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Cheyenne Herrmann

Professor Frazier

Comp I 11:30

22 November 2019

Final Essay: Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl was the worst man-made disaster in American history. The Dust Bowl

was a decade in the 1930s when just what it sounds like happened. A severe drought occurred

and dust storms covered everything in dust. This caused many people to have to migrate, crops

failed, and some people ended up dying because of how much dust was everywhere. It affected

many people’s health and everything they used to do. The start of the 1930s caused many people

to be unemployed, and the stock markets crashed causing most businesses to fail mainly banks.

First, one may ask what was the Dust Bowl? The Dust Bowl was the name given to the

drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms

during a dry period in the 1930s according to History.com. As a result, this killed many people,

livestock and the crops began to fail. Over a million acres of farmland became useless for

farmers. Farmers could no longer plant crops because of the drought. The crops would suffer

without water and crops began to fail. Farmers were then being forced out of jobs because

farming was their job. This is what the Dust Bowl was known as and some of the causes of the

worst disaster of the time period.

Next, the 1930s was known as the “dirty thirties”. According to history.com, the term

“dirty thirties” started in 1930 and lasted for about a decade, but its long-term impacts on the

region lingered much longer. Mainly because everything was covered in dirt and debris after

severe dust storms occurred. According to Nelma, she recalled walking home from school and
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seeing a very dark cloud she just thought was a thunderstorm. People still recall the 1930s as the

“dirty thirties” because the Dust Bowl had that major of an impact on people's lives. Even though

the Dust Bowl is over, it could still be affecting people in today's time. Not physically, but

mentally if someone was alive during that time and remembers exactly what happened or their

parents were alive. Some major events like this one can still affect people for many years to

follow. The Dust Bowl may cause pain to some people to talk about it, especially if they

remember it, or had family members that may have died during this horrible time. According to

Nelma, she said to think about the Dust Bowl is still a depressing time to think about.

Next, the Great Depression also played a role in the Dust Bowl. The Great Depression

began with the stock market crash in 1929 and then was made worse by the Dust Bowl. The

Great Depression impacts caused many families to migrate in search of work and better living

conditions other than the ones covered in dust. When the Great Depression caused many families

to migrate, it could have been hard for people then. They would have had a hard time navigating

through all the dust and debris. It would have been especially hard for young children, getting

out in the dust could be bad for their immune and respiratory systems. They could end up getting

sick and their immune system may not have been able to fight it off. That is one way the Great

Depression played a role in the Dust Bowl and how it affected families.

The Dust Bowl was caused by many economic and agricultural factors. Some of the

factors include federal land policies, changes in the regional weather, farm economics and many

other factors. Weather played a big role in the Dust Bowl. The name was given to the Dust Bowl

because the regions had a severe drought and little to no rain. Having little to no rain did not help

farmers or livestock. Without water, how would crops survive or how would livestock get water

to drink? It was not until the end of the decade until regular rainfall returned, meaning the Dust
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Bowl was coming to an end. According to history.com, many people developed “dust

pneumonia” and experienced chest pain and difficulty breathing. This could have been a major

reason why some people died during the Dust Bowl. With no businesses open, they were not able

to receive the medical care they needed.

The Dust Bowl had a big impact on families. Many people became unemployed because

of the Dust Bowl ruined places. Many families also became homeless because no one could live

in their houses that were covered in dust and debris. According to Nelma, farmers would say to

each other when they were moving, “if you find work, call me and let me know”. This also

affected the children during this time. Without a house where would the children eat or their

families? One of the main impacts the Dust Bowl had on employers and families was that the

banks began to fail. If banks began to fail, and the families could not get their money out of the

banks before, the family could lose all the money they had invested in the banks. These are just

some of the major impacts the Dust Bowl had on families.

Next, some of the interests people may have had back then could have also been ruined.

If someone had just bought a new car, the Dust Bowl could have ruined their new car. It would

be covered in dirt and debris. If it was almost out of gas, the owner could not just drive to the

store to get gas, because businesses ended up closing. That would mean for the owner their new

car was just a waste during the time of the Dust Bowl. Even though some of the cars they drove

back then are still around, that does not help people back then. Those cars were very popular

back then and that was one way of transportation for families to get places. That is one aspect of

life people had interests in that got ruined by the Dust Bowl.

Next, what about music or art that people were interested in? The art people made could

have been what they did for a living. With the Dust Bowl that could have ruined some people’s
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jobs. That could have been their only source of income is making and selling art. When the Dust

Bowl occurred, that could have ruined that source of income for many people. What about

music, music could have helped many people forget about the hardships they were facing. The

Dust Bowl affected everything, no more radio, broadcasts or anything. Without music, some

people could end up depressed. After the worst disaster at that time, no person needed to be more

depressed about not having music or something to do during the day.

In conclusion, the 1930s to the 1940s was a very hard time for many people and families.

The Dust Bowl really affected people in the means of a job, housing, and banks failing. That

caused people to lose something that could have taken forever to achieve. They lost sources of

getting around other than walking, lost something that could help someone forget about the

hardships they were facing, and the jobs they could have taken forever to get. The start of the

1930s caused many people to be unemployed, and the stock markets crashed causing most

businesses to fail mainly banks.

Works Cited

History.com Editors. “Dust Bowl.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009,

https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/dust-bowl.

Karns, Nelma. Personal Interview. 4 December 2019

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