The Dust Bowl
This term refers to the decade-long environmental and economic disaster that struck the Great Plains during the 1930s, greatly affecting Texas farmers.
The Dust Bowl (1930–1940)
This practice, when too many animals feed on the same land without recovery time, reduces grasses and leaves soil exposed.
Overgrazing
Many farm families left the Dust Bowl region. By 1940, about how many people had moved out of the affected Great Plains regions?
More than 2.5 million people
Name one New Deal agency that provided direct relief or jobs to Texans during the 1930s.
FERA, CCC, WPA, NYA, REA, FSA, Soil Conservation Service.
Who became U.S. President in 1933 and created the New Deal?
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
What name was given to the fiercest dust storms that could block out the sun and are described as walls of dust a mile high?
"Black blizzards."
Name the 1862 law that gave settlers 160 acres for free if they lived on and farmed it for five years, encouraging westward farming.
Homestead Act
Approximately how many Dust Bowl migrants headed to California?
About 200,000
This New Deal program employed young men to build parks, plant trees, fight fires, and reclaim eroded land. What is it called?
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
Which future president led the Texas National Youth Administration (NYA)?
Lyndon Baines Johnson
Give two ways that the lack of prairie grasses made the soil more vulnerable to wind erosion during the Dust Bowl.
Loss of deep-rooted prairie grasses; less root structure to hold soil; exposed topsoil more easily lifted by wind
Farmers believed a myth that helped justify plowing native grasslands; this idea was called what?
"Rain follows the plow."
Describe two challenges Dust Bowl migrants faced after they reached California.
Few jobs in California; low pay; continued poverty despite migration
By 1934 around what percent of Texans were receiving some form of New Deal financial aid?
Around 13%.
Name two Texas politicians or public servants who helped bring New Deal programs or funds to Texas (choose from John Nance Garner, Sam Rayburn, Jesse Jones, Miriam Ferguson, James V. Allred, W. Lee O’Daniel).
John Nance Garner, Sam Rayburn, Jesse Jones, Miriam Ferguson, James V. Allred, W. Lee O’Daniel.
In 1935 Amarillo experienced one of these storms that lasted more than 11 hours. Explain one direct effect these storms had on people’s daily lives (use evidence from firsthand accounts).
Example: People couldn’t see, had trouble breathing, were pelted by grit (Pauline Durrett Robertson’s account).
Describe how WWI-era market changes and the end of the war encouraged farmers to plow more land. Include cause and effect.
High wartime demand/prices during WWI encouraged plowing millions of acres; postwar price drop left farmers desperate, so they plowed more to try to produce cash crops.
What fraction of Panhandle farm/ranch families received charity or relief funds during the Dust Bowl?
One-third received charity or relief; up to 90% took out loans (note: text gives both numbers in different contexts).
Explain how the Rural Electrification Administration (REA) changed life on Texas farms over the following decades. Give one specific statistic from the texts.
REA: In 1935 less than 10% of Texas farms had electricity; by 1965, 98% of Texas farms had electricity.
Explain the purpose of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and one way it helped rural Americans during the 1930s
FSA: Combat rural poverty, teach better farming/erosion control, help poor farmers buy land/resettle; employed photographers documenting rural life.
Explain how the combination of environmental and economic factors (name at least three) created the "perfect storm" that led to the Dust Bowl.
Causes: severe multi-year drought, overplowing/overdevelopment, overgrazing, falling crop prices/Great Depression leading to more plowing.
Explain how short-term economic desperation (falling crop prices during the Great Depression) changed farming behavior and worsened environmental damage. Use one specific example from the texts.
After crop prices fell with the Great Depression, farmers plowed more native grassland hoping to increase yields and income, which removed protective grasses and increased erosion.
Explain why the Dust Bowl migration is considered one of the largest migrations in U.S. history; include both push and pull factors.
Push: drought, destroyed crops, financial ruin; Pull: hope for work (e.g., California) — combined produced massive migration.
Describe two ways New Deal programs helped both immediately (relief/jobs) and longer-term (infrastructure or reform) in Texas. Use specific programs as examples.
Immediate: FERA grants and employment (CCC, WPA) provided relief and jobs; Long-term: REA electrified rural Texas, CCC/Soil Conservation Service reduced erosion and created parks/infrastructure.
The Social Security Act was a major New Deal reform. Explain its main goal and one group it aimed to help
Social Security Act: Provide monthly payments to disabled, elderly, unemployed; prevent those facing hardship from falling into poverty.