Dust Bowl Research Paper

The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl swept across the southern Plains in the 1930s. During the Dust Bowl there were severe dust storms and it was a drought. During the 1930s the great depression was going on.The Dust Bowl made the depression be felt even more. Life on the Plains (Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico) changed very much. Many farmers had to find new jobs and some even lost homes because the shortage on crops to sell. From 1931 to 1939 the Dust Bowl went on. Finally, in 1939 rain came down and ended the Dust Bowl. The Dust Bowl were severe storms in the midwest. Many things caused this. The Dust Bowl went on from 1930 to 1940. These were very tough times for the people of the midwest as the country was already going through

According to Kimberly Amadeo the Dust Bowl was “The Dust Bowl was an area in the Midwest that was severely affected by drought from 1931-1939. The drought killed crops that had previously kept the rich black soil in place. When winds blew, they raised enormous clouds of dust that deposited mounds of dirt on everything, even covering houses. Dust suffocated livestock and caused pneumonia in children. At times, dirt from the storms even reached Washington DC. The drought and dust destroyed a large part of agricultural production, worsening The Great Depression.(http://useconomy.about.com/od/criticalssues/p/The_Dust_Bowl.htm).” The Dust Bowl was widespread and caused many problems in the US. According to Jess Porter, The removal of native grasses to pursue riches from the cultivation of wheat set the stage for the disaster. Only the expertise of the government could hope to salvage the plains (Porter). Many people say it was the farmers fault who farmed on the plains. The farmers did not know the correct way to farm they were just so focused on making men and producing crops. After World War I farmers created a way to produce more wheat without it costing them much money. Many farmers purchased plows and other equipment. Farmers plowed many acres of land in efforts to make money. This farming technique the farmers used helped produce record numbers of wheat from 1925 to 1930. This occurred during the Great Depression, so on the

Many people died of dust pneumonia due to the massive amounts of dust inhaled. The lungs of people in his area became clogged with dust and dirt. Another problem was Rickets. According to Jayde Taylor, Christina Acevedo, and Shelley King, “Rickets is a softening of bones in children. They get it when they are lacking vitamin D, phosphorous, or calcium. It can lead to fractures and deformity. Also midwesterners had Valley Fever which is a lung disease. It is endemic in the southwestern United States, northwestern Mexico, Central America, and South America. This fungus naturally grows in alkaline soil in hot, dry areas. The spores can lie formant for a long time in harsh condtions like heat and drought. They become airborne when soil is stirred up by winds, vehicles, construction, agriculture, and many other activities. A person or animal contracts it by breathing in the spores. Once infection occurs in the lungs the spore becomes a larger, multicellular structure called a spherule. Most of the time symptoms don't show up for 2-3 weeks after exposure, if they have symptoms. 60% of people don't even have symptoms.” Valley Fever and Rickets were both widespread. Sickness was very massive during the nine year period that the dust bowl went on. Many kids were also suffered from malnutrition. The people were going through a Great Depression, people really did not have money to afford food. The dust storms destroyed over five million