The Dust Bowl Effect On The Great Depression - 1032 Words

The Dust Bowl’s Effect on the Great Depression The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, pays homage to the critical impact the Great Depression had on dust bowl farmers. The growing demand for wheat products forced farmers to overgraze their property. This reduced the overall usefulness and biodiversity of the land, and attributed to the desertification of their establishments. With this, the once lush fields turned to dust, which blew away with the commencement of the severe drought in the early 1930s. Steinbeck utilizes the lives of the Joad family to depict how farmers were often forced to flee their homes in search of better jobs during this time period. Because of the stock market’s demise, no one was purchasing their crops. Banks were required to drive farmers out of their homes, as they could not afford to keep supporting them without profit. The agricultural devastation of the Dust Bowl intensified the economical impact of the Great Depression and added to the misery of the migrant workers. The wrath of nature unle ashed itself on the migrant farmers during the 1930s. During this time period, the entirety of the Midwest was plagued with drought. In fact, new scientific studies found that â€Å"the drought of the 1930s was the worst in North America in the last 300 years† (The National Drought Mitigation Center). The Earth’s surface became â€Å"a thin hard crust† (Steinbeck 1). The Great Plains were noted for their fertile soils until this ten year dry spell cursed theShow MoreRelatedThe Grapes Of Wrath By John Steinbeck1190 Words   |  5 Pageswith selling over 428,900 copies. Steinbeck, who lived through both the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, sought to bring attention to how families of Oklahoma outdid these disasters. Steinbeck focuses on families of Oklahoma, including the Joads family, who reside on a farm. The Joad family is tested with hardship when life for them on their farm takes a corrupt turn. Steinbeck symbolizes the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, as the monster, by focusing on bringing attention to how the families inRead MoreDust Bowl of the 1930s911 Words   |  4 PagesThe Dust Bowl of the 1930’s had such an antagonistic effect on the United States economy that was already plummeting. The Dust Bowl affected the U.S economy in just about every way possible ranging from agriculture to finances including government expenses to population changes. This phenomena can be considered as one of the worst natural disasters that has affected the United States. The â€Å"Dust Bowl† was the name given to the Great Plains region that was greatly affected by drought in the 1930’sRead MoreFarming During The Great Depression1210 Words   |  5 PagesNovember 2015 Farming During the Great Depression There were many factors that caused the Great Depression. But one of the main causes of the Great Depression was the farming conditions. Before the Great Depression life was great! The American life was starting to get better and better. But In the early 1930 s soil was reduced to dust and eroded, because of drought and improper farming practice. This period of long, stressful farming conditions was known as the Dust Bowl. It led to the increased numberRead MoreThe Great Depression And Dust Bowl1165 Words   |  5 PagesThe Great Depression/Dust Bowl The ‘Dirty Thirties’ is perhaps one of the most known time periods in American History. During the 1930s, the worst and longest drought occurred in the United States, this was also know as the Dust Bowl. According to Christopher Klein, the Dust Bowl is considered both a man-made and natural disaster. In fact, many events contributed to the Dust Bowl such as poor farming techniques, a severe drought, and economic depression. One of the main causes of the Dust BowlRead MoreThe Struggle Of The 1920s1322 Words   |  6 PagesWhat the Great Depression Did to America During the decades of the 1920s and 1930s, the United States underwent a series of changes that had a drastic effect on people across the nation. As the economy began to slow to a halt, millions of people were left broke and without jobs. As the country’s farmers were paralyzed with debt, food prices increased radically (McElvaine). During the mid-1930s, a series of droughts coupled with poor agricultural methods led to years of soil erosion and dust stormsRead MoreThe Great Depression : The Dust Bowl984 Words   |  4 Pages The Great Depression was a horrible time in American history, with as much as one-fourth of the population out of work. One of the hardest hit areas of the population was the agricultural center of the United States in the area that would come to be known as the Dust Bowl. The problems that the people of the Dust Bowl dealt with however were not a result of the Depression as a whole but instead were the result of a combination of bad farming decisions an d a horrible drought. Even though the timingRead MoreThe Dust Bowl Essay1038 Words   |  5 PagesThe Dust Bowl The Dust Bowl was the darkest moment in the twentieth-century life of the southern plains, (pg. 4) as described by Donald Worster in his book The Dust Bowl. It was a time of drought, famine, and poverty that existed in the 1930s. Its cause, as Worster presents in a very thorough manner, was a chain of events that was perpetuated by the basic capitalistic societys need for expansion and consumption. Considered by some as one of the worst ecological catastrophes in theRead MoreThe Great Depression : The Fall Of A Nation1701 Words   |  7 PagesCollin Brunton Ms. Biondi English II 3 March 2015 The Great Depression: The Fall of a Nation The Great Depression was a hard time for America. The name fits like a glove because it was, in fact a depression. The Great Depression was crucial to American history because it changed every aspect of American life, revealed how big a power America was, and it established multiple government agencies around the world to make sure something like it never happens again. The economy was at a highpointRead MoreThe Dust Bowl1192 Words   |  5 Pagesrushed him inside. The first of many dust storms hit and the period known as the Dust Bowl began. The Dust Bowl was a brutal time period in Midwestern history; farmers were pushed off their land and forced to find new homes in new states. On a website called Drought Disasters, sponsored by Browing University, it was written â€Å"the seeds of the Dust Bowl may have been sown during the early 1920s. However, overproduction of wheat coupled with the Great Depression led to severely reduced market prices†Read MoreAmerican History : The Great Depression1688 Words   |  7 PagesBailey Jorgensen American history The Great Depression The Great Depression The Great Depression was a terrible time for people in the United States. With the stock market crash, there were many people without jobs, homes, or they didn’t have anything. Many Americans were left with nothing more than the clothes on their back and their family. Many banks and businesses had to close because on the stock market crash. Even though these times in the thirties seemed to be hard for most people, the American