The History Of Migrant Farmers In California

   After World War 1, many poor farmers and agricultural workers from the Great Plains were brought over to California to work. Workers came from all over the Great Plains including Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The Great Plains was a very fertile land before the first World War but began to erode, taking away jobs from farmers. The soil was producing many crops in the Great Plains but eventually became desert land. This land then became known as the Dust Bowl. Many farmers evacuated that area seeking for land to begin farming again. California was known as a popular area for farming back then. Men and women without jobs were forced to leave and eventually, many settled in California. This idea of California being a very good land for farming was somewhat true but the economy of California was going on a downward route. A recession caused prices of farm crops to drop which caused a need for more crops. Farmers had to work harder for their money and jobs were becoming scarce. Farmers thought of new ways of gaining money but failed to do so. This was the life of a migrant farmer in California at that time and was inserted in the book Of Mice and Men.

A Family and their home in the Dust Bowl