The nineteen thirties can only be described as a time that tried man’s souls. It was this decade that both the Great depression and the dust bowl occurred. Everywhere across the board people were hurting. After the stock market crashed in nineteen twenty- nine, people from all walks of life found themselves in search of work, shelter, and food. However, most of those people did not have to deal with the threat of death by sand. That horror was a reality the people of the Great Plains had to deal with on a daily basis. That is however, until the dust storms dissipated after nineteen thirty-five. Never the less those that lived on the Great Plains endured one of the greatest environmental and economical disasters that American has ever faced; because the plains natural defense of sand erosions was gone farm land simply blew away; those that could not take the shifting sands fled their homes, and recovery for this area did not come swiftly.
Before the first settlers ever set foot on the Great Plains, the area was a grass land. The grass was a natural defense mechanism formed to keep the soil in place because of the volatile winds that swept through the plains; as well as the intense droughts coupled with wet seasons. In some areas the grass could reach as high as eight feet with roots going at least six feet deep. Other parts of the plains had the type of grass that the buffalo liked to eat, so naturally when settlers in the region realized the potential, they set about cattle ranching. However, the whole dust bowl region was not all grass land. Wisconsin, for example was a sandy region. This did not deter people from trying to settle the region however: “Both native-born and foreigner came to the sands because they found inexpensive land that could be cleared and worked with little capital. That the land was by and large unsuited for agriculture did not deter them. Possessing either the optimism of the ignorant or the fatalism of the desperate, they steered their long- shared breaking plows through the newly cleared jackpine or oak scrub and planted their first crops among the stumps.[1]” This new land was a ticking time bomb that would only take such abuse for so long, before it final had enough and fought back.
Shifting sands and drought were not new to the Great Plains region. For many years the plains found a harmonious balance between drought, wind and rain. Just ask the native peoples that lived there when the buffalo roamed wild. However, no amount of evolution could prepare the Great Plains for the disasters that loomed due to capitalism. The plains first experienced the worst of capitalism when the cattle ranchers allowed their cattle to overgraze. When cattle ranching went on the decline a new threat loomed, and that was the threat of the hopeful farmer. This was the time that agribusiness started to flourish. Farmers were no longer just farming to put food on their tables, but they were farming to feed the U.S. This concept drove farmers to plow more land, and with the invention of the tractor, which was made widely available, horses were no longer needed. Thus, more land opened up because it was no longer being used for grazing; so they plowed that land as well; all the while uprooting their only hope against violent dust storms.
It is as if these farmers and cattle ranchers forgot about the drought season. However, the nineteen thirties proved to be a reminder to everyone that this region would not fit into the mold of dutiful land: “New high Temperature records were established in the summer of 1934, and the total of nearly 300 deaths from excessive heat was four times the previous high of 75 deaths in 1931. As a result of the drought, dust storms of unprecedented intensity and duration occurred during the 3-month period from (including part of the two months) February to May, inclusive, of the Present year.”[2] For some people the dust storms were to be expected: “It’s quite to be expected that the greatest drought in the history of the prairie region should be followed by the greatest storms. And then always come the wet years. It’s a cycle as certain as that of the seasons!”[3] Even though some farmers expected these storms, they did not expect them to last as long as they did, or be as fearsome as they were. The people of the Plains had two options when it came to the drought and dust storms: either live with the drought and hope for better times, or leave the area.
Those that chose to stay were eternal optimists, or rather those just too stubborn to leave. A favorite saying of the plains folk was, “If we are poor today, we will be rich tomorrow. If there is drought, it will rain soon.”[4] Sadly, optimism could not stop the storms from rolling across the land. Optimism could not make the rain come or the crops grow. Those that stayed in the plains faced dust pneumonia and endless cleaning. One of the only preventative measures against dust pneumonia was a wet cloth over the face. However, dust mask and wet cloths could only keep out some of the dust particles. Caroline Henderson describes the everyday battle these optimists faced: “At the little country store of our neighborhood after one of the worst of these storms, the candies in the show case all looked alike and equally brown… ‘Dust to eat’, and dust to breath and dust to drink. Dust in the beds and in the flour bin, on dishes and walls and windows, in hair and eyes and ears and teeth and throats, to say nothing of the heaped up accumulation on floors and window sills after one of the bad days.”[5] They did their best to dust proof their homes so this would not happen. However, they learned the hard way that sand gets everywhere. The rest of the world considered these people nuts for sticking it out, but if these brave souls would have abandoned their homes we would not have the legacy they made for us. Even though these stubborn optimists had to eat dirt, at the end of the drought and storms they still had their land and pride; which is better than what those that left the area ended up with.
Not only were those that stayed fierce optimists, but they were devoted to keeping a positive image of the plain. It was the old adage; we can say things like, “…a man was knocked unconscious by a single large raindrop which fell on his head, and who revived when two buckets of sand were thrown in his face.”[6] But do not let Alexandre Hogue paint a picture titled “Drouth Survivors”, because it will almost be destroyed before it could be sold. The plains people were what they were, and they were nothing if not fierce survivors. They did not willingly choose their lot, because how were they to know plowing up all the grass would cause such devastating erosion of the land they loved.
Those that left the dust bowl regions did so because they felt they had no other options left to them. They were tired of eating dirt. Tired of wondering where their next meal would come from. They were tired of hunkering down in fear when the winds came howling, bringing with them the promise of more dirt and no rain; this translated into no crops for food, or crops to sell for that matter. So the next great migration happened. A good portion of the farmers just moved into the nearest town, but as the old saying goes: if one is in the market for a new life, head west. These tired farmers who had nothing left to lose, packed up their families and rather meager belongings, and headed for California. Even though these misfortunate people came from all over the Great Plains region, they never the less became known as Okies. Once they reach California their dreams are dashed forever because they find out that: “Land in abundance but not for the Okies, work at certain seasons but at starvation wages, beauty of vista but miserable hovels for migrants and unsightly and unsanitary camps, a sympathetic attitude by an occasional small farmer but wages and working conditions set by the remote associations, and at the slightest symptom of protest brutal suppression by traffic officers, special deputies and pick handle vigilantes.”[7] This was not what they had in mind at all; “they ‘wanted fiercely to resettle on property of their own’…But the Okies’ dream of becoming self-sufficient family farmers was completely unrealistic.”[8] It was a sad situation these dust bowl refugees found themselves in, because they learned the hard way they were not the only ones suffering economically. Although they were the only ones having to deal with their back yards moving several days out of each month. John Steinbeck drew inspiration from the plight of the Okies, and wrote a great American novel called Grapes of Wrath. Although it was a fictional piece, it highlighted the day to day struggles that these migrants were facing. Steinbeck believed the people were not running from the dust, but rather running from corporation-owned farms. Sadly, the truth was the migrants that left the dust bowl region were just plain tired of all the dust and no rain. It is a simple fact: one cannot grow crops without water.
While all of this was going on, Roosevelt was lobbing for all of his New Deal programs. He choose to ignore the Great Plains region, just like his predecessor[9], because the region was in a drought after all. Of course, he did have several programs in place to help the farmers. The only problem was, nothing was working. The plains people sent letter after letter to the president asking for help. They went unheeded until the Plains decided to send a message all their own: “…it was the May 1994 blow that swept in a new dark age. On 9 May, brown earth from Montana and Wyoming swirled up from the ground, was captured by extremely high-level winds, and was blown eastward toward the Dakotas. More dirt was sucked in the airstream, until 350 million tons were riding toward urban America.”[10] It was this particular storm that made Roosevelt pay more attention to the Plains region, because he was faced with the dirt of the Plains settling on the White House grounds. Oh, how helpful the American public became then. A lot of people had ideas about how to fix the problem of the blowing sands. One guy suggested “the ground be covered with concrete, leaving holes for planting seeds.”[11] Imagine the whole Great Plains region covered in concrete. It would never work, and Roosevelt was smart enough to know that. Regardless of all the helpful advice from the public, Roosevelt came up with his own ideas.
The recovery effort for the plain was long and slow. Not everyone was happy for the hand outs. For example, the Okies that migrated to California held strong views: “Like most white southerners of their day the migrants were Democrats, who supported FDR but preferred that problems be solved at the local level. They disliked the idea of a large federal government and, for the most part were opposed to large-scale government relief efforts even for themselves. ‘If people stay on relief too long it takes somethin’ out of them.”’[12] However, these migrants were still willing to accept the relief that was being offered. It was after all better than the alternative.
Another way the government was helping fight back against the trouble in the plains was that it bought most of the cattle that had survived the dust storms. Those lucky cattle who did not have their insides coated in mud, were sold and turned in to canned meat. The meat was then given away to the poor. Even though the cattle farmers lost money by selling livestock to the government, at this point any money was better than no money at all. With the money they received, livestock farmers were able to pay back loans they had borrowed, and therefore survive until it rained.
By all accounts, the worst of the storms ended after what has become known as Black Sunday. It is a good thing that this storm was the last major storm that happened, because “instant darkness followed, lasting 40 minutes. Then for a period of about 3 hours there was darkness, with occasional breaks of very short duration. By midnight the dust became light. Many people were caught out in the storm, and these people had a variety of experiences to relate after the storm had passed…The almost entire absence of all birds following the storm is one proof of its severity. Another proof of its severity was shown in the great number of jack rabbits seen lying dead on the prairies during the next few days.”[13] It was a good thing that this was the dust bowls last great hoorah, because as resilient as the Great Plains people were, the human soul can only put up with so much devastation. After this last great storm, there were several smaller ones that happened, but they weren’t so bad as to warrant any more people leaving. With all the drought relief money flowing in, and all the government programs set up to rehabilitate the grasslands, the Great Plains stabilized somewhat. With the return of the rain, instead of dust, things were looking up for the people considered the dust bowl survivors.
When it was all said and done, the dust bowl was one of the worst environmental disasters to happen in America. Luckily for future generations, the people of the plains learned their lesson, and started to respect the land. Albeit the people of the region still prescribe to till the land up; it is after all there for our use. They go about it in a way that keeps harmony with the land. After all, nobody wants a repeat of the dirty thirties. Wheat farmers were the early successors in the region, and in today’s time wheat is still the main crop in the Great Plains. It is, after all, where we get our cereal from. Those that migrated to California ended up staying, and to this day there are still little pockets that can be traced to the unfortunate Okies. Even though land was lost, people fled, and recovery was slow; the Great Plains survived and is now thriving. The stubborn optimist won out in the end. Even though the odds were against them they did not waver, so future generations could become stewards of the land.
[1] Goc. Michael J, “The Wisconsin Dust Bowl” The Wisconsin Magazine of history, 73.3 (1990): 162-201.
[2] Brown, Earle G. "Dust Storms and Their Possible Effect on Health: With Special Reference to the Dust Storms in Kansas in 1935." Public Health Reports (1896-1970) 50.40 (1935): 1369-383.
[3] Umland, Rudolph. "Spring of the Black Blizzards." Prairie Schooner 9.4 (1935): 243-49.
[4] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[5] Henderson, Caroline A. and Alvin O. Tuner. Letters from the Dust Bowl. Norman: U Oklahoma. 2001 Print
[6] Umland, Rudolph. "Spring of the Black Blizzards." Prairie Schooner 9.4 (1935): 243-49.
[7] Caughey, John Walton. "Current Discussion of California's Migrant Labor Problem." Pacific Historical Review 8.3 (1939): 347-54.
[8] Shindo, Charles J. “The Dust Bowl Myth.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976) 24.4 (2000) 25-30
[9] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[10] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[11] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[12] Shindo, Charles J. “The Dust Bowl Myth.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976) 24.4 (2000) 25-30
[13] Brown, Earle G. "Dust Storms and Their Possible Effect on Health: With Special Reference to the Dust Storms in Kansas in 1935." Public Health Reports (1896-1970) 50.40 (1935): 1369-383.
Before the first settlers ever set foot on the Great Plains, the area was a grass land. The grass was a natural defense mechanism formed to keep the soil in place because of the volatile winds that swept through the plains; as well as the intense droughts coupled with wet seasons. In some areas the grass could reach as high as eight feet with roots going at least six feet deep. Other parts of the plains had the type of grass that the buffalo liked to eat, so naturally when settlers in the region realized the potential, they set about cattle ranching. However, the whole dust bowl region was not all grass land. Wisconsin, for example was a sandy region. This did not deter people from trying to settle the region however: “Both native-born and foreigner came to the sands because they found inexpensive land that could be cleared and worked with little capital. That the land was by and large unsuited for agriculture did not deter them. Possessing either the optimism of the ignorant or the fatalism of the desperate, they steered their long- shared breaking plows through the newly cleared jackpine or oak scrub and planted their first crops among the stumps.[1]” This new land was a ticking time bomb that would only take such abuse for so long, before it final had enough and fought back.
Shifting sands and drought were not new to the Great Plains region. For many years the plains found a harmonious balance between drought, wind and rain. Just ask the native peoples that lived there when the buffalo roamed wild. However, no amount of evolution could prepare the Great Plains for the disasters that loomed due to capitalism. The plains first experienced the worst of capitalism when the cattle ranchers allowed their cattle to overgraze. When cattle ranching went on the decline a new threat loomed, and that was the threat of the hopeful farmer. This was the time that agribusiness started to flourish. Farmers were no longer just farming to put food on their tables, but they were farming to feed the U.S. This concept drove farmers to plow more land, and with the invention of the tractor, which was made widely available, horses were no longer needed. Thus, more land opened up because it was no longer being used for grazing; so they plowed that land as well; all the while uprooting their only hope against violent dust storms.
It is as if these farmers and cattle ranchers forgot about the drought season. However, the nineteen thirties proved to be a reminder to everyone that this region would not fit into the mold of dutiful land: “New high Temperature records were established in the summer of 1934, and the total of nearly 300 deaths from excessive heat was four times the previous high of 75 deaths in 1931. As a result of the drought, dust storms of unprecedented intensity and duration occurred during the 3-month period from (including part of the two months) February to May, inclusive, of the Present year.”[2] For some people the dust storms were to be expected: “It’s quite to be expected that the greatest drought in the history of the prairie region should be followed by the greatest storms. And then always come the wet years. It’s a cycle as certain as that of the seasons!”[3] Even though some farmers expected these storms, they did not expect them to last as long as they did, or be as fearsome as they were. The people of the Plains had two options when it came to the drought and dust storms: either live with the drought and hope for better times, or leave the area.
Those that chose to stay were eternal optimists, or rather those just too stubborn to leave. A favorite saying of the plains folk was, “If we are poor today, we will be rich tomorrow. If there is drought, it will rain soon.”[4] Sadly, optimism could not stop the storms from rolling across the land. Optimism could not make the rain come or the crops grow. Those that stayed in the plains faced dust pneumonia and endless cleaning. One of the only preventative measures against dust pneumonia was a wet cloth over the face. However, dust mask and wet cloths could only keep out some of the dust particles. Caroline Henderson describes the everyday battle these optimists faced: “At the little country store of our neighborhood after one of the worst of these storms, the candies in the show case all looked alike and equally brown… ‘Dust to eat’, and dust to breath and dust to drink. Dust in the beds and in the flour bin, on dishes and walls and windows, in hair and eyes and ears and teeth and throats, to say nothing of the heaped up accumulation on floors and window sills after one of the bad days.”[5] They did their best to dust proof their homes so this would not happen. However, they learned the hard way that sand gets everywhere. The rest of the world considered these people nuts for sticking it out, but if these brave souls would have abandoned their homes we would not have the legacy they made for us. Even though these stubborn optimists had to eat dirt, at the end of the drought and storms they still had their land and pride; which is better than what those that left the area ended up with.
Not only were those that stayed fierce optimists, but they were devoted to keeping a positive image of the plain. It was the old adage; we can say things like, “…a man was knocked unconscious by a single large raindrop which fell on his head, and who revived when two buckets of sand were thrown in his face.”[6] But do not let Alexandre Hogue paint a picture titled “Drouth Survivors”, because it will almost be destroyed before it could be sold. The plains people were what they were, and they were nothing if not fierce survivors. They did not willingly choose their lot, because how were they to know plowing up all the grass would cause such devastating erosion of the land they loved.
Those that left the dust bowl regions did so because they felt they had no other options left to them. They were tired of eating dirt. Tired of wondering where their next meal would come from. They were tired of hunkering down in fear when the winds came howling, bringing with them the promise of more dirt and no rain; this translated into no crops for food, or crops to sell for that matter. So the next great migration happened. A good portion of the farmers just moved into the nearest town, but as the old saying goes: if one is in the market for a new life, head west. These tired farmers who had nothing left to lose, packed up their families and rather meager belongings, and headed for California. Even though these misfortunate people came from all over the Great Plains region, they never the less became known as Okies. Once they reach California their dreams are dashed forever because they find out that: “Land in abundance but not for the Okies, work at certain seasons but at starvation wages, beauty of vista but miserable hovels for migrants and unsightly and unsanitary camps, a sympathetic attitude by an occasional small farmer but wages and working conditions set by the remote associations, and at the slightest symptom of protest brutal suppression by traffic officers, special deputies and pick handle vigilantes.”[7] This was not what they had in mind at all; “they ‘wanted fiercely to resettle on property of their own’…But the Okies’ dream of becoming self-sufficient family farmers was completely unrealistic.”[8] It was a sad situation these dust bowl refugees found themselves in, because they learned the hard way they were not the only ones suffering economically. Although they were the only ones having to deal with their back yards moving several days out of each month. John Steinbeck drew inspiration from the plight of the Okies, and wrote a great American novel called Grapes of Wrath. Although it was a fictional piece, it highlighted the day to day struggles that these migrants were facing. Steinbeck believed the people were not running from the dust, but rather running from corporation-owned farms. Sadly, the truth was the migrants that left the dust bowl region were just plain tired of all the dust and no rain. It is a simple fact: one cannot grow crops without water.
While all of this was going on, Roosevelt was lobbing for all of his New Deal programs. He choose to ignore the Great Plains region, just like his predecessor[9], because the region was in a drought after all. Of course, he did have several programs in place to help the farmers. The only problem was, nothing was working. The plains people sent letter after letter to the president asking for help. They went unheeded until the Plains decided to send a message all their own: “…it was the May 1994 blow that swept in a new dark age. On 9 May, brown earth from Montana and Wyoming swirled up from the ground, was captured by extremely high-level winds, and was blown eastward toward the Dakotas. More dirt was sucked in the airstream, until 350 million tons were riding toward urban America.”[10] It was this particular storm that made Roosevelt pay more attention to the Plains region, because he was faced with the dirt of the Plains settling on the White House grounds. Oh, how helpful the American public became then. A lot of people had ideas about how to fix the problem of the blowing sands. One guy suggested “the ground be covered with concrete, leaving holes for planting seeds.”[11] Imagine the whole Great Plains region covered in concrete. It would never work, and Roosevelt was smart enough to know that. Regardless of all the helpful advice from the public, Roosevelt came up with his own ideas.
The recovery effort for the plain was long and slow. Not everyone was happy for the hand outs. For example, the Okies that migrated to California held strong views: “Like most white southerners of their day the migrants were Democrats, who supported FDR but preferred that problems be solved at the local level. They disliked the idea of a large federal government and, for the most part were opposed to large-scale government relief efforts even for themselves. ‘If people stay on relief too long it takes somethin’ out of them.”’[12] However, these migrants were still willing to accept the relief that was being offered. It was after all better than the alternative.
Another way the government was helping fight back against the trouble in the plains was that it bought most of the cattle that had survived the dust storms. Those lucky cattle who did not have their insides coated in mud, were sold and turned in to canned meat. The meat was then given away to the poor. Even though the cattle farmers lost money by selling livestock to the government, at this point any money was better than no money at all. With the money they received, livestock farmers were able to pay back loans they had borrowed, and therefore survive until it rained.
By all accounts, the worst of the storms ended after what has become known as Black Sunday. It is a good thing that this storm was the last major storm that happened, because “instant darkness followed, lasting 40 minutes. Then for a period of about 3 hours there was darkness, with occasional breaks of very short duration. By midnight the dust became light. Many people were caught out in the storm, and these people had a variety of experiences to relate after the storm had passed…The almost entire absence of all birds following the storm is one proof of its severity. Another proof of its severity was shown in the great number of jack rabbits seen lying dead on the prairies during the next few days.”[13] It was a good thing that this was the dust bowls last great hoorah, because as resilient as the Great Plains people were, the human soul can only put up with so much devastation. After this last great storm, there were several smaller ones that happened, but they weren’t so bad as to warrant any more people leaving. With all the drought relief money flowing in, and all the government programs set up to rehabilitate the grasslands, the Great Plains stabilized somewhat. With the return of the rain, instead of dust, things were looking up for the people considered the dust bowl survivors.
When it was all said and done, the dust bowl was one of the worst environmental disasters to happen in America. Luckily for future generations, the people of the plains learned their lesson, and started to respect the land. Albeit the people of the region still prescribe to till the land up; it is after all there for our use. They go about it in a way that keeps harmony with the land. After all, nobody wants a repeat of the dirty thirties. Wheat farmers were the early successors in the region, and in today’s time wheat is still the main crop in the Great Plains. It is, after all, where we get our cereal from. Those that migrated to California ended up staying, and to this day there are still little pockets that can be traced to the unfortunate Okies. Even though land was lost, people fled, and recovery was slow; the Great Plains survived and is now thriving. The stubborn optimist won out in the end. Even though the odds were against them they did not waver, so future generations could become stewards of the land.
[1] Goc. Michael J, “The Wisconsin Dust Bowl” The Wisconsin Magazine of history, 73.3 (1990): 162-201.
[2] Brown, Earle G. "Dust Storms and Their Possible Effect on Health: With Special Reference to the Dust Storms in Kansas in 1935." Public Health Reports (1896-1970) 50.40 (1935): 1369-383.
[3] Umland, Rudolph. "Spring of the Black Blizzards." Prairie Schooner 9.4 (1935): 243-49.
[4] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[5] Henderson, Caroline A. and Alvin O. Tuner. Letters from the Dust Bowl. Norman: U Oklahoma. 2001 Print
[6] Umland, Rudolph. "Spring of the Black Blizzards." Prairie Schooner 9.4 (1935): 243-49.
[7] Caughey, John Walton. "Current Discussion of California's Migrant Labor Problem." Pacific Historical Review 8.3 (1939): 347-54.
[8] Shindo, Charles J. “The Dust Bowl Myth.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976) 24.4 (2000) 25-30
[9] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[10] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[11] Worster, Donald. Dust bowl: the Southern Plains in the 1930. New York: Oxford UP. 1779. Pint
[12] Shindo, Charles J. “The Dust Bowl Myth.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976) 24.4 (2000) 25-30
[13] Brown, Earle G. "Dust Storms and Their Possible Effect on Health: With Special Reference to the Dust Storms in Kansas in 1935." Public Health Reports (1896-1970) 50.40 (1935): 1369-383.