The Dust Bowl brought ecological, economical and human misery to America during a time when it was already suffering under the Great Depression. In the 1930’s, many people in the southern plains were devastated by vast dust storms. The Dust Bowl was a storm that carried topsoil from farmland and caused people to leave or worse, die. I believe the dust bowl was caused by decreased prairie, advanced machinery, and the change in weather.
One of the causes that caused the Dust Bowl was decreased praire. A texas sheepherder says, “Grass is what counts. It’s what saves us all-far as we get saved… Grass is what holds the earth together” (Doc B). The job of buffalo grass was to keep the soil in place so it can capture the sun’s energy. What the sheepherder means is that if we didn’t have grass, more of the soil would be exposed; leaving the land vulnerable to drought and inhospitable for growing crops therefore, more chaotic dust storms. Also, if there weren’t any grass, there wouldn’t be any food for the buffalo which means no food for the people.
Another cause that resulted to the Dust Bowl is advanced machinery. As technology evolved during the depression, more crops were being harvested. Farmers used the latest technology for their farming called a tractor. It “did the work of ten horses” (Doc C). They bought the newest equipment to gather crops more efficiently. Though it may sound more profitable, but it wasn’t, overproduction led to the prices of crops going down and down. In document D, it shows in1899, 50 million crops were harvested and in 1929, 150 million crops were harvested due to the evolution of better farming equipment and less hard labor. With over billions of acres of land taken up by crops, that leaves less space to irrigate the land and to allow moisture to enter the soil. Therefore, resulting in arid fields.
The last method that caused the Dust Bowl was the change in weather. In the 1930‘s there was huge drought in the Great Plains. A...