The Dust Bowl.
In the 1930 there were a string of dust storms, which caused many problems for agriculture. The dust bowl as it was called damaged American prairie land up until the 1940’s. It was caused by severe drought conditions along with decades of extensive farming without time for the land to recover. During the drought the soil dried out, became dust, and blew away in large black clouds. At times, the clouds blackened the sky all the way to Chicago, and much of the soil was completely lost into the Atlantic Ocean. This disaster, which began as the economic effects of the Great depression were intensifying, caused an exodus from Texas, Oklahoma, and the surrounding Great Plains, with over 500,000 Americans left homeless. Many Americans migrated west looking for work, while many Canadians fled to urban areas like Toronto. Some residents of the Plains, in especially Kansas and Oklahoma, fell prey to illnesses and death from dust pneumonia and the effects of malnutrition.
During the early exploration of the great plains, the region in which the Dust Bowl occurred was thought to be unsuitable for agriculture; indeed, the region was known as the Great American desert. The lack of surface water and timber made the region less attractive for settlement and agriculture. However, following the Civil War settlement in the area increased, encouraged by the Homestead Act and westward railroad expansion. A unusually wet period in the Great Plains led settlers to believe that rain would now be plenty and the climate of the region had changed permanently The initial agricultural endeavors were primarily cattle ranching with some cultivation; however, a series of harsh winters beginning in 1886 coupled with overgrazing followed by a short drought in 1890 led to an expansion of land under cultivation. Immigration began again at the beginning of the 20th century, with a return of unusually wet weather, which confirmed the previously held attitude that the once...