The Great Depression and Dust Bowl

• Essential Questions:– Analyze the political,

economic, and social impact of the Great Depression on Texas

– Explain how the Dust Bowl affected the political, economic, and social development of Texas

Dorothea Lange’s haunting portrait of a migrant worker

cradling her two young children.

The Great Depression Begins

• Herbert Hoover became President of the U.S. in 1929.

• He had been in office for only 7 months when Wall Street stock market prices fell sharply—culminated on Oct. 29, aka “Black Tuesday”.

Stock Market Crash of 1929 • Many investors, hoping

to make quick fortunes, drove up the price of stock.

• Some investors borrowed money heavily to buy stocks, and when stock prices fell, those investors and the banks that loaned them money were wiped out.

The Great Depression Expands Nationwide

• Factories closed• Widespread unemployment• Low morale• Hoover greatly

underestimated the severity of the crisis and believed that relief efforts should begin at the state and city levels.

• “Hoovervilles” emerge—shanty towns built by homeless people

Too Much Oil• Ross Sterling elected

as governor in 1930 • Wildcatter, Columbus

Marion “Dad” Joiner, drilled an oil well in northern Rusk County.– First well of the East

Texas Oil Field; largest ever at the time

– Provided jobs for farmers and timber workers

Oil Overproduction

• Overproduction caused oil prices to drastically drop.

• 1931 - TRC issued an order for operators to limit production, but they still pump oil anyway

• Governor Sterling declared martial law and sent Texas National Guard to enforce it

• 1935 - oil prices stabilize

Crisis for Cotton Farmers

• 1920s – Price of cotton declines

• 1930s – Stored cotton created large surpluses and drops price even lower

• Texas Dep’t. of Agriculture urged farmers to reduce number of acres planted in cotton.

Wheat Overproduction

• After World War I, when wheat prices were high, farmers tried to earn more money by planting more crops.

• But, during the 1920s, wheat prices dropped drastically from overproduction.

Dust Storms Blanket the High Plains

• Farmers plowed under the grasses of the plains to plant crops, but nothing could hold the soil down from strong winds.

• A severe drought occurred in the 1930s and dust storms made the area into a “Dust Bowl”.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/dustbowl/player/

• Lasted for seven years• Generally covered a five-state area:

Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas

• Motorists often could not see 20 feet down the street

• People became ill from lung diseases• Many families lost their farms because of

the difficult economic times