History

The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the Great Plow-Up, followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.

Reaping the Whirlwind

1h 55m

Black Sunday was only halfway through the decade-long crisis. The storms continued. The Great Depression still affected people. Government programs were instituted to help. Learn what FDR’s administration did to try to keep the southern Plains from becoming a North American Sahara desert. Find out why some residents finally decided they had to give up and move somewhere else and how some held on.

Episodes

  • Reaping the Whirlwind: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Reaping the Whirlwind

    S1 E2 - 1h 55m

    Black Sunday was only halfway through the decade-long crisis. The storms continued. The Great Depression still affected people. Government programs were instituted to help. Learn what FDR’s administration did to try to keep the southern Plains from becoming a North American Sahara desert. Find out why some residents finally decided they had to give up and move somewhere else and how some held on.

  • The Great Plow-Up: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Great Plow-Up

    S1 E1 - 1h 55m

    The grasslands of the southern Plains were rapidly turned into wheat fields. Then following the early years of the drought, storms killed crops and livestock and literally rearranged the landscape. The worst storm of them all was on April 14, 1935—Black Sunday—a searing experience for everyone caught in it, including a young songwriter from Pampa, Texas, named Woody Guthrie.

Extras + Features

  • Environmental Catastrophe: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Environmental Catastrophe

    S1 -

    As the Great Depression sets in, farmers on the Great Plains begin to feel its effects. A combination of natural and made-made factors begins to turn the profitable farming land into a vast wasteland. The effect of these factors on individuals and families is documented.

  • Lessons: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Lessons

    S1 - 4m 54s

    With better weather the suitcase farmers returned and the same process that caused the dust bowl started again in the 1940s. What lessons can we take from what happened during the Dust Bowl?

  • Boise City: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Boise City

    S1 -

    Hear from Timothy Egan about how Boise City was marketed to people.

  • All Political: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    All Political

    S1 -

    Everyone had different opinions about the New Deal programs.

  • Making The Dust Bowl | Eyewitnesses: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Making The Dust Bowl | Eyewitnesses

    S1 - 6m 45s

    Ken Burns, Dayton Duncan, Julie Dunfey and Susan Shumaker talk about making The Dust Bowl, and how they discovered the incredible people to interview.

  • The Wheat Bubble Burst: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    The Wheat Bubble Burst

    S1 -

    The stock market crashed on what came to be called Black Tuesday. In response to the lower wheat prices more wheat was planted.

  • Sanora Babb Joins the FSA: asset-mezzanine-16x9

    Sanora Babb Joins the FSA

    S1 - 1m 16s

    Sanora Babb, an author, poet, editor and journalist, joins the Farm Security Administration to help refugees.

WETA Passport

Stream tens of thousands of hours of your PBS and local favorites with WETA Passport whenever and wherever you want. Catch up on a single episode or binge-watch full seasons before they air on TV.