How Did The Dust Bowl Affect Agriculture
Michael Clagett
Mr. Ben Demuth, Ms. Katie Noll
World History, English I
6 January 2016
The Dust Bowl
Did you know that the Dust Bowl was one of the most devastating events in the history of the United States? The Dust bowl helped improve agriculture in the U.S.
The Dust Bowl was also known as the Dirty Thirties. It greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the U.S. and Canadian Prairies. The “Homestead Act” of 1862, offered settlers 160 acre plots. Around 1904, The federal government expanded the “Homestead Act”, and created the “Kinkaid Act”. Under The Kinkaid act, the government granted 640 Acres to homesteaders in Western Nebraska. The “Enlarged Homestead Act” Granted 320 Acres to Homesteaders in the rest of the Plains area.
The rapid …show more content…
The administration also began to educate farmers on soil conservation and anti-erosion techniques, including crop rotation, strip farming,contour plowing, terracing, and other improved farming practices. In 1937, the federal government began an aggressive campaign to encourage farmers in the Dust Bowl to adopt planting and plowing methods that conserved the soil. The government paid reluctant farmers a dollar an acre to practice the new methods. By 1938, the massive conservation effort had reduced the amount of blowing soil by 65%. By the end of the 1930s, more than 75% of the Plains area topsoil had blown away. Areas that experienced the highest percentages of erosion, also experienced the highest amount of land value deduction. Historian Matthew Bonnifield said that the long term significance of the Dust Bowl was “the triumph of the human spirit in its capacity to endure and overcome hardships and reverses”. Many books were written because of the Dust Bowl, some of these are, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and Whose Names are
Mr. Ben Demuth, Ms. Katie Noll
World History, English I
6 January 2016
The Dust Bowl
Did you know that the Dust Bowl was one of the most devastating events in the history of the United States? The Dust bowl helped improve agriculture in the U.S.
The Dust Bowl was also known as the Dirty Thirties. It greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the U.S. and Canadian Prairies. The “Homestead Act” of 1862, offered settlers 160 acre plots. Around 1904, The federal government expanded the “Homestead Act”, and created the “Kinkaid Act”. Under The Kinkaid act, the government granted 640 Acres to homesteaders in Western Nebraska. The “Enlarged Homestead Act” Granted 320 Acres to Homesteaders in the rest of the Plains area.
The rapid …show more content…
The administration also began to educate farmers on soil conservation and anti-erosion techniques, including crop rotation, strip farming,contour plowing, terracing, and other improved farming practices. In 1937, the federal government began an aggressive campaign to encourage farmers in the Dust Bowl to adopt planting and plowing methods that conserved the soil. The government paid reluctant farmers a dollar an acre to practice the new methods. By 1938, the massive conservation effort had reduced the amount of blowing soil by 65%. By the end of the 1930s, more than 75% of the Plains area topsoil had blown away. Areas that experienced the highest percentages of erosion, also experienced the highest amount of land value deduction. Historian Matthew Bonnifield said that the long term significance of the Dust Bowl was “the triumph of the human spirit in its capacity to endure and overcome hardships and reverses”. Many books were written because of the Dust Bowl, some of these are, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath, and Whose Names are