Question

Which of the following factors led to the mass immigration of Midwesterners to the Southwest? Select all that apply.

Answer 1

The correct answer is; they all apply. The national migration of farmers during the Dust Bowl occurred in stages during the period known as the Great Depression. First there was the fact that banks were selling very abusive mortgage loans to farmers that wanted to buy land to grow crops for agriculture. These farmers were mostly uneducated and illiterate and did not know that their farming techniques, namely their deep plowing of the Great Plains destroyed the grass that held the soil in place. This, compounded with a very strong drought, allowed the very strong winds of the region to scatter all the dry soil that had turned into dust all over the area, forming huge clouds that darkened the sun. This in turn started a vicious cycle, in which the improper farming destroyed the soil, then the dark skies prevented the passage of light and without light the crops died turning the soil into even more dust. Then there were the banks, which after the stock market crash of 1929 had lost money and did not hesitate to foreclosure on all the defaulting mortgage loans the farmers had taken to buy their lands. Hundreds of thousands of “Okie” farmers were thus evicted from their homes and left to their own devices. Because they were homeless, they unable to grow crops to make a living and thus their only hope was to migrate to California were jobs were allegedly abundant and salaries were higher. However, the influx of a large contingent of fragile, homeless and therefore defenseless farm workers emboldened California’s large farmers to lower the salaries, abuse and underpay all these farm workers.

Answer 2

Farm foreclosures, better-paying jobs