Dust Bowl
By Austin and Mason
What is the Dust Bowl?
The Dust Bowl was a time period of severe drought and dust storms in the 30's. It got it name officially after the actions of Black Sunday, which was when a dust cloud formed in the plains and traveled to the East coast. It was a time of where the land wasn't able to be farmed, and the topsoil was loose.
How did the Dust Bowl affect the farmers of the Great Plains?
The land of the farmers of the Great Plains area had land they couldn't farm. The topsoil had been blown away since they didn't have any rain because of the drought. The usual grass wasn't able to secure the topsoil layer of land. Since the farmers didn't have any crops to trade, they didn't have any money. This resulted in foreclosure, and about 10% of the farmer population moved to new conditions.
How did the Dust Bowl affect the overall economy
The economy was at an all-time low, because of the Great Depression going on. The lack of trade able crops also dropped the market even lower. The flow of money within the states was halted drastically by the stock market crash, one of the dependent cash flows was gone. The food of America was also at a lower amount than usual.
The Grapes of Wrath
The Grapes of Wrath brought about a conflict. It depicted the unwilling to break character of the migrant worker. This made many people think John Steinbeck as a socialist or someone who isn't against it. It depicted the actual life of the migrant workers, and he hinted at the thoughts of socialism. It also made the Californian farmers angry, because it showed them as brutes. This aroused some of the thoughts of how the migrants should be treated, and it was even revered by Eleanor Roosevelt.