Soon after the Civil war, there were a few acts implemented to encourage the spread of pioneers to the west such as the Kinkaid Act, the Enlarged Homestead, and the Homestead Act of 1862 which gave settlers with 160 acres of land. This along with Manifest Destiny and the rise of wheat prices during World War 1 caused an increase in farming in the US. Though these new farmers faced catastrophe when the wheat prices dramatically decreased when the US fell into the Great Depression and the drought of 1931 exposed the over-plowed farmland and the extra soil led to huge dust storms. Living within a constant flow of dust, it is estimated that hundreds to thousands of people died to “dust pneumonia” where dust built up in their lungs.
440,000 people from Oklahoma alone, like the Joads, migrated to escape the desolate Dust Bowl and approximately half of those from Oklahoma moved to California in hope of settling within its agriculturally rich lands. Migrants from the American Southwest was given the nickname “Okie” and was looked down upon in California since the “Okies” were taking what little amount of jobs there were left. After a few attempts to improve the situation in the West, it wasn’t until the government started the Civil Conservation Corps (CCC) which not only provided three-million men with work but they dug ditches, planted trees, built reservoirs. In their efforts they helped water conservation, reduce the chances of floods and prevent further soil erosion.
History.com Editors. “Dust Bowl.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Oct. 2009
Trimarchi, Maria. “What Caused the Dust Bowl?” HowStuffWorks Science, HowStuffWorks, 27 Jan. 2020
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