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.
Where did migrant workers go for work in the 1930s?
Many migrants set up camp along the irrigation ditches of the farms they were working, which led to overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions. They lived in tents and out of the backs of cars and trucks. The working hours were long, and many children worked in the fields with their parents.
Why did migrant workers go to California in the 1930s?
Migration Out of the Plains during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl years, the weather destroyed nearly all the crops farmers tried to grow on the Great Plains. ... Many once-proud farmers packed up their families and moved to California hoping to find work as day laborers on huge farms .
Who migrated to California in the 1930s?
In the 1930s, farmers from the Midwestern Dust Bowl states , especially Oklahoma and Arkansas, began to move to California; 250,000 arrived by 1940, including a third who moved into the San Joaquin Valley, which had a 1930 population of 540,000. During the 1930s, some 2.5 million people left the Plains states.
What was happening in the 1930s in California?
California was hit hard by the economic collapse of the 1930s. Businesses failed, workers lost their jobs, and families fell into poverty . ... In spite of the general gloom of the decade, Californians continued to build and celebrate their Golden State.
What were typical salaries for migrant workers in the 1930s?
Migrant workers in California who had been making 35 cents per hour in 1928 made only 14 cents per hour in 1933 . Sugar beet workers in Colorado saw their wages decrease from $27 an acre in 1930 to $12.37 an acre three years later.
What did migrant workers eat in the 1930s?
Migrant families primarily subsisted on starch-based foods like potatoes, biscuits, and fried dough that would fill them up enough to complete a day's work in the fields. The estimated annual income of agricultural workers was $450 per family.
How many people migrated to California in the 1930s?
The exact number of Dust Bowl refugees remains a matter of controversy, but by some estimates, as many as 400,000 migrants headed west to California during the 1930s, according to Christy Gavin and Garth Milam, writing in California State University, Bakersfield's Dust Bowl Migration Archives.
What happened in Salinas California in the 1930s?
Organized Labor and Strikes
Agricultural workers began to unionize in the 1930s. In particular, Filipino workers in Salinas, California formed the Filipino Labor Union in 1933. ... Their strike was brutally put down by a vigilante force organized by the local sheriff.
What are migrant workers in the 1930s?
The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl (a period of drought that destroyed millions of acres of farmland) forced white farmers to sell their farms and become migrant workers who traveled from farm to farm to pick fruit and other crops at starvation wages .
What drew migrants to California in the 1930s?
Which best describes what drew migrants to California in the 1930s? The promise of fruit picking jobs .
How did Okies influence California?
When World War II began, large amounts of money went flooding to California to aid the USA in the war. This was great for the Okies, more jobs, better jobs, opened up and they were able to make their lives better over time. Other Okies saw this and decided they wanted to go to California to make even more money.
What was the Dust Bowl of the 1930s?
The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken Southern Plains region of the United States , which suffered severe dust storms during a dry period in the 1930s. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region.
Who had the hardest way of life in the early California?
A Rush of Gold Seekers
By 1849, the non-native population of California had grown to almost 100,000 people. Nearly two-thirds were Americans. Upon arrival in California, immigrants learned mining was the hardest kind of labor.
Why did people go to California during the Depression?
Migration Out of the Plains during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl years, the weather destroyed nearly all the crops farmers tried to grow on the Great Plains . ... Many once-proud farmers packed up their families and moved to California hoping to find work as day laborers on huge farms.
What were some problems with farming during the Great Depression in California?
Soil conservation practices were not widely employed by farmers during this era, so when a seven-year drought began in 1931, followed by the coming of dust storms in 1932, many of the farms literally dried up and blew away creating what became known as the “Dust Bowl.” Driven by the Great Depression, drought, and dust ...
