1930s Questions

Read about the Great Depression (Links to an external site.). According to this article, President Hoover claimed that it was a passing crisis, when it was actually a serious national problem that required attention. People blamed themselves when things went wrong, because they didn't earn their success, which was a common mantra during the 1930s. Their claims were valid during the time, but not in today's standard people ask for assistance in their success. The main thing driving Hoover's claim was that he didn't believe it was the government's job to solve the depression.

Read about Black Sunday (Links to an external site.). If I was there during Black Sunday I would be extremely confused and scared. I would be fearful for my family, not sure what's going on around me, and really scared of the "black cloud" of dust behind me.

Read about The Drought. The east, west, and the Great Plains were affected by the drought. Misuse of the land, and planting too much wheat crop caused the drought. I agree with this historian's perspective because it was a time of recklessness among the nation and "imbalance," like the historian said. America needed to learn how to use their resources properly and the drought and the Dust Bowl helped Americans come to the conclusion that nature is important.

Read about Mass Exodus from the Plains. The Dust Bowl was the largest migration in US History. California became overcrowded as people flooded to the Great Plains for safety, the farms in California were co-owned and already modernized so that migrants couldn't find a place to farm and uphold their lifestyles from before the move.