This is just one post in the Water History Category

On this day in 1934, FDR asked Congress for massive drought relief

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 4, 2008 at 2:17 pm

From Politico.com:

On this day in 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to appropriate $52.5 million to mitigate widespread suffering in the Midwest, brought on by severe droughts throughout much of the Great Plains.

The economic and social problems that came to the fore as the Dust Bowl in the 1930s actually began in the ’20s, triggered in part by poor land-management practices. The area, home to millions of American farm families, already faced difficult conditions in the wake of the Great Depression.

For days at a time, thick dust clouds all but blotted out the sun. Farm-related businesses, including banks, were forced to close, creating even more unemployment. Water supplies ran low after years of unabated droughts. As a consequence, many farmers abandoned their parched homesteads and headed to other parts of the country — notably California — in search of work.

Read the rest of this article from Politico.com by clicking here.

June 4, 2008 · Filed Under Water History

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