The Plow That Broke the Plains
Channel: US National Archives
Date: 2021-01-15

The film presents the social and economic history of the Great Plains -- from the time of the settlement of 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.

National Archives Identifier: 13595
Local Identifier: 96.2
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/13595

Series: Motion Picture Films, ca. 1936 - 1937
Record Group 96: Records of the Farmers Home Administration, 1918 - 1975

This item was produced or created: ca. 1937

Contact:
National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RRSM)
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Phone: 301-837-3540
Email: mopix@nara.gov