Time Machine to the 1930s (Ch. 1 - 10) (A)

In the photo above, there is a man walking on the railway with his baggage in his arms. The man with the large moustache and beard is one of many that had to leave their home because of the Depression during the 1930s. These traveling wanderers were seen throughout the 1930s  searching for any jobs and labors that are available.
The Dust Bowl Migration, one of the episodes during the Depression, occurred during the 1930s when large masses of jobless farmers in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas moved to California where they believed there were new hopes and new starts. The migration was first sparked by Paul Taylor, a economist, as he presented the nutritious futile land in California. Due to the harsh dusty climate in the Texas region, the farmers hoped they can bet on the better land in California where oranges and grapes grew. In John Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath, the characters view California as the land of promise. For example, when the agents of the Banks took the farmer's land, the agents advised the farmer to "[...] go on west to California. [There] are works there, and it never gets cold" (34) The characters believe that California is the land where farmers can restart their ruined lives. However, the hope that brought the farmers to California was destroyed as 400,000 farmers were stationed to the camps. Called Dust Bowl refugees, the people had great difficulties in searching for jobs and opportunities in the land they thought as the promised land.


Photo Source:
-"Stock Photo - 1930s GREAT DEPRESSION ERA MAN HOMELESS HOBO WALKING DOWN RAILROAD TRACKS." 1930s GREAT DEPRESSION ERA MAN HOMELESS HOBO WALKING DOWN RAILROAD TRACKS. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.masterfile.com/stock-photography/image/846-05648510/1930s-GREAT-DEPRESSION-ERA-MAN-HOMELESS-HOBO-WALKING-DOWN-RAILROAD-TRACKS>.

Information Source:
Gregory, James N. ""The Dust Bowl Migration"" Faculty Washington. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2014. <https://faculty.washington.edu/gregoryj/dust%20bowl%20migration.htm>.