59 pages • 1-hour read
The Worst Hard Time
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Essay Topics
Trace the rise and fall of the free-roaming American Indians on the High Plains. What legacy do these Indians have today?
Discuss FDR's New Deal policies and their impact on the people and institutions in the Dust Bowl.
What other environmental problems besides the black dusters did the High Plains settlers encounter, and how did they solve these problems?
How did the American cowboy's lifestyle change from the 1890s to 1930s?
What was technology' s role in causing both economic and environmental problems in the Dust Bowl?
What exactly were the black dusters, and how did they affect life on the High Plains?
Egan depicts many of the figures he focuses on as last-chancers. Choose one of these characters who is trying to start a new life and explain how they are a last-chancer. Discuss this character's struggle from beginning to end.
Who was Hugh Bennett, and what was his role in solving the problems of the Dust Bowl era?
Discuss the rise and fall of the High Plains economy from the 1925 to 1935.
Contrast FDR and Herbert Hoover's philosophies toward the Dust Bowl.
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