 Defining Characteristics  Boom and Bust Cycle  Great Depression- Political Impact  Great Depression- Economic Impact  Great Depression- Social Impact  Physical and Human Factors  Changing the Environment  Dust Bowl -Political Impact  Dust Bowl – Economic Impact  Dust Bowl –Social Impact

 Boom and Bust Cycle of cotton and agriculture  New Deal Programs  Dust Bowl  Sam Rayburn  Relieved by World War II

 Due to overproduction of agricultural products and the Stock Market Crash prices dropped  Dust Bowl (bad agricultural practices and droughts led to a decade of poverty and disillusionment  Businesses began to close and Texans lost their jobs.  The demand for agricultural products was not as high as the supply, causing farmers to lose their farms  World War II increased the demand for agricultural products.

 New Deal programs to provide relief – Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Public Works Administration (PWA) and Works Progress Administration (WPA)  John Nance Garner from Uvalde was Vice President under Franklin Roosevelt ( )  Sam Rayburn was the Speaker of the House (U.S. House of Representatives) and pushed for regulatory legislation that would protect the public interest. He served longer than any other legislator as Speaker of the House  Miriam “Ma” Ferguson and W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel were governors during the Depression

 Texas agricultural industry suffered because of the Dust Bowl  Funding for education and government services were severely cut  Prices for food and other products fell  Oil industry began to increase due to demand  New Deal programs employed over 100,000 Texans, built and repaired bridges, dams, roads, and parks

 North Texans migrated to California hoping for work  The social security system was established  Dust Bowl – Dust storms swept through the Great Plains causing erosion, drought, and destruction of crops  Texas celebrated its centennial the political, economic, and social impact of major events in the latter half of the 20th and early 21st centuries such as major conflicts, the emergence of a two- party system, political and economic controversies, immigration, and migration

 Dust Bowl  The climate in the Panhandle is windy, hot, and dry during the summer. Combined with three years of drought and lack of soil conservation, dust storms occurred destroying crops and causing Texans to migrate from the Panhandle and Texas. It also caused a change in farming techniques and government policies.

 The Great Depression  Soil Conservation – Texans planted trees and natural vegetation in the Texas Panhandle to prevent erosion. The result has been fewer sand storms and erosion of the land. Farming techniques were changed and the use of irrigation systems was developed.

 New Deal Programs developed methods to prevent erosion.

› Crop Prices dropped › Farms were lost to the bank › Population decreased in Panhandle towns

› Texans migrated to California and other parts of the nation › Implemented ways to stop erosion – Planting Trees, contour plowing, terracing.