VUS 10: The Great Depression and New Deal

The Great Plains of the Central United States, had been some of the World’s richest farmland. Many families settled there following the Civil War.

The Dust Bowl was caused by both the natural disaster of the drought and by people farming on the land. Farmers had to cut the prairie grass so they could grow crops. The prairie grass is what held the soil in place during times of little rain.

The Great Plains of the 1930s were dry and dusty. Little rain fell after The first great dust storm was in Dust storms continued until 1941.

Not much could grow because the topsoil was blowing away. There was little or no rain. The wind blew so hard that the soil killed both crops and farm animals.

People could not raise crops in the dust. Chickens died, choking on dust, and cattle starved to death. Vegetables could not grow. Wells ran dry. People were hungry without much to eat.

Most people in the southern and mid- western parts of the United States were farmers. Tenant farmers and share croppers, unable to pay rent, were turned out by landlords.

Families lost their farms when banks foreclosed. Many farm families went to California looking for work.

Those farmers who stayed on their farms received help from the federal government through the Farm Security Administration. For many, the help came too late.

Many scientists believe that farmers stripped away too much of the prairie grass in order to plant crops. The grass is what held down the top soils. When the drought came the dry soil simply blew away.

Yes! Many scientists believe that the United States has too much land in production. This would allow the top soil to blow away if it got too dry. The western part of the country has been in drought conditions for several years.