Achieving the Dream

All these events culminate together to signify the achievement of the American Dream.  Land was made available to anyone who could meet a few basic requirements: five year on the land, improvements to the land, and filling an official claim with the government.  One did not have to have money or come from the upper class, hard work, determination, and the following of few simple guidelines could get him a new start at new life.  Even if he could not afford the new machinery that was being produced during this time, he could still make a tidy profit with older farming implements to support his family and meet everyday needs.  Furthermore, farmers often relied on the help of their better off neighbors to lend equipment or a hand.  There were various forms of assistance available to them.  Similarly, adding to the dream was the wartime Food Control Act of 1917 which fixed wheat price at $2.00 a bushel (Dust Bowl 89).  With wheat prices high, more money was to be had thus allowing more luxury for those poor farmers.

Looking at article by Caroline Henderson, a homesteader’s wife and writer in the Panhandle of Oklahoma, we can get a sense of what things were like in January of 1915:

"For this country, which has grown to seem our own home-land, the past season has been one of great productiveness.  The response of the fertile soil to the more abundant rains has shown us all that we must learn to store in the soil whatever moisture is given; that gradually we must prepare our fields to resist the times of drought.  ‘Waste not, want not,’ must be applied to matters large and small.  Here lies the hope the future.” (71)

     This article was original printed in Ladies’ World where Henderson published articles under the title “Our Homestead Lady.”  Suffering from a ten month drought from the fall of 1912 to the July 1913 in the Panhandle of Oklahoma, Henderson wrote to Ladies’ World  looking for suggestion to help supplement her family's income that year for the crops failed.  In response, the editor suggested that she submit an article to the magazine.  She decided to send in a story about her first year on the homestead which was widely received: the “Homestead Lady” was born.  This submission both supplemented her family’s income and documented life in the Great Plains (Turner 12).

     It is interesting to look at this passage because it points at several things.  First, we see the successfulness of the American Dream.  Caroline Henderson talks about the past-year being a productive one and we can infer from it that the crops and the garden were probably fruitful, meaning that the family lived somewhat comfortably that year.  Even though every year may not be successful, the fruits of one year could be saved up to get through a bad year.  This idea is a product of the American Dream.  There was always hope for a better tomorrow no matter how bad things were today.   Next, she mentions the abundant rains.  This is important because later on we learn that the rain amounts for this time period were unusually high. People counted on that when planting their crops.  They were aware that there were some drought years, but mainly believed that land was fertile and the rains would continue to come.  As history has shown, most were caught off guard when the drought and dust settled over the Great Plains. It is also important to remember that she is writing for a magazine so while this is probably mostly truth, there may also be some doctoring done to make the article more interesting.  However, I find the bulk of it to sound and reliable because it coordinates with her actual letters to friends and family.

 The last intriguing part of that passage was her reference to the conservation of the soil.  It shows that some people were aware that drought would come certain years and realized that the land needed to be conserved.  However, the knowledge of how exactly to go about this was not there, proven by the Dust Bowl.  If the land was probably taken care of, the Dust Bowl would have not been as momentous as it was.  With the drought and the winds, dirt still would have been a problem but on a much smaller scale if the grass was there to hold the earth down.

     As whole, the excerpt is different from much of what is out there over the Dust Bowl.  Most of what comes out of this period, especially as primary source is from the view of the men.  They were the one who worked the fields and supported the family.  However, homestead life was viewed differently by men and women, even if they were talking about the same thing, and they experienced different things because of their gender roles.  This passage let us see the perspective of the women.  Henderson mentions the successful year the family had but does not go into details about the crops which are common in other works.  Similarly, she reflects on this success and thinks about what needs to be done to continue it.  While she is not thinking technically about soil conversation, her maternal instincts and knowledge imply that she is aware.  Through her proverb of ‘waste not, want not’ we see this come out.  This sounds like the motto of thrifty homesteader’s wife trying to make a go of the family farm.

The Failure of the Dream

     The land had provided the answer for the American Dream and had taken it away.  The people were given the gift of the earth to support themselves and they abused it – somewhat knowingly and somewhat from ignorance.  The progressive spirit of the age, the factory like mentality pushed the farmers to treat the land as a giant factory and to get the most out of it they could with the least amount of work and money.  One has to remember that this was an industrious age -   In 1908, Henry Ford invented the assembly line which improved factories and made the automobile more accessible.  In 1910, Thomas Edison reveals the first talking motion picture.  In 1919, the pop up toaster is invented.  In 1922, insulin is invented.  There were a lot of changes occurring that altered everyday life and made it easier (Bellis).  People were caught up in this mentality and applied it to all aspects of living.  However, they did not check themselves to see its affects and they paid for this mistake - First, with the Great Depression, the result of people living beyond their means, and then with the Dust Bowl.  Within three years this progressive spirit which has been growing since the turn the century, was wiped away with by the frugal mentality of the nation.  American was not invincible.

 We can see of picture of failure on the plains in letter from Caroline Henderson to her friend Evelyn:

"All hope of an adequate forage crop has followed into oblivion the earlier hopes of wheat and maize production.  We have no native or cultivated hay crops.  The cattle stay alive thus far on weed, but the pastures are destitute of grass.  Many think it can never be restored.  The heat is intense and the drying winds are practically continuous, with a real “duster” occurring every few days to keep us humble."  (151)

From this excerpt of Henderson letter, we get a sense of what things were like on the Great Plains during the Dust Bowl.  The crops have failed, its hot, the animals are starving, the dust is blowing and there is little to hope for.                        

   This letter seems fairly accurate when compared with other Dust Bowl facts and accounts. However one had to take in consideration that this note was published in a magazine.  So it too, could have been tweaked a little bit to draw out sympathies for Caroline Henderson and all those in the Dust Bowl.  It was part of a series of letter printed in the Atlantic Weekly titled “Letters from the Dust Bowl.”  While this cannot be read as 100% fact but it does appear to be fairly accurate with the happening of the time.

  The Dust Bowl - 1930s