Dust Bowl Days

Paper Summary:

This paper addresses the possible causes of the Dust Bowl phenomenon and how and why it led to the mass exodus of people from the Great Plains to California.

From the Paper:

"The Great Depression marked a time of economic disaster in the United States. Between 1930 and 1941, Great Plains farmers witnessed the worst drought in the country's history (Henretta 709). This and many other factors led to the period that has become known as the Dust Bowl. This period in time is called the Dust Bowl because "Dust seeped into houses and blackened the pillow around one's head, the dinner plates on the table, the bread dough on the back of the stove" (Henretta 709). The term Dust Bowl was created by an Associated Press staff writer, Robert Geiger, in response to the things he saw in Guymon, Oklahoma. Within months, it was the term used throughout the nation to describe the wind-blown land throughout Kansas, southeastern Colorado, the Oklahoma Panhandle, the northern two-thirds of the Texas Panhandle, and northeastern New Mexico (Logsdon 3). The Dust Bowl affected the lives of everyone in the United States, not just those of farmers in the Great Plains area. Knowledge of the Dust Bowl is important because this disaster could be repeated due to both its natural, economic, and social causes. "

More papers on Dust Bowl Days:

• Essay # 22698 : "Dust Bowl Migration"
• Analytical Essay # 62591 : "Lorna Simpson"
• Analytical Essay # 124435 : "The Myth of Hollywood"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: