USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -The Dust Bowl exodus was the largest migration in American history. By 1940, 2.5 million people had moved out of the Plains states; of those, 200, 000 moved to California.

Detailed explanation-2: -Eight decades ago hordes of migrants poured into California in search of a place to live and work. But those refugees weren’t from other countries, they were Americans and former inhabitants of the Great Plains and the Midwest who had lost their homes and livelihoods in the Dust Bowl.

Detailed explanation-3: -The hard times of the depression upset this system. New immigration laws forcibly deported thousands of Mexican workers. Their absence created a need for farm workers. This attracted the Dust Bowl migrants to settle in California’s farm valleys.

Detailed explanation-4: -The damaging environmental effects of the dust storms had not only dried up the land, but it had also dried up jobs and the economy. The drought caused a cessation of agricultural production, leading to less income for farmers, and consequently less food on the table for their families.

Detailed explanation-5: -However, even with government help, many farmers could not maintain their operations and were forced to leave their land. Some voluntarily deeded their farms to creditors, others faced foreclosure by banks, and still others had to leave temporarily to search for work to provide for their families.