Transcribed
The Great Depression's Great Plains: Blizzards and Grasshoppers — Fexingo History
May 7, 2026 ·
5m 49s
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The Great Depression's Great Plains: Blizzards and Grasshoppers — Fexingo History
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Description
In this episode of The Great Depression: The Economic Collapse That Changed Politics, Lucas and Luna turn their attention to a disaster often overshadowed by the Dust Bowl: the devastating...
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In this episode of The Great Depression: The Economic Collapse That Changed Politics, Lucas and Luna turn their attention to a disaster often overshadowed by the Dust Bowl: the devastating winter of 1936-1937 on the Great Plains. Known as 'The Blizzard of the Century,' the winter storms killed thousands of cattle and dozens of people, compounding the misery of farmers already reeling from drought. Then came the grasshopper plague of 1937, when swarms of Rocky Mountain locusts devoured crops across the Plains, forcing desperate farmers to battle insects with vacuum cleaners and flamethrowers. Lucas explores how these twin catastrophes reshaped federal disaster policy, leading to the creation of the Great Plains Drought Area Committee and a new emphasis on soil conservation. He also discusses the little-known role of the Works Progress Administration in distributing emergency livestock feed and the cultural memory of these events in songs and oral histories. Luna asks probing questions about the scale of the grasshopper swarms, the government's response, and why these events are less remembered than the Dust Bowl. The episode ends with a reflection on resilience and the long shadow of environmental disaster.
#GreatDepression #DustBowl #GreatPlains #Blizzard1936 #GrasshopperPlague #RockyMountainLocust #NewDeal #WPA #SoilConservation #DisasterRelief #AmericanHistory #1930s #ClimateHistory #Farming #EnvironmentalHistory #FDR #FexingoHistory #History #StockMarketCrash #HerbertHoover
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#GreatDepression #DustBowl #GreatPlains #Blizzard1936 #GrasshopperPlague #RockyMountainLocust #NewDeal #WPA #SoilConservation #DisasterRelief #AmericanHistory #1930s #ClimateHistory #Farming #EnvironmentalHistory #FDR #FexingoHistory #History #StockMarketCrash #HerbertHoover
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-great-depression-the-economic-collapse-that-changed-politics-fexingo-history--6985372/support.
Information
| Author | Fexingo |
| Organization | Fexingo |
| Website | - |
| Tags |
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