By: Sarah Santamaria, Adriana Gutierrez
and Valerie De Paz
MT 5 in U.S History
MT 7-10 in AP English
Level 4 Project
Who were the most affected
during the Dust Bowl? Why?

Farmers

 Why?
 Farmers land was denatured
of natural resources
 How?
 Severe Drought (No rain)
 Overgrazing by cattle
 Over plowing by farmers
 All these conditions
destroyed grasses that
held the soil in place
 These storms were called
“Black Blizzards”
 Parts of the Great Plains
became known as the
Dust Bowl
What obstacles did families face during the
Dust Bowl?
Obstacles

 Hunger
 No work, no money, no food
 Unemployment
 Farms were destroyed
 Too many with no work
 Migration
 Slept in tents, along the road
 poor transportation
 Loss of Property
 land (farms)
 housing
 money
What did the farming families do after the
Dust Bowl occurred?

After the Dust Bowl Occurred
 Most farmers migrated to Southern California
hoping to find farm jobs in the fertile areas.
 -Many did not even make it to California due
to:
 malnutrition
 starvation
 diseases
What were the struggles the farming
families encountered in California?

The struggles were…

Work
 Very little job
opportunities
 Large population
 Dry farms
 Worked for very low
wages
Housing
 Americans were cruel
to the migrants
 Called “Okies”
 Migrants had no homes
 Usually lived in
Hoovervilles or
Shantytowns
 Or camped out in tents
What were some of the programs that were
created and how did they help the farmers?

Government Agencies

Resettlement Agency
The Farm Security
(RA)
Administration (FSA)
Established to help
Helped poor farmers,
needy families move
sharecroppers, tenant
into government-
farmers and migrant
planned communities.
workers
Population of Migrants in California:
8%
7%
45%
18%
White 43%
Mexican 21%
European 17%
22%
Filipino 8%
Japanese 7%
The Grapes of Wrath

 Published:1939
 Written by: John Steinbeck
 Type of work: Novel
 Genre: Realistic fiction
 Setting; Oklahoma, California,
and points along the way
 Late 1930’s
 Tone: sympathetic or
mournful
Plot

 After being forced to leave their farm due to the Dust
Bowl, The Joad family made their way to California
with unexpected events ahead.
 Tough times along the road heading California
The Grapes of Wrath

Themes:
 Man’s inhumanity to those around
them
 The saving power of Family and
Fellowship
 The Multiplying Effects of
Selfishness
How does this book relate to this
topic?
Dust Bowl

 Lost Farms
 Homelessness and jobless
 Forced to leave towards
California
 Poor transportation
 Not welcomed to
California
 Migrants were mislead
about the goods of
California
The Grapes of Wrath
 Joad family had lost land
 Searching for jobs in
California
 Car broke down couple of
times
 Had to lie to get in
California
 They lost family members
on the way
 Don’t know if the Joad
family is going to make it









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Citations

Burns, K. (2012). The Dust Bowl: A Film by Ken Burns. PBS. Retrieved from:
http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/
Wilhite, A. D. (2007). Dust Bowl. Oklahoma’s Historical Society’s: Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History
and Culture. Retrieved from:
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/D/Du011.html
Gregory, J. (2012). The Great Depression in Washington State. Pacific Northwest Labor & Civil Rights
Projects. Retrieved from: https://depts.washington.edu/depress/
WGHB. (2013). Timeline of the Great Depression. P.B.S. Retrieved from:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/timeline/rails-timeline/
Nelson, C. About the Dust Bowl. Modern American Poetry. Retrieved from:
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/dustbowl.htm
Thompson, C. (2008, Nov. 24). The Dust Bowl. Slideshare. Retrieved from:
http://www.slideshare.net/ccsark/the-dust-bowl-odyssey-ppt-presentation
The Dust Bowl. Your History Site. Retrieved from:
yourhistorysite.com/US%20History%20PowerPoints/dustbowl.ppt
Life in the Dust Bowl. Retrieved from:
www.greenville.k12.sc.us/.../Life%20in%20the%20Dust%20Bowl.pp
Cabrera, I. (2012, Mar. 25). The Dust Bowl. Slideshare. Retrieved from:
http://www.slideshare.net/Isabel_Cabrera3/the-dust-bowl-ppt
Wilson, R. (2009, Jun. 2). The Dust Bowl. Slideshare. Retrieved from:
http://www.slideshare.net/Anonymous44/the-dust-bowl-1522887