I found this photo online when I searched, "the great depression farmers" into Google.
Upon searching for a photo, I did some brief research about the Great Depression as well. The Great Depression began on "Black Tuesday", October 29, 1929. On Black Tuesday, the Stock Market crashed which caused the United States economy to plummet severely. The Stock Market crash began the Great Depression and affected most Americans. In fact, in the worst year of the Depression (1932), the unemployment rate reached 24%.
Many Americans during this time period struggled, especially those who lived in the Great Plains. The Great Plains was struck by the Dust Bowl, which acquired the name "Dirty Thirties" for the decade. The Dust Bowl occurred for several years and completely ruined the ecology of the Great Plains. Farmers suffered as the dust destroyed their farmland. Many struggled with poverty, lack of food, and bad health due to the dust.
This research about the "Dirty Thirties" connects to The Grapes of Wrath. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, is about the life of Americans who live on the Great Plains during the 1930s. The characters living in Kansas are struggling to plant their crops, because the dust is everywhere. The dust created by the Dust Bowl even painted the sky black. The photo I chose related to the novel, because the Joad family aspires to move West for a better life. The photo above shows a family traveling along a road, possibly escaping the wrath of the Dust Bowl. Life out West in California was extremely desirable as the farmers in the region were not struggling. The Joad family were also like "Okies", Americans from the Great Plains regions that migrated to California along Route 66.
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