The Dust Bowl

This Library of Congress Student Discovery Set is here to put history into your hands. It brings together historical artifacts and one-of-a-kind documents from the collections of the Library of Congress. Interactive tools let you zoom in for close examination, draw to highlight interesting details, and make notes about what you discover. There’s no single right answer, only new discoveries to be made.


The Dust Bowl of the 1930s devastated the Great Plains of the U.S. and sent many families on the road in search of a better life. Recorded music, song lyrics and iconic photographs, including Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother,” document the daily ordeals of rural migrant families during a decade marked by financial and natural disasters.


This set is intended for open-ended primary source analysis by students. A Teacher’s Guide with background information, teaching ideas, and additional resources is available on the Library’s Web site for teachers, loc.gov/teachers.