New Deal for the Dust Bowl 1999
Distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences, PO Box 2053, Princeton, NJ 08543-2053; (800) 257-5126
Produced by Agency for Instructional Technology
Directed by Felice McGlincey
VHS, color, 20 min.
High School - Adult
History
Date Entered: 11/09/2018
Reviewed by Jay Schwartz, Media Resources Librarian, Suffolk County Community College, Riverhead, N.Y.During the early years of the 20th century, the tractor was introduced to the Great Plains, making intensive farming possible. The technique of "dry farming" began to be used. These two factors set the stage for the great "dust bowl" of the 1930's. A cyclically occurring dry period caused crops to fail and soil to blow away.
This program outlines the events leading up to the dust bowl and analyzes the factors, both natural and man made, which led to this agricultural disaster. At one point, some 500,000 people were forced off the land. Survivors of the period are interviewed and clips from "The Plow That Broke the Plains" describe, in vivid detail, the scope of the problem.
Federal government action under the New Deal, including the Soil Conservation Service, reforestation, etc., as well as educational programs devoted to changing farming practices are outlined.
A well done, brief introduction to a difficult period in this nation's history. Useful in high school or as a discussion starter on the college level. Recommended.