Adam Hyink

United States History II (43848)

Wakelet Link: https://wakelet.com/wake/fuHGG_GXPL2ynuLg-ohgz

The Dust Bowl: Effects of Human Ingenuity

It is evident that throughout human history, there have always been consequences for

going too far, and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s is no exception. For Americans living at the time,

the infamous Great Depression had already hit them hard, but a new threat would soon

emerge that would take the crisis from bad to worse. In the Midwest, America’s major source

of commercial agriculture, mechanization from the Second Agricultural Revolution had all but

removed the topsoil and native grasses that had previously prevented soil erosion. Wind was

able to pick up the loose soil, and created a devastating event known as the Dust Bowl (Foner

827). However, it was not a result of simply “nature” or “God.” The fact of the matter is that the

Dust Bowl was the culmination of human ingenuity in agriculture, and it was our own

inventions that led to our suffering.

For decades, mainstream commercial agriculture was located primarily in the Great

Plains region of the United States. Yes, there were certain crops that could only be grown in

some states, but for the most part the Midwest held a large chunk of America’s primary

economic activities. However, non-replenishable agricultural practices had taken their toll on

the land, and it was only a matter of time before the effects of that would take place. To clearly

understand how and why the Dust Bowl occurred, a larger view of the event is required, one

that traces all the way back to 1862 when Congress passed the Homestead Act. Once an empty
grassland, the Great Plains had become a symbol of new opportunity and freedom for

thousands of settlers. Primarily, farmers would either graze cattle or plant dry land wheat,

plowing down the pre-existing grass to make way for it. However, this wasn’t a sustainable

cycle for the land, and the effects increased severely as time went on. Eventually, the land was

laid bare, and environmental effects came into play with a six-year drought. The strong winds of

the region raised large clouds of dust, some that could even darken the sky for days. Homes

and their interiors were covered with layers of dust, crops weren’t able to grow, and groups of

livestock began to die off. Farmers, knowing there was no possibility of making a living, moved

west to work as migrant laborers. In the end, over 400,000 people left the Great Plains as

refugees and victims of their own making (“The Dust Bowl”). As tragic as this event was for the

settlers, it’s hard to deny that it was partially a result of human involvement. There were many

benefits from new farming technologies, but their over usage ruined the grass that had stopped

soil from being picked up. In other words, human involvement led to both agricultural

prosperity and destruction.

With all the dust and soil blown into the air and spread across the Midwest, it was

evident that there would be more consequences than just the displacement of farmers. For

people who stayed at their farms, they were exposed with the dust day in and day out. Every

breath they took, tiny particulates entered their lungs, leading to devastating effects.

Malnutrition and Dust Pneumonia were the two major health impacts caused by the Dust Bowl,

the former simply being a result of a lack of crop growth. Dust Pneumonia, however, was a little

more complex. As previously stated, breathing the contaminated air resulted in dust particles

entering the lungs. They would then inflame the alveoli, which led to high fever, chest pain, a
difficulty in breathing, and coughing. Woody Guthrie, a famous folk musician who lived in

Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl, created a song known as “Dust Pneumonia Blues.” In it, he

describes the effects of Dust Pneumonia, including the fact that he could not yodel in the song

due to a “rattling” in his lungs (Hutchins). Even if people managed to leave the Midwest and

work somewhere else, there was a high chance that their lungs had already been damaged.

Dust Pneumonia had devastating effects on the people living during the Dust Bowl, and it shows

that there really is no escape from their consequences. Humans created this issue in the first

place, and even the people who left were forced to suffer in their own right.

For those who stayed, however, life was certainly not easy. Looking back in the

perspective of someone living in modern-America, it’s difficult to imagine what life was really

like less than a century ago. Fortunately, we also have access to multiple primary historical

sources from the Dust Bowl, which give us a better look at the hardships people went through

during this tragic event. Ann Marie Low was a young woman who lived on her family farm in

North Dakota during the time. According to her, she had to wash the washing machine before

she could wash any clothes, showing just how much harder life got when layers of dust covered

everything. “Last weekend was the worst dust storm we ever had. We’ve been having quite a

bit of blowing dirt every year since the drought started, not only here, but all over the Great

Plains. Many days this spring the air is just full of dirt coming, literally, for hundreds of miles. It

sifts into everything. After we wash the dishes and put them away, so much dust sifts into the

cupboards we must wash them again before the next meal. Clothes in the closets are covered

with dust” (Shafer 384). Every aspect of peoples’ lives had to change in order to accommodate
for the harsh winds and dust, an unfortunate result of human ignorance. However, even being

one of the lucky ones who left didn’t mean you were out of the clear.

The Dust Bowl is widely known for its more obvious features, that being the loss of

crops and immense amounts of dust. Something that is less talked about, however, is the actual

migration of farmers as a result of the Dust Bowl, as well as the racist rhetoric that was applied

even to a devastating situation like this. For those who decided to leave, the main destination

was California, where people hoped to get labor jobs or anything that could pay the bills. These

people came to the state with great hope for a second chance, after their previous life had

been wiped clean. What awaited them was nothing short of disappointment- a work shortage,

low wages, and terrible housing situations. To people such as Paul Taylor, an economist, this

was a golden opportunity to create sympathy for these white families who were now suffering

even more, labeling them as “refugees.” These sympathetic tales and articles related to the

suffering of these white people in poverty actually impacted public policy and allowed for some

poverty reforms. Unfortunately, race also played a factor into these stories. Whites made up

95% of refugees heading to California, and although black people were well represented in the

Midwest, they instead migrated to Northern cities. Said articles that were used to draw

attention to the matter made no mention of minorities who were also suffering just the same,

given they would never stir up the same amount of sympathy from the general public. Poverty

therefore became increasingly racialized, and the effects of racial discrimination during the

Dust Bowl migration are still felt today (Gregory).

The Dust Bowl was a tragic event- there is no doubt about that. However, a broader

perspective shows that it was human interference and innovations that had led to the event.
Naturally, the Dust Bowl shouldn’t have occurred, but with the mass removal of grass and

topsoil that kept the dust down, it was only a matter of time before something terrible

happened. Because humans were ignorant of the environmental impact they were making,

hundreds of thousands of people suffered from health issues to racial discrimination. However,

the people of today can learn from this- learn that what we do has an impact on the

environment, and therefore an impact on us as a species. With drive, unity, and determination,

humans can stop another event like the Dust Bowl from happening again.

Works Cited (Written Portion)

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History (Seagull Volume 2). Available from: Yuzu, (6th
Edition). W. W. Norton, 2019.
Gregory, James N. “‘The Dust Bowl Migration’ Poverty Stories, Race Stories.” University of
Washington, faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/dust%20bowl%20migration.htm.
Accessed 7 July 2022.
Hutchins, Cloe. “The Dust Bowl.” The Great Depression and Public Health,
sites.wp.odu.edu/healthsnapshot-great-depression-and-public-health/the-dust-bowl/.
Accessed 7 July 2022.

Shafer, Leah R. "Living in the Dust Bowl (1934, by Anne Marie Low)." Dictionary of American
History, edited by Stanley I. Kutler, 3rd ed., vol. 9, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003, pp. 384-
385. American History,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3401804814/GVRL.hisa?u=txshracd2487&sid=bookmark-
GVRL.hisa&xid=233a408a. Accessed 7 July 2022.

“The Dust Bowl.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-

history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-
bowl/. Accessed 7 July 2022.
"The Farm Crisis." American Decades, edited by Judith S. Baughman, et al., vol. 4: 1930-1939,
Gale, 2001. American History,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3468301171/GVRL.hisa?u=txshracd2487&sid=bookmark-
GVRL.hisa&xid=b8cfbeea. Accessed 7 July 2022.
 Works Cited (Media Portion)
Rothstein, Arthur, photographer. Abandoned farm in the dust bowl area. Oklahoma. Apr.
Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
<www.loc.gov/item/2017760348/>.
“The Dust Bowl (c. 1930-1940).” Climate in Arts and History, 30 June 2021,
www.science.smith.edu/climatelit/the-dust-bowl/.
“Section 3: Drought.” North Dakota Studies Grade 4 Curriculum,
https://www.ndstudies.gov/gr8/content/unit-iv-modern-north-dakota-1921-
present/lesson-2-making-living/topic-3-agriculture/section-3-drought.
Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Oklahoma dust bowl refugees. San Fernando, California. June.
Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
<www.loc.gov/item/2017759887/>.
Jones, Joe, Artist. Wastelands / Joe Jones c37. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of
Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/99400990/>.
Reading Through History. “History Brief: Black Blizzards.” YouTube, 21 March, 2017,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep7-7x2sp8Y

Reading Through History. “History Brief: Dust Pneumonia and Dust Storm Preparations.”
YouTube, 4 April, 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF3Z0hfYiXs