Dust Bowl

Causes More people populated the West after the Civil War because of the Homestead Act Farmers neglected the land by not rotating crops and leaving fields fallow causing erosion Over-plowing by farmers led to a loss of vegetation that held the soil in place These factors along with the Great Drought of 1934 led to the Dust Bowl

Impact Black Blizzards: Large dust storm that appear as a “black blizzard” One 2-day “Black Blizzard” started in South Dakota and went through Chicago all the way to Boston This left 500,000 people homeless, 400 houses were destroyed, and 2.5 million people migrated from the Plains States

Response The government created New Deal programs to help aid the families and farmers in need Ex) Soil Erosion Service, Federal Surplus Relief Corporation, Drought Relief Service, Resettlement Agency, etc. Farms Security Administration hired Dorothea Lange to document “Okies”