Chapter 12 Questions and Answers \"Dust Bowl Odyssey\" PDF

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This document goes over the review questions regarding Chapter 12, "Dust Bowl Odyssey". ...

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College of Humanities and Social Sciences Name: (Your Name)

HIS306 – After the Fact, Ch 12 Dust Bowl Odyssey Discussion Questions 1. Summarize pages 284-288. What are the main aspects of the Dust Bowl as presented by the authors? The dust storms were severe during the first years they occurred. They would blacken many cities and then they could even seep through the doors into the cupboards or peoples hair. The dust storms, drought and the Great Depression ruined many dreams about the west and eventually lead people to migrate. This era leads people to move to California from the states that got hit by all the dust storms, drought and depression. In the story by Steinbeck, it mentions how the dream became a nightmare due to being able to find the treasures but the people would get mistreated and targeted for being Okies. 2. What is the meaning of “a part stands for the whole”? How might historians employ this technique? This means that sometimes a small section or story someone portrays is not always the bigger picture. For example, Steinbeck’s book is not the only story of the people migrating to California from the dust bowl states. There are millions of others that are not accounted for in his story that moved to California. Historians can use this statement by checking a broader area for context and cross referencing. They allow Historians to understand that one account may not always be the only one. It takes into account the bias of the authors and the situation. 3. In the section ‘History by the Numbers,’ what are some conclusions you (and the authors) draw from the data? What questions does the data raise? The conclusions the authors and I could take are that not all the census are entirely complete and the data is not super concise at the beginning. Once the census are created in more detail, it is noticeable that there could have been repetition. For example, during the 1910s and the 1930s, were the same people leaving back and forth? Due to the information given, there is not really enough evidence on it. Some of the questions this section brings up are if any people from the east and the west moved back and forth between states, what other factors made people move to California and how did the people keep track of everything occurring during these years.

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4. What does the graph on page 298 tell us about farmworkers in California? Is there anything interesting about the data or the author’s conclusions? The graph tells us that only 43% of the people who migrated to California were actually farmers. The rest went under skilled laborers, white collar workers, unskilled laborers, and professionals. It lets the authors and readers know that not everything you read is true. The “majority” of the people coming to California were not farmers but on the other hand, they were everything else. The farmers were the minorities. 5.

What was the experience of Dust Bowl refugees when they came to California?

When the refugees came over to California, they had many hardships on their way. They constantly had to sell their items to get money for food, they struggled to reach their goals and find a job. Once they arrived, the accounts say that trying to find a job was hard and most couldn’t do it. Many were poor when they arrived and never became rich, some just maintained a middle-class level. Since many different cultures were arriving, some migrants were treated badly and giving bad jobs. Finally, once they arrived, they had to create a new life and try to choose where to live. Comparing this to the first coming of the immigrants through Ellis island, allows me to try to visually imagine the treatment they received. 6. What information does the chapter present on other migrant workers and the agricultural landscape in California? What story do these details tell? This chapter presents information on all the different types of farmers and agricultural workers that arrived during this time. There were farmers such as Asian, Black, Filipino and Mexicans. They all had a different story and different ways to do things. It went into mentioning some of the things that occurred in due to the hatred that some received such as the Chinese Exclusion Act and the beginning of the Chicano Movement. 7. After the Fact Chapter 12 is about quantification in history. Quantification (data and statistics) are a means to creating and supporting the narrative. What do you find surprising about this chapter`? What I found interesting was how important statistics really are in the historical perspective. They are truly amazing once you analyze them and check all the stories of a specific event in history. Before statistics, I would just assume that everything I read in history books were the correct story line of what occurred but now I truly think that it is important to check the biased of authors and articles.

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