Americans and Hard Times Dust Bowl

1
Americans and Hard TimesDust Bowl
2
Dust Bowl

• Many factors attributed to the Dust Bowl Era of
  the 1930s
• Farmers failure to rotate crops removed nutrients
  from the ground
• As the nutrients were removed and used by the
  plants the ground was not as capable of
  producing the same crops
• Farmers leaving the ground empty once their crops
  were harvested
• This allowed the bare soil to be blown away and
  in its place the subsoil which was not as good
  for crops.
• Severe drought that struck the lower Mid West
  from 1934-1937

3
Equipment laid buried in the sand and often had
to be dug out before use
4
The Black clouds often associated with Dust
Storms would last for days and blow literally
tons of topsoil from the far west well out into
the Atlantic
5
(No Transcript)
6
Yard and property were destroyed, Dirt was a
constant problem as were the Deaths that resulted
from choking from breathing it
7
The blowing weeds often got caught up on Barb
wire and then the sand had something to hang on
to and build up.
8
Cars and planes choked because of so much dirt
bringing them to a standstill
9
Children were the hardest hit during the Dust
Bowl. Often died in their sleep from the dirt or
the insects that the Storms produced. Animals
died to from being outside with no protection
10
Land eroded away because of the lack of grass and
such to hold it in place
11
With the lack of good fences animals often were
able to walk right over the top of the dirt laden
fences and escape. Home windows were boarded up
in order to prevent dirt from creeping into the
home but it offered little help.
12
Many families simply packed up and left leaving
behind their homes and anything that would not
fit in the car. Shovels had to be carried to dig
themselves out
13
The results were building collapsed and remained
a blight on the prairie for many years to come
14
Towns were no exception. They only afforded the
dirt a place to stop because of the numerous
buildings present. Often towns had to plow the
streets in order to open the roads.
15

• It should be obvious now that in order to survive
  families were going to have to take drastic
  measures
• In hope they headed out of the Midwest looking
  for work no matter how small the pay in order to
  survive
• May families would lose members to death along
  the way because of the lack of food and such to
  keep them going

16
Hard Times

• Families actually split up as the father set out
  to find employment during the Depression
• Children dropped out of school to help make money
  for the family
• Minority Families were hardest hit as Whites took
  priorities in the job market
• Mexicans were actually deported due to the high
  number of whites looking for work

17

• FDR and his program administrators and boards
  were diverse for its time
• One such group was supposed to press for the
  advancement of African Americans
• One person on the team was an African American
  female named Mary McLeod Bethune
• Another was William Henry Hastie
• Another was Walter White
• Knows as Roosevelts Black Cabinet

18

• Roosevelt spared nothing when it came to trying
  to get the United States out of the Depression
  and back on the road to prosperity
• His programs were diverse
• They were innovative
• Focused on making people feel needed and wanted
  again rather then useless like yesterdays trash