The Plow That Broke the Plains
1936
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This classic film about the Dust Bowl of the 1930s includes a climactic dust storm sequence in which day suddenly becomes night and the landscape changes from moment to moment. Filmaker Pare Lorentz made The Plow That Broke the Plains for the Farm Security Administration.
The film presents the social and economic history of the Great Plains – from the time of White settlement on the prairies, through the World War I boom, to the years of depression and drought. The first part of the film shows cattle as they grazed on grasslands, and homesteaders who hurried onto the plains and grew large wheat crops.
The second part depicts the postwar decline of the wheat market, which resulted in overproduction. Footage shows farm equipment used, then abandoned.
The third part shows a dust storm as it rendered a farm useless. Subsequent scenes show farmers as they left their homes and headed west.
The film presents the social and economic history of the Great Plains – from the time of White settlement on the prairies, through the World War I boom, to the years of depression and drought. The first part of the film shows cattle as they grazed on grasslands, and homesteaders who hurried onto the plains and grew large wheat crops.
The second part depicts the postwar decline of the wheat market, which resulted in overproduction. Footage shows farm equipment used, then abandoned.
The third part shows a dust storm as it rendered a farm useless. Subsequent scenes show farmers as they left their homes and headed west.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Farmers Home Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 13595
Full Citation: Motion Picture 96.2; The Plow That Broke the Plains; 1936; Motion Picture Films, ca. 1936 - 1937; Records of the Farmers Home Administration, Record Group 96; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://www.docsteach.org/documents/document/plow-that-broke-the-plains, October 12, 2024]Rights: Copyright Not Evaluated Learn more on our privacy and legal page.