Serena Thornbrugh American Literature Stephanie Youngblood February 7th 2014 The Farmer, the Land, and the Bank The relationship between a farmer and his land is something that John Steinbeck draws attention to throughout the novel, Grapes of Wrath. A farmer works the land, lives on the land, and the land is directly tied to his identity. When the bank takes that land away he loses more than just his home and source of income. He loses his self-esteem and independence. The banks do not love the land like farmers do, so their treatment and appreciation of the land is very different.
Clara Nielsen US History 3.11.2015 Civil Concentration Corps Before the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) were started our country was in a great depression. People had almost no money and couldn’t afford some of the necessities of life. All around the world there was fires, smoke, floods, drought, erosion, and to top it off the dust bowl. It was very difficult to find good soil. The storms and floods had taken all the good soil in the 1930s.
They faced many hardships such as knowing little about how to hunt for game or how to plant crops on this new soil. As a result, many succumbed to malnutrition and diseases. In Massachusetts, for example, the Plymouth settlers, spent most of their first winter (1620–21) on board the Mayflower. It took a great deal of time to clear the land and erect adequate shelters. The following winter, the Pilgrims were able to live on land but it was under extremely primitive conditions.
These unstable rainfalls caused economical and environmental problems within both groups living in Jamestown. Cold and dry winter created the era called the “starving time,” these crops didn’t have time to grow during the summer because of a huge lack of rain. If the Powhatan’s couldn’t trade the crops that were
In that year a 33-year-old pioneer blacksmith designed and made a ‘self-polishing’ steel plough in his small blacksmiths shop in Illinois. This was made from a broken saw blade and John saw that the plough was capable of slicing through thick, sticky prairie soil efficiently without becoming stuck. As it cut the furrow it became polished and this ensured that the soil would not stick. It was a major breakthrough in farming technology and became the first commercially successful steel plough in America. The plough was fundamental in opening the American Midwest to agriculture and ensured high levels of crop production which was extremely important at
Throughout “On the Rainy River”, Tim’s influences, Elroy and his hometown, ultimately drive him to make the same decision, even though they represent very different things. Tim’s home-life is filled with pressures and responsibilities that at first he cannot handle. When the draft notice comes, all these forces initially push him away, but later, help him to make the decision to return and face the draft. When Tim describes his existence in Worthington, Minnesota, it becomes obvious that he is not extremely fond of his life thus far. As a declotter at the Armour meat-packing plant, Tim’s days are tough.
When cattle or any type of livestock overgraze it causes them to compact the soil which makes it harder for soils to receive water or be aerated, and it also doesn’t allow for the plants roots to expand. This all affects the soil because it will eventually end up causing soil erosion which will lead to even more erosion. The effects that overgrazing have on soil are so bad because it disrupts the whole balance of the certain type of ecosystem that you are in. By having all these effects on the plants and soil around the ecosystem it doesn’t allow nature to return that ecosystem back to its original state and eventually will cause it to make everything worse. Now there are ways that people have been able to have grazing livestock without destroying the environment.
He conducted experiments in soil management and crop production and directed an experimental farm. At this time agriculture in the Deep South was in serious trouble because the unremitting single-crop cultivation of cotton had left the soil of many fields exhausted and worthless, and erosion had then taken its toll on areas that could no longer sustain any plant cover. As a remedy, Carver urged Southern farmers to plant peanuts and soybeans, which, since they belong to the legume family, could restore nitrogen to the soil while also providing the protein so badly needed in the diet of many Southerners. Carver found that Alabama's soils were particularly well-suited to growing peanuts and sweet potatoes, but when the state's farmers began cultivating these crops instead of cotton, they found little demand for them on the market. In response to this problem, Carver set about enlarging the commercial possibilities of the peanut and sweet potato through a long and ingenious program of laboratory research.
But the 20s weren't all fun and glamour. The early 20s was a time of struggle. 15% of Canadians were left without work (they couldn't support their families). Prairie farmers suffered from a collapse in the wheat marker. Many soldiers returning from the great war (expecting to get their old jobs back) caused a great surplus of workers.
After investigating, high price of lands is the reason that causes this horrible chaos. Due to high price of lands, more and more farmers start losing their jobs. An old farmer who is one of the leaders of this demonstration said that it is impossible for them to load the large payment of lands, and he indicated that those speculators who are from government monopolize the trading of lands, which causes the prices of land keep increasing.