Example research essay topic: Stock Market Crash Dust Storms - 1,044 words

NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote

suffered more than any other area in Canada. This time frame brought for the farmers many years of droughts and grasshopper plagues, as each year got worse without any rainfall whatsoever. The impact of the Great Depression on the Prairie provinces was devastating and it's impact on the region was social, political and economical. During this period unemployment reached high levels, prices of products were falling and purchasing power was getting very weak. To try to help out unemployed people, mostly men, the government introduced relief camps.

During the 1930 's in Prairie Canada, the Great Depression created harsh conditions and it was a struggle until it ended. The event which triggered the Great Depression was the Stock Market crash of October 24, 1929 in New York. Another important cause was that: Later in the 1930 's, the wide adoption of the gold exchange in many countries was widely criticized as a great mistake which greatly contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression. 1 In Canada, wheat, the most important export, was being over-produced around the world, despite the fact that the 1928 supply of wheat was still available in 1929. A good reason for the stock market crash in 1929 was that, the values of stocks of the New York Stock Exchange were grossly over-valued, but government and business appeared to ignore the signs. 2 Canadian revenues that came in from export sales were dependent largely upon the United States who had the money for growth; the commodities were grain, pulp and paper and metals.

Then when the New York crashed on October 1929, stock prices fell dramatically. When the stock market crashed, the Canadian economy suffered after the United States invoked high tariffs to shut out Canadian goods. In the Prairie provinces of Canada, in addition to economic depression was the effect of the nine years of drought and crop failures. When the Great Depression plagued Canada, the country was not ready for it; there are three main reasons why: 1) Seasonal unemployment was predictable since wages for seasonal labour were high enough. 2) Cyclical unemployment and recovery in the past always occurred eventually. Canada was a new world society, with a developing farm frontier. 3) There was a working class political pressure. 3 Dependence on foreign trade of wheat contributed to Canada's main cause of the Great Depression. The Weather in the Prairies greatly contributed to the disastrous effects which took place upon the Prairies during the 1930 's.

Crops which were green and healthy in June, had reduced to nothing in two to three weeks. The cause of devastation to the crops was usually from dust storms. The drought created five to seven years of dried-out crops. A description of the Prairie land was that... The Prairies were like a great rich land without rain.

The heat everyday was too hot to adjust to during the day and too hot to sleep at night. It was like living a dry sauna. The wind was so hot and sucking that it sucked up the moisture. 4 In 1931, events which occurred were blizzards, dust storms consisting of hot dry, wind and complete crop failure. In 1932 it was the year when grasshoppers plagued the land. In 1933 the effects of drought and grasshoppers were the main factors which contributed to the downfall of the Prairie provinces in the first few years of the Great Depression. In 1934, soil began to blow in mid June and destroy gardens and crops and cause the cancellations of many fairs in the villages across the southern plains.

In 1936, it was the coldest winter with blizzards contributing to chilling records and also events where people froze to death. During the summer of 1936, it was the longest and hottest summer. Temperatures reached one hundred degrees Fahrenheit regularly and also caused a few deaths. The drought and high winds caused desert-like conditions to spread over the Prairies. 'In May and June of 1937 the weather ended up being hotter, drier, windier and dirtier than the year before. ' 5 Impact of the dust storms reduced visibility to a few feet, lakes went dry and farmers had to cut Russian Thistle to feed the starving cattle since there were no crops. As situations got worse, some settlers started to leave the land. In 1935 R.

B. Bennett and his government introduced the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation to help out people who were experiencing tremendous hardship. The social impact of the Great Depression on the Prairies had psychological implications. There was frustration for those who stayed and for those who abandoned their farms. Since there was not enough money for gas, people used their horses to draw their cars and called them 'Bennett Buggies'.

Some people were going quite crazy and often did not really care what consequences they would have to face. A description of the state of turmoil: Only those who lived through it could realize what it meant to travel for miles over a wasteland, with the dust and Russian thistle blowing across the fields and piling up on the fences; to see cattle and horses dead in the fields because they had become so hungry that they ate the Russian Thistle that tore their intestines apart and they died in agony. 6 It was difficult for women, since the men always saw each other, once in a while when they met in town with other men. The women stayed at home, isolated and so they could only listen to the radio. Radio was the only medium that gave people in the Prairies contact with the outside world.

Some women went to mental hospitals since they suffered from mental depressions. Schoolhouse dances were an event where people could get together. People read quite a lot since there was nothing else to do. They borrowed these books from the library.

The provinces lacked high schools and the children had to go out of town to attend one usually somewhere in the United States. The medical facilities were atrocious as people had to pay one week's payments in advance and they did not have enough money but needed treatment. During the 1930 's fine art was created during idle time. Portraits made were of &qu...

Research essay sample on Stock Market Crash Dust Storms