The Great Depression.

The Great Depression was the worst and longest economic collapse in the history of the modern industrial world. Beginning in the United States, the depression spread to most of the world's industrial countries, which in the 20th century had become economically dependent on one another. The United States saw rapid declines in the production and sale of goods and a sudden, severe rise in unemployment. Businesses and banks closed their doors, people lost their jobs, …

…term on their maps to describe "the western third of Kansas, Southeastern Colorado, the Oklahoma Panhandle, the northern two-thirds of the Texas Panhandle, and northeastern New Mexico." The SCS Dust Bowl region included some surrounding area, to cover one-third of the Great Plains, close to 100 million acres, 500 miles by 300 miles. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl). The Dust Bowl was just another unfortunate event that occurred at a very difficult time for the nation.