# The Plow That Broke the Plains

National Archives and Records Administration The Plow That Broke the Plains Department of Agriculture. Farm Security Administration. Information Division. (ca. 1937 - ca. 1942) ARC Identifier 13595 / Local Identifier 96.2. 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.

- Kind: Educational
- Year: 1937
- By: National Archives and Records Administration
- Genres: Education
- Archive: [Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/gov.archives.arc.13595)
- Licence or status: [Public domain (Creative Commons dedication)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/publicdomain/) (as the archive states it)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/ia/gov.archives.arc.13595?play=1)