The Effect Of The Dust Bowl On Society
A man named Avis D. Carlson wrote in a New Republican article “The impact is like a shovelful of sand flung against the face (The Dust Bowl of the 1930s). By “impact” Avis was referring to “Black Sunday” in the “Dust Bowl.” The Dust Bowl was made up of parts of Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas.
The Dust Bowl was an area of the Great Plains that was devastated by depression and drought. The area was 150,000 square miles, had little grass and soil, and, unfortunately, had abundant winds. “Black blizzards” were what people that lived in the Dust Bowl called dust storms (History.com). The reason the area was so devoid of grass is that during World War 1, which the United States joined on April 6, 1917, people plowed it up to plant wheat (Donald). …show more content…
They always had to wear a dust mask outside, though. It might seem strange to wear them inside, but dust still seemed to pervade housing through tightly shut doors and covered windows. Schoolhouses were scarce, and students had to walk to school wearing heavy clothing and masks to protect themselves from the relentless dust (About the Dust Bowl). The drought caused by the Dust Bowl affected a total of 27 states, minorly and severely, varying per state (About the Dust Bowl). Many people, mostly children, died of “dust pneumonia,” which was a “disease” caused by the fine dust in the Dust Bowl getting into lungs. Dust pneumonia was fatal. People living in the Dust Bowl had to be cautious not to inhale …show more content…
The price of wheat dropped from 2$ a bushel to 40 cents a bushel (History.com)! Most “suitcase farmers,” farmers that just moved in for quick profit, left. Due to the dust, the air was very static, and cars had many problems running (PBS). Around 850 tons of topsoil blew away in the dust bowl! That’s 1700000 pounds! The government purchased almost 4 million acres of land, which was later re-grown into permanent grasslands (PBS). The grass fell victim not only to the government for the military, but also to the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act required that the homesteader had to pay a small fee and then live on the land for 5 years. Although five years may seem like a long time today, it was a small price to pay for the people who wanted to live on the
The Dust Bowl was an area of the Great Plains that was devastated by depression and drought. The area was 150,000 square miles, had little grass and soil, and, unfortunately, had abundant winds. “Black blizzards” were what people that lived in the Dust Bowl called dust storms (History.com). The reason the area was so devoid of grass is that during World War 1, which the United States joined on April 6, 1917, people plowed it up to plant wheat (Donald). …show more content…
They always had to wear a dust mask outside, though. It might seem strange to wear them inside, but dust still seemed to pervade housing through tightly shut doors and covered windows. Schoolhouses were scarce, and students had to walk to school wearing heavy clothing and masks to protect themselves from the relentless dust (About the Dust Bowl). The drought caused by the Dust Bowl affected a total of 27 states, minorly and severely, varying per state (About the Dust Bowl). Many people, mostly children, died of “dust pneumonia,” which was a “disease” caused by the fine dust in the Dust Bowl getting into lungs. Dust pneumonia was fatal. People living in the Dust Bowl had to be cautious not to inhale …show more content…
The price of wheat dropped from 2$ a bushel to 40 cents a bushel (History.com)! Most “suitcase farmers,” farmers that just moved in for quick profit, left. Due to the dust, the air was very static, and cars had many problems running (PBS). Around 850 tons of topsoil blew away in the dust bowl! That’s 1700000 pounds! The government purchased almost 4 million acres of land, which was later re-grown into permanent grasslands (PBS). The grass fell victim not only to the government for the military, but also to the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act required that the homesteader had to pay a small fee and then live on the land for 5 years. Although five years may seem like a long time today, it was a small price to pay for the people who wanted to live on the