The Okies
Okies were refugee farm families from the Southern Plains who migrated to California in the 1930’s to escape the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The refugees came from many different states, such as Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Missouri. The Okies were escaping two catastrophes an economic problem and an environmental problem. Many of the Okies from Arkansas, Missouri, eastern Oklahoma, and East Texas were tenant-farming casualties of sinking item prices and agricultural mechanization during the 1920s. The Dust Bowl had economic origins-- Mechanization. Mechanization allowed farmers to produce more crops. This led to overproduction which then led to severely reduced market prices. In 1931, rain stopped, and the Great Plains weren’t able to receive water. Families suffered drought, wind, dust, and death from dust pneumonia for 5 years. In 1935-1936, dust storms and heat forced families to abandon their homes and search for a new life. Half-millions moved to California, there they faced many hardships. They were unwelcome aliens. They were forced to live in squatter camps and compete for few jobs. In 1940, federal defence dollars inflated West Coast industries, allowing many to abandon the orchards for shipyards and bomb plants.
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