Depresssion, Crash and Drought (60's, economic, events, military)

[jtur88]

The stock market crashed in 1929, and beginning in 1930, a severe drought began. Would the depression have occurred if only one of those two events had been present, or was it the combination of both of them that caused the economic calamity? By extension, would an economic depression today be as severe, if there were no other such catastrophic event to multiply it?

[Rhett_Butler]

Good question that I'd been wondering about as well.... I mean one of the things you hear about a lot with the Great Depression is the "Dust Bowl"... Well, obviously with no drought that wouldn't have existed.....

I'll be interested to see the responses from those who know a bit more about this era than I do..

[Fred314X]

Well now, if the Depression began in 1929 and the drought in 1930, you can't very well say that one had an effect on the other. And the drought, being a natural occurrence, couldn't possibly have been affected by the Depression, which was financial and economic. It was just a very unfortunate coincidence that they happened so close together in time.

[mofford]

The midwest would of been alot more depression proof, without the dust bowl. All that property would of remained valuable and producing income for millions of people. Scores of banks would not have got stuck with worthless mortages and failed. California would not have had the influx of "busted" farmers filling out their population in those days. It would of changed the circumstances greatly, without a dust bowl in the 30's.

[jtur88]

There was, to be sure, some cause-and-effect. Prior to 1929, Americans lived with a risky optimism, which contributed, among other things, to defective agricultural land stewardship . The belief that the rich land would always be there and always be productive, no matter how it was abused, quickly proved short-sighted the first time the rains did not come. Farmers thought of their land the same way investors thought of their portfolios---idiot-proof.

[texdav]

Their was a good PBS show on the Dust Bowl and it was not specifically caused by drought. It ahd more to do witht eh use of teh land they said experts concluded. Anyone even thinking that the modern crisis or the dustbowl has any realtionship needs to think twice before concluding that.

[jtur88]

Originally Posted by texdav

Their was a good PBS show on the Dust Bowl and it was not specifically caused by drought. It ahd more to do witht eh use of teh land they said experts concluded. Anyone even thinking that the modern crisis or the dustbowl has any realtionship needs to think twice before concluding that.

However, it is also true that an absence of rainfall is what triggered the dust bowl at that particular time, and. year after year, there was not enough rain to support a decent harvest, even if there had been good land stewardship. Droughts happen from time to time, irrespective of human agency. Bad land use made it worse that it might have otherwise been, but was not a single cause. And as I indicated before, the slack land-use might havbe been a consequence of a prevailing and unreasonable optimism that the land (like the stock mrket) would yield well no matter how it was abused.

The important lesson to be learned, though, is that an economic downturn by itself does not necessarily triggger a catastrophic decade like the 30's. On the other hand, an energy crisis at the same time could be as bad or worse than a coincident agricultural crisis.. Single evnts cannot be transplanted from one era to another and viewed in a vacuum.

[texdav]

We have in fact seen fraughts just as bad as in teh dust bowl days but the management of the land has made all the difference. There are in fact manu8 countiresd that how have the same problem as we did then and the difference is the oland management in thsoe countries. UIts also why in many araes that tehy don't plants crops that have even worse draughts that the lands do not turn to duct even though not managed. Agriculture place a real danger if not managed well and it was in those days.Even the present crisis is hard to compare to the depression. But I agree on enrgy we need some ralistic leadership which we are not getting from government. Its just liike the new orleans Katrina thign ;in the 60's a study by MIT'LSU and the corp of engineers recommend a floodgate system lie now in amny toehr countries to stop water from getting too the levies in a hurriocane. But a envoronmental grouops got a injunstion that kiolled the project. Politcs is causing the same problem now and they will not really act until a crisis happens like fuel shortages and then point finegrs as it will take years to corrct that problem, We are a reactive society and not a proactive one. The only procative agnecy in the govermentt is the military now days.IO frankly have litle confidence in any other governmnet function.

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