The Depression continued with the Dust Bowl in the 1930’s. For nearly ten years the southern part of the Great Plains was plagued with hazardous weather conditions, including blizzards, tornadoes, floods, droughts, and dirt storms. The drought followed by dirt storms, which moved as fast as 60 mph, literally caused farms to dry up and blow away. The area of the southern plains became known as “The Dust Bowl”. These extreme weather conditions caused thousands farmers to lose their land and their families were forced to move out west in hopes of a new start.
California was appealing to many people because of its climate and the abundance of work that was advertised for its agricultural industry. Migrants came from all over the southern Plains, including Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and parts of Nebraska. Nearly 20% of the migrants came from Oklahoma. Most migrants were generally referred to as “Okies”.
The journey out west was a difficult one. People piled their families and a few possessions into their vehicles. The extreme heat added to the uncomfortable journey and cars suffered lots of wear and tear. Many times the family would have to stop for several days to rest and to repair the car. Those without a vehicle resorted to hitchhiking with few belongings. With so many people traveling out west, Route 66 was the most convenient and safest way to travel because it ran from the Dust Bowl all the way through to the Central Valley of California.
However, life did not always get better once reaching the golden land of California. Many were turned away at the state border and if a family did manage to get across the border there was little chance of decent work to make a fresh start. There was not enough work available for the plethora of migrants coming to the state. The migrants had to set up temporary camps along the side of the road and in irrigation ditches. These were highly unsanitary camps and they caused many health problems.
To help the newcomers, the Farm Security Administration (FSA) began establishing refugee camps. These camps provided a safe place for families to re-establish themselves in the new land and it also sheltered them from the discrimination they faced from Californians. Here the migrants were able to build a sense of community and security. The FSA was a large contributor in giving people a helping hand to start over.
Perhaps the greatest literary piece that exemplifies the struggles that so many people faced while traveling to California is John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck describes the journey of the Joad family, who travel to California from Oklahoma. Though fictional, Steinbeck’s novel gives a very clear and very accurate depiction of what many other migrants encountered on their way to California.By the end of 1940, the Dust Bowl had caused nearly two million people to leave their homes in the southern Plains. About 20% of those people settled down in California, causing the states' population to boom once again.
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