Journey Through the Dust Bowl

1. Journey Through the Dust Bowl

2. Introduction The Great Depression devastatingly impacted the entire United States (and even had negative effects on other countries), but perhaps those hurt the most were the farming families of the Great Plains. A vast drought turned the once fertile fields into acres of dust. The land grew parched; the crops dried up and blew away; agricultural prices plummeted; and violent dust storms raged through the Midwest.

3. The Dust Storms • Nicknamed “Black Blizzards” • Began in 1931 • Caused by the dried up crops, the over-plowed fields, and the over-grazed plains • 38 dust storms ravaged the Midwest in 1933 alone

4. Fierce dust storms, signaled only by monstrous black clouds, appeared out of nowhere, burying automobiles, farm equipment, livestock, and even people. When the storms struck in the light of day, Dust Bowl residents swear that it was as dark as night. If you were caught away from home when one hit, you were lucky if you could find shelter in a nearby house, barn, or shed until the storm passed. Dust stung your eyes, irritated your nose and throat, settled on furniture, covered windows, and even made its way into the very food on your dinner table.

5. This map highlights the area of the U.S. that became known as “The Dust Bowl” during the 1930s. Hit especially hard were the southern plains.

6. Did rain come and end the drought? Did crops spring from the earth once more? Sadly, no. Farmers had no choice but to foreclose. Families packed up and migrated west, hoping to find work in the fertile orchards of California.

7. Task • You have been assigned the task of creating a journal for a fictional family who lived through the Dust Bowl. This Journal must include the following items: • A journal that has a creative cover depicting a scene, either drawn or cut, which best sums up the Dust Bowl in your own opinion. • A journal that has at least three creative entries that discuss aspects of the Dust Bowl. • Each entry must be dated, and contain relevant facts gathered through the use of the following webpages such as time, place, location, and conditions that you and your family experienced.

8. Process You can connect directly to the websites by using the right click button on your mouse and selecting “open hyperlink.” 1. http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/fordco/dustbowl/ Skim the oral history interviews with people who survived the Depression. You’ll find great, firsthand accounts here. 2. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-DustBowl.html You’ll find general information here, plus additional links to articles related to the Dust Bowl.

9. Process 3. http://drought.unl.edu/whatis/dustbowl.htm Read about the causes of drought, how farmers coped with it, and what we learned from the severe conditions our nation endured during the 1930s. 4.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/timeline/index.html Peruse the “Timeline of the Great Depression.” 5. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/afctshtml/tsme.html Here is an excellent site from the Library of Congress. It provides many details about refugees who left the Dust Bowl in the hopes of finding work in California. Try out some of the links. Look through the photo galleries and listen to songs from the Great Depression. A family from Oklahoma migrating to California.

10. Process 6. http://rs6.loc.gov/fsowhome.html View photographs from the Farm Security Administration (FSA) 7. http://history1900s.about.com/library/photos/blyindexdepression.htm Take some time to browse this collection of Depression-era photographs. Particularly take note of the photos under the headings “Dust Storms,” “Farms for Sale,” “Relocating: On the Road,” and “Migrant Workers.” 8. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/sfeature/eyewitness.html Read the excerpts from “Farming the Dust Bowl,” a memoir by Lawrence Svobida, a Kansas wheat farmer who braved the drought, gusty winds, and inescapable dust of the Great Plains in the 1930s.

11. Process 9.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/peopleevents/pandeAMEX07.html Read about “Black Sunday” (April 14, 1935). 10. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/b?ammem/fsaall:LC-USF34-018230-C:collection=fsa These striking black and white pictures depict Cimarron County. This county in Oklahoma was struck very severely by the droughts. 11. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/sfeature/newdeal.html Read about what President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs did to bring relief.

12. 1 2 3 4 At least Three journal entries no entries at all One journal entries Two journal entries All Three entries written in a clear and creative manner ____ Entries based on factual places, events, or people. No apparent basis on fact One entry seems to be based on fact Two entries appear to be based on fact All journals clearly based on fact ____ Creative and colorful cover/title page for the journal including name, date, class, teacher’s name and title. No Cover or title page A cover or title page with limited information and little effort shown  Some creativity exhibited, most information is included Great creativity exhibited with all information correct ____ Grammar Many mistakes in grammar, which impede meaning Several grammatical errors make meaning difficult to understand, but some meaning is conveyed Few grammatical errors, which do not impede meaning No grammatical errors and meaning is clearly conveyed ____ Total----> ____ Evaluation (continued) Journal (total 100 points) Comments:

13. Conclusion It wasn’t until the autumn of 1939 that rain watered the Dust Bowl, bringing an end to the drought. Farmers could reap harvests once again. The people of the Great Plains felt tremendous gratitude towards President Roosevelt and his New Deal programs that helped them endure the years of drought.