The heat from the forge: aspects of the seven year drought of the 1950s in Texas
Williamson, Rana K.
Williamson, Rana K.
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1993
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Abstract
In geographic extent, chronological duration, and measurable severity, the drought of 1950-1957 far exceeded that of the Depression years. It effected an area 40,000 square miles larger than the 6,700 of the Thirties and resulted in federal aid expenditures totalling $61,814,600. This study examines the experience of Texans during the Fifties emphasizing the federal-state interaction regarding emergency aid measures. Federal assistance was carried out under the Disaster Relief Act of 1950. State action was invoked under the Texas Civil Protection Act of 1951 and the Interagency Cooperation Act of 1953. The first call from Texas for government aid came in August 1952 as Governor Allan Shivers prepared to break with Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson. The Truman administration granted a short-lived roughage program. The first aid contract under the Eisenhower administration took effect in June 1953 and provided for the dispersal of feed grains and for beef purchases to prop up the cattle market. Subsequent measures over the next four years included roughage shipments and the extension of agricultural credit. A major weakness of the federal programs was the USDA's inability to arrive at a satisfactory and expedient system for determining drought eligibility. Other areas of contention included the call for price supports on live cattle and objections to the "pauper's oath" required of applicants for federal feed. Critics also charged the establishment of a black market in government feed, the receipt of shipments by commercial feeders and other ineligible applicants, and stockpiling. The environment forced a broadening of federal aid in spring 1954 when dustbowl conditions developed on 1.2 million acres of the Southwest including portions of the Texas Panhandle. Through the remaining three years of the drought the USDA's secondary concern became the preservation of the land, particularly in the Texas Panhandle and on the High Plains. By 1957, the Republicans began discussing measures to redirect the Southwestern economy to support the needs of an arid climate through diversification and possibly public works. Although the theory of drought aid seemed simple, its execution in the 1950s, as shown by the experience of Texas, proved to be intricate and controversial.
Contents
Subject
Subject(s)
Droughts--Economic aspects--Texas
Drought relief--Texas
Drought relief--United States
Disaster relief--Texas
Disaster relief--United States
Agricultural industries--Texas
Drought relief--Texas
Drought relief--United States
Disaster relief--Texas
Disaster relief--United States
Agricultural industries--Texas
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Dissertation
Description
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188 leaves : illustrations
Department
History