Causes And Effects Of The Dust Bowl Essay

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“In 1933, at the worst point in the Great Depression years, unemployment rates in the United States reached almost 25%, with more than 11 million people looking for work” ("The Causes and Effects of the Great Depression”). Immigrants migrated into the U.S., mainly in hopes of accomplishing the American Dream and living an opportunistic life. However, in the 1930s Americans became disillusioned and skeptical of their livelihood due to the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, which altered the American Dream into a desperate hope for survival. Following the Roaring Twenties, from 1920 to 1929, began the grueling Great Depression in which hundreds suffered from unemployment and a collapse in
Poor agricultural practices and years of drought caused the Dust Bowl, planting the same crop on the same area of land year after year caused the topsoil to become dusty, wind storms eroded the soil lifting dust into the air, thus creating the Dust Bowl ("The Dust Bowl” & “The Era of Arid Air"). By growing the same crop on the same land the soil became depleted in nutrients creating a dusty top layer. Despite their best efforts, farmers were unable to grow crops for there was no topsoil and no water because of the drought. Unable to grow crops, consequently many farmers could not afford to pay rent and without an income a “...quarter of the farmers fled the area, ...toward California, where they believed they would find plentiful work and better conditions.” ("The Dust Bowl” &” The Era of Arid Air"). This meant that a quarter of the farmers who supplied food for the U.S. fled the area resulting in a lack of food, therefore affecting the economy as well as those who depended on the food supplied by these farmers. For those who continued to inhabit the Southern plains the dust caused pneumonia when inhaled into the lungs and led to the death of both children and livestock ("The Dust Bowl” & “The Era of Arid Air"). In a pursuit to reduce the amount
History in Context. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. Gale, 2008. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"The American Dream." What Is The American Dream? Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"American Experience." PBS. PBS, 1996-2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"The Causes and Effects of the Great Depression - College Essays - 413 Words." StudyMode. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
"Causes of the Great Depression." History in Context. Ed. Allison McNeill, Richard C. Hanes, and Shanon M. Hanes. Gale, 2003. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
"The Dust Bowl & The Era of Arid Air." The Dust Bowl & The Era of Arid Air. Texas Air Comfort, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
"New Deal." U.S. History in Context. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Gale, 1999. Web. 18 Nov.

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