History Brief: the Dust Bowl

Reading Through History2015-12-14

Dust Bowl (Event)#history brief#reading through history#the Great Depression#Dust (Disease Cause)#Oklahoma (US State)#Oklahoma panhandle#dust storms#terracing#1930s farming#plowing#contour farming#1930s

1M views|8 years ago

💫 Short Summary

The Dust Bowl was a severe period of drought and dust storms in the 1930s, caused by farming practices and a myth about rain following the plow. The damage was significant, with the topsoil turning to dust and blowing away, leading to massive dust storms that reached as far as Washington DC. Efforts to correct the conditions included tree planting and soil conservation techniques, but it took years for the region to recover completely.

✨ Highlights

📊 Transcript

✦

The Dust Bowl was a result of severe drought and dust storms in the 1930s, amplified by farming practices and technological advances.

00:02

Early explorers deemed the Great Plains unsuitable for agriculture due to the lack of trees and water.

Farmers began settling the region after the Civil War, believing the myth that “rain follows the plow”.

Advances in farming technology led to a significant increase in cultivated land, but unsustainable practices depleted the soil.

✦

The Dust Bowl was exacerbated by the elimination of natural Prairie grasses, which worsened soil erosion and moisture retention.

01:30

Heavy plowing destroyed the natural grasses that held the soil in place and helped it retain moisture.

This further contributed to the dust storms and erosion during the severe drought of the 1930s.

✦

The Dust Bowl resulted in enormous dust storms that affected the Great Plains region, reaching as far as Washington DC.

02:10

The topsoil turned to dust and blew away, creating massive dust storms known as black blizzards.

The Dust Bowl region received significantly less precipitation than normal, with some areas getting as little as 15 inches of rain in a year.

✦

Efforts to mitigate the Dust Bowl included massive tree planting by the Civilian Conservation Corps and the implementation of soil conservation techniques.

03:02

More than 200 million trees were planted to block the wind and hold the soil in place.

Farmers were taught soil conservation methods such as crop rotation, contour plowing, and terracing.

Government initiatives paid farmers to practice conservation techniques, ultimately reducing blowing dust by 65%.

However, nearly 75% of the topsoil was blown away in some areas, taking years for the region to recover.

00:02 the Dust Bowl was a severe period of

00:05 drought and dust storms throughout the

00:07 1930s why did the Dust Bowl happen how

00:12 severe was the damage the earliest

00:16 explorers to the Great Plains region of

00:18 North America determined that the area

00:20 was unsuitable for agriculture the

00:23 territory even became known as the great

00:26 American desert because the lack of

00:28 trees and water made the region

00:31 relatively unattractive for settlement

00:34 however in the decades following the

00:37 Civil War farmers began to settle the

00:39 region and cultivate the fields under

00:42 the long-held but mistaken belief that

00:45 rain will follow the plow in the first

00:49 three decades of the 1900s there were

00:52 significant and continuous advances in

00:54 farming technology including better

00:56 tractors mechanized plowing combines and

01:01 more from 1900 to 1920 the amount of

01:06 farmland in the plains region doubled

01:08 and from 1925 to 1930 the amount of

01:12 cultivated land tripled however farmers

01:17 of the era used practices which deprived

01:20 the soil of its nutrients and increase

01:22 the possibility of erosion the heavy

01:26 plowing had eliminated the natural

01:28 grasses of the Prairie that held the

01:30 soil in place and maintained moisture

01:33 then in 1930 a severe drought struck the

01:38 Great Plains region which lasted nearly

01:41 the entire decade the region's affected

01:44 most by this drought were the panhandles

01:47 of Texas and Oklahoma western Kansas and

01:50 a large portion of Colorado and New

01:53 Mexico

01:55 the more than 1 million acres that was

01:58 affected became collectively known as

02:00 the Dust Bowl as the drought grew worse

02:04 the topsoil turned to dust and blew away

02:07 the blowing dust generated enormous dust

02:10 storms that reached as far east as

02:12 Washington DC the dust storms became

02:16 known as black blizzards during the

02:21 decade of the 1930s the Dust Bowl region

02:24 received anywhere from 15 to 25 percent

02:26 less precipitation than normal for a

02:30 region that only sees about 20 inches of

02:33 rain a year this means that some areas

02:36 were receiving as little as 15 inches of

02:38 rain in one year in some years even less

02:42 than that as the decade wore on and the

02:46 severity of the Dust Bowl increased

02:48 efforts were made to correct the

02:50 conditions the Civilian Conservation

02:53 Corps planted more than 200 million

02:56 trees from Texas to Canada in an attempt

02:59 to block the wind and hold the soil in

03:02 place

03:03 farmers were also instructed in soil

03:06 conservation techniques such as crop

03:08 rotation contour plowing and terracing

03:12 in some cases the government even paid

03:16 farmers a dollar an acre to practice one

03:19 of these conservation techniques by the

03:22 end of the 1930s they had succeeded in

03:25 reducing the amount of blowing dust by

03:27 65 percent by the time rainfall returned

03:32 to normal levels nearly 75% of the

03:35 topsoil had been blown away in some

03:37 areas it would be years before the

03:41 region recovered completely

03:44 you

💫 FAQs about This YouTube Video

1. What were the main factors that led to the Dust Bowl?

The main factors that led to the Dust Bowl were severe drought, unsustainable farming practices, and the elimination of natural Prairie grasses due to heavy plowing. These factors contributed to soil erosion and the creation of massive dust storms.

2. How did the Dust Bowl affect the Great Plains region?

The Dust Bowl had devastating effects on the Great Plains region, leading to the displacement of families, widespread crop failures, economic hardship, and environmental damage. The region experienced significant agricultural and ecological losses as a result of the Dust Bowl.

3. What measures were taken to address the Dust Bowl?

Several measures were implemented to address the Dust Bowl, including the introduction of soil conservation techniques, the planting of over 200 million trees, and government policies to promote sustainable farming practices. These efforts aimed to mitigate the environmental and agricultural impacts of the Dust Bowl.

4. How did the government respond to the Dust Bowl?

The government responded to the Dust Bowl by initiating various relief and intervention programs through agencies like the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Soil Conservation Service. These programs focused on providing employment, education, and resources to farmers and communities affected by the Dust Bowl, aiming to promote sustainable recovery and resilience.

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