In the 1930s, America went from a prospering world power to a struggling nation in need of assistance. After the start if the Great Depression in 1929, America’s financial situation was suffering; unemployment rates reached as high as twenty five percent during the depression and millions of families lost their incomes, while thousands of small businesses closed their doors. Therefore, wWhen an envionmental crisis known as the Dust Bowl began in the 1930s, those living in farms were not keen on the idea of moving to larger cities, in fact, most people living in the Dust Bowl region chose not to move to other regions despite how destructive, dangerous, and common dust storms were. Avid Carlson described the scene during the Dust Bowl at night.
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According to Document E, Western explorer John Wesley Powell stated the water requirement for good agriculture was twenty inches. Also found in Document E are two graphs which state the normal average rainfall for five Dust Bowl Towns and the average rainfall for Dallam County, Texas from 1923 to 1940. In Dallam County, Texas from 1931 to 1940, nine out of the ten years involved, rainfall measurements fell below twenty inches, indicating the occurrence of a drought. As proven in one of the graphs in Document E, the average rainfall for the five Dust Bowl Towns: Clovis, New Mexico; Boise City, Oklahoma; Dalhart, Texas; Burlington, Colorado; and Goodland, Kansas averaged at about seventeen inches providing that there was, in fact, a drought occurring in the Southeast Plains. Evidently, droughts happen during a period of time when a lack of rainfall occurs in a certain region hindering the growth of crops thus creating an arid, dry environment. The dirt to lost moisture and became loose due to the lack of rainfall. If no grass is in place to secure the soil, like in the 1930s, the dirt will be blown around, contributing to the development developing of a dust storm. Therefore, the drought that occurred during the 1930s certainly was a factor in causing the Dust Bowl. Although the …show more content…
“Grass is what counts. It’s what saves us all - far as we get saved… Grass is what holds the earth together,” (Document B). The author of this quote, a Texas sheepherder understood the importance of grass and its role in holding the earth together. The sheepherder is correct in saying grass holds the earth together; its roots secure the soil and dirt into the ground not enabling them to be swept up by the wind. Therefore, when humans began eliminating grass to make way for crops, they subconsciously eliminated what held the earth together making dust storms more likely because no grass is left to protect the now loose soil. Furthermore, grass was cleared to make way for plants that were never given the opportunity to grow because of the drought. The picture in Document B shows grass that has not been removed by either plows or tractors. The grassroots are securing the soil in place unlike what many farmers were doing on their farms, removing their
According to Document E, Western explorer John Wesley Powell stated the water requirement for good agriculture was twenty inches. Also found in Document E are two graphs which state the normal average rainfall for five Dust Bowl Towns and the average rainfall for Dallam County, Texas from 1923 to 1940. In Dallam County, Texas from 1931 to 1940, nine out of the ten years involved, rainfall measurements fell below twenty inches, indicating the occurrence of a drought. As proven in one of the graphs in Document E, the average rainfall for the five Dust Bowl Towns: Clovis, New Mexico; Boise City, Oklahoma; Dalhart, Texas; Burlington, Colorado; and Goodland, Kansas averaged at about seventeen inches providing that there was, in fact, a drought occurring in the Southeast Plains. Evidently, droughts happen during a period of time when a lack of rainfall occurs in a certain region hindering the growth of crops thus creating an arid, dry environment. The dirt to lost moisture and became loose due to the lack of rainfall. If no grass is in place to secure the soil, like in the 1930s, the dirt will be blown around, contributing to the development developing of a dust storm. Therefore, the drought that occurred during the 1930s certainly was a factor in causing the Dust Bowl. Although the …show more content…
“Grass is what counts. It’s what saves us all - far as we get saved… Grass is what holds the earth together,” (Document B). The author of this quote, a Texas sheepherder understood the importance of grass and its role in holding the earth together. The sheepherder is correct in saying grass holds the earth together; its roots secure the soil and dirt into the ground not enabling them to be swept up by the wind. Therefore, when humans began eliminating grass to make way for crops, they subconsciously eliminated what held the earth together making dust storms more likely because no grass is left to protect the now loose soil. Furthermore, grass was cleared to make way for plants that were never given the opportunity to grow because of the drought. The picture in Document B shows grass that has not been removed by either plows or tractors. The grassroots are securing the soil in place unlike what many farmers were doing on their farms, removing their