The Oakies

The Oakies were former residents of the Western South that had been battered with the largest drought in history and a huge dust storm called the 'Dust Bowl'. They crossed the Midwest with all they had to the California state line in search of employment in agricultural fields during the Great Depression times (1930's). However, jobs are nothing near what they got. The Oakies were discriminated against in California. Many people were prejudice at them, …

…no money, no job, and no food. How would they survive? After the Great Depression, everyone was still depressed. One man said, "I made my mistake, and now we can't go back. I've got nothing to farm with." They could not return to anything. They must have had to sell everything to get food and stay alive. Many people died from starvation or disease, and many people likely committed suicide considering their state of life.