and long droughts made farming almost impossible even before the Dust Bowl. The land simply could not take the punishment of all these factors. (USA Today) In summary, the combination of farmers migrating to harsh lands and over farming is a primary reasons for the beginning of the Dust
The area quickly became known as the Dust Bowl; many cities were forced to evacuate the streets during some of the most powerful dust surges. Dry winds and loose dust further harmed crops and livestock, forcing many farmers and ranchers out of work and in search of new jobs (“The Great Depression.”). While agriculture was not the most profitable workforce in the United States, it played perhaps the largest role in the American economy. Agriculture made up 27% of the workforce during the 1920s, however,this high percentage fell to just 15% by 1940 (“Historical Timeline - 1930.”). Because of this, the drought is yet another studied factor of the Great
One of the main causes of the Dust Bowl was the overgrazed and over planted fields that the farmers performed. Another large cause of the Dust Bowl was the failure of farmers to plant drought resistant crops (17 Interesting Facts). The Dust Bowl caused ecological, economical, and human misery to the United States of America. The extremely high temperatures, poorly practiced agriculture, and erosions of wind generated the Dust Bowl (What Caused The Dust Bowl). Numerous amounts of the dry regions in the south were the locations of the start of innumerable dust storms.
Knowing in the 1930’s, Can america survive another dust bowl? With this paper explaining great facts but persuasive ways of telling you why we can and would do to survive a dust bowl. ‘We are shown from the 1930’s to today's time of how we were drastically affected and how we were capable of surviving and making things back to normal if you know what i mean’. (“Dust Bowl History.com/topics” )
Luckily Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to shine some light with a new deal. The Dust Bowl was what they called the Great Depression in the drought stricken areas. The condition of the areas around Oklahoma and Texas made living dangerous and futile. “When drought struck
Technological advances included the use of a tractor with a plow and a combine. The tractor made farming more prosperous and helped quicken the process. “With his new combine, Folkers could cut and thresh the grain in one swoop, using just a fraction of the labor...” (Egan). Tractors helped keep farmers afloat but also set them up for a downward spiral.
The dust bowl was considered the “Worst hard time” in american history. The Dust Bowl was a big cloud of dust that took place during the 1930’s in the middle of the Great Depression. The dust bowl was located in the southern great plains as it affected states like Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. The three main causes of the Dust Bowl were drought (Doc E), amount of land being harvest (Doc D), and the death shortgrass prairie (Doc C).
Many farmers ended up migrating to urban areas in search of jobs from the New Deals government
In a time when America was coming out of the bloodiest war that was ever fought, against themselves, The Civil War, and when America looked overseas for a new frontier with Imperialism. It is in this context that America started to grow westward with farm land and in industry with the million of workers, but America still felt growing pains. Two significant ways in which farmers and industrial workers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865-1900) were the formation of organizations to protect farmers, and the creation of labor unions and the use of strikes to protect the workers. One significant way in which farmers responded to industrialization in the Gilded Age (1865 - 1900) was the formation of organizations to protect farmers. During Westward Expansion farmers fell victims to the low pricing of the crops.
The Great Depression was a huge tragedy that took millions of people in the U.S. out of work. It was the biggest economic fall in America's history. The story “Digging In” by Robert J. Hastings, the video “Growing up in the Great Depression”, and the poem “Debts” by Karen Hesse showed the problems people encountered during the Great Depression. It affected people negatively by making the prices raise and people made less money so it was hard for them to pay their rent or bills. Also, many people were unemployed and did not have enough money to get food.
Livestock could not breath or find food sources. Thousands of people lost their homes due to the storm. Changes in farming and agriculture in the early 1900s altered the landscape and soil creating the perfect environment for the Dust Bowl and impacted living conditions and economic policy. First, changes in farming and agriculture over the years led to the conditions that caused the Dust Bowl and impacted the Great Plains. “Wind and drought alone did not create the Dust Bowl.