Richmond Chapter 15: The "Dirty Thirties": Kansas and the Great Depression

Kansas was hit hard by the Great Depression. Parts of western Kansas got double the trouble with the compunded problems of the dust storms. This period of Kansas History is one of the most fascinating for me. It is hard for me to imagine what it must have been like for the people living in the houses pictured with the dust approaching. I can see why many thought it might have been a plague. However, Richmond points out that Kansans kept their sense of humor, joking about the dust. There was a scramble to figure out how to fix the problems of the depression. Even a third-party candidate made a nice run for the governor's office. FDR's New Deal programs offered some relief for Kansans especially in the area of rural electrification. Kansas' most famous governor, Alf Landon, made a number of contributions as well.

The best way to teach this would be to correlate Kansas' experience of the depression years with that of the rest of the country. It would be an easy fit into an American history unit on the Depression. I would also use a number of primary sources such as diaries and photographs in this unit.