The Drought Surviving the Dust Bowl Essay - 3415 Words

Introduction: An empty rocking chair sat on a front porch. Tattered sheets hung in the windows. A windmill slowly turned. Hinges on a chicken coop door whined in the breeze while the door smacked the frame. Everywhere the eye looked there was dust, no green grass, no fields of wheat just dirt and dust as far as one could see. Inside the house the dust crept through the cracks, got on the furniture, dishes, in food, and on the beds. Even the very act of breathing was difficult as the dust violated the nose and lungs. It irritated the eyes and ears with no relief. There was no escaping the dust, the wind—it was a constant state of dirt. A beautiful prairie in which Indians hunted on, pioneers came to start a new life and a place†¦show more content†¦What was the Dust Bowl? Up until the combine had been invented the prior generations used the land for grazing their livestock. But with high wheat prices during WWI and this new invention it â€Å"enticed farmers to plow up millions of acres of natural grass to plant wheat.† With the combine, farmers had the choice to run their operations around the clock. The price of wheat during WWI went up, affecting the high demand for wheat. With that, plowing greatly increased and there was ample rainfall. Times were good for the farmers, they were growing in wealth. During the war, â€Å"Wheat will win the war!† was the mantra of the day. The push to produce more and more wheat turned farms into factories and profits were high. People became greedy and pushed for more and more harvest of wheat. By this time there had been four generations of farmers who had worked the land, but they did not realize they needed to keep some of the natural prairie grasses because that was what held the dirt down and kept it from blowing away. All the loose topsoil was exposed and at the mercy of the winds. No one could have foresaw a drought occurring and even the most experienced farmers might have thought if a drought were to hit it would not last long. Worster states, â€Å"Over the nation as a whole, the 1930s drought was in the words of a Weather Bureau scientist, â€Å"the worst in the climatological historyShow MoreRelatedThe Dust Bowl Essay1436 Words   |  6 PagesOklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico—the Dust Bowl was a time where over 100 million acres of topsoil were stripped from fertile fields leaving nothing but barren lands and piles of dust everywhere (Ganzel). While things were done to alleviate the problem, one must question whether or not anyone has learned from this disaster. If not, one must look into the possibility that the United States may be struck by such a destructive drought as the Dust Bowl, if not a worse one that would leave us withRead MoreThe Cause Of The Dust Bowl1181 Words   |  5 Pages16 October 2017  Outline Thesis: The Dust Bowl of the 1930s forever changed how Americans thought of and treated our farm lands in the Great Plains. Introduction I. Causes of the Dust Bowl A. The Drought in the Great Plains B. Improper Tending of the Land II. People Affected by the Dust Bowl A. Lawrence Srobin, Aris D. Carlson, and John Steinbeck B. Statistics of the Damage C. Farmer’s Problems Before the Dust Bowl III. FDR’s Fix for the Dust Bowl A. Strategic Planting of Trees in theRead MoreEssay on GKE 1 Task 1999 Words   |  4 Pagesimportant part of the diet of many today. (International year of, 2008) C. Two significant environmental or physical geographic factors that contributed to the development or expansion of the United States were the California gold rush and the dust bowl. People came to California with gold fever from all across the country and even Mexico. Word spread quickly and in just a matter of months, word had spread to Hawaii, Oregon, and even Central America. Before the end of the year 1848, news of theRead MoreThe Dust Bowl Of The Great West1172 Words   |  5 PagesLucia Martinez Professor Kim Wombles English 1302 September 21, 2015 The Dust Bowl Imagine a great wall closing in on you with nowhere to run. Imagine sweeping a floor of sand that will never go away. Imagine having a terrible cough that leaves your throat irritated and raw to the point where you are coughing up blood. Imagine the disappointment of realizing a possible rain cloud is really a wall of dust rushing your way. For people living in the Midwest during the 1930s this wasRead MoreThe Dust Bowl and Agriculture Essay1070 Words   |  5 Pages One has not experienced the life of living in dirt until he has been in the dust bowl. It was a decade-long dust storm that impacted hundreds of farmers and their farmlands. Hardship was among one of the influences of the storm, which affected both farm workers and city folks. The storm also brought the elements of destruction and darkness, which reigned chaos across the Plains. Together, these issues gave the storm its popular name, â€Å"black blizzard† (Documentary, 2014). Such a name was given due Read MoreThe Great Depression Caused The Depression998 Words   |  4 Pagescustomer demanded it. After 2 years of the Stock Market crash over 20,00 companies and business went bankrupt and many people had high levels of debt after the stock market crash, more than 3000 banks were bankrupt, and left other banks that were still surviving not being able to lend out any more loans throughout America. The American economy was in recovery mode for the devastating loss of 10 percent of the American economy after Black Tuesday. Many people during the Roaring twenties bought things withRead MoreThe Most Devastating Dust Storm Ever Essay2029 Words   |  9 PagesThe Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s was one of the worst environmental disasters of the Twentieth Century anywhere in the world (Cook). The Dust Bowl killed many crops and made normal life hard, like breathing, eating, and sleeping. Since it destroyed a large part of agriculture production, it contributed towards the Great Depression (Amadeo). In order for us to better understand what the Dust Bowl was like, one must first look at what this natural disaster was, what the effects of it were, andRead MoreEssay about The Great Depression in the United States2551 Words   |  11 Pagesplaces even more. The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were one of the most famous events in Americas history caused during this time. This period of time impacted the economy, unemployment rate, other foreign countries, and the many lives of the people. The Dust Bowl was part of the reason why the 30s were so devastating. The Dust Bowl was a horrific event for the people at the time. It was also known as the â€Å"Dirty Thirties†. The Dust Bowl got its name from a report written by reporter RobertRead MoreThe Great Depression And Its Effects On Society Essay1548 Words   |  7 Pagesbanks went out of business and the entire American banking system reached the brink of collapse. In addition to these harrowing conditions the United States suffered a severe drought situated in Oklahoma and other prairie states. This area; which was once a grassland rich in fertile soil fit for farming; was labelled the Dust Bowl. Many families had settled here, but with no chance of maintaining their farmland and earning enough to live on, they were forced to abandon their homes, fleeing westward toRead MoreGlobal Climate Changes Happen?1630 Words   |  7 Pagesto successfully grow a lot of the things that they are used to growing with their climate. Some crops cannot live in warmer temperatures but instead need cooler climates. While the Earth is heating up, these crops are having a lot of difficulty surviving. I feel that the United States could be doing a lot more to help prevent the climate changes. Producing oil and coal to better our economy seems to be the main focus rather than making the changes necessary to take some effective action. Europe