Dust Bowl Case

Dust Bowl

The dust bowl lasted eight years on the southern plains of the United States. Crop production during this time drastically declined. A severe drought dried up plowed dirt in crop field turning it to dust and blew it across the plains. States affected were Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. Nevada and Arkansas also saw some dust storms but they were not nearly as bad.

The dust bowl started in 1931 and lasted until 1939. During this time tons of dust blew across the plains burying everything in its path. An estimated 100 million acres of farmland had lost all or most of its topsoil. Women put sheets over doors and windows as an attempt to keep the dust out and children also wore dust masks to school. The sky would darken for days and the dust would drift like snow would.

The dust bowl was caused by almost a decade of severe droughts and 32 million acres

of sod being broken up. Many of the farmers were new to experiencing the wealth and knew little about farming. Their inexperience also helped lead to the dust bowl. The protective grasses that once inhabited the farmland were destroyed when the fields were plowed up.

We believe the dust bowl was a huge disaster and tragedy that forever damaged and changed the midwest and the west. The dust bowl was a severe disaster could not be prevented. However the severity of the dust bowl could have been less severe had the farming practices been not as poor and had not as much land been plowed up.