OKH 5-5

Oklahoma Academic Standard 5. The student will examine the Oklahoma’s political, social, cultural, and economic transformation during the early decades following statehood. 

Objective 5.5  Evaluate the impact of the boom and bust cycle of Oklahoma’s agricultural production due to mechanization and the needs of World War I, including its effect as a precursor of the Great Depression.

In a Nutshell

As World War I broke out in Europe, food was needed to feed the troops. Mechanization for farming and easy-to-access bank loans enabled Oklahoma farmers to buy more land and equipment to meet the war's needs. However, at the war’s end, such large crop production was not required; the boom created by the war began to fade. As banks began to call in their loans, many farmers faced foreclosure. Students should understand how these series of events in the agricultural sector contributed to nationwide economic conditions known as the Great Depression. 

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Guide students to appropriately apply and demonstrate understanding of academic vocabulary in the context of economic boom and bust cycles.

• Provide opportunities for students to compose argumentative written products, including a precise claim, organizing logical reasoning and providing credible evidence to develop a balanced argument related to the causes of the Great Depression. 

• Assist students in evaluating economic data from charts and graphs, noting trends and making predictions to determine the impact of Oklahoma agricultural efforts prior to and following World War I. 

• Evaluate the extent to which political and economic decisions have had on significant historical events, such as massive agricultural over- production rates. 

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• economic concepts of supply and demand, overproduction, falling prices

• agricultural expansion and mechanization

• role of farmers in World War I effort

• decline of agricultural exports post WWI 

• easy loans, farm foreclosures 

• Most students will have limited understandings of the role of agriculture to support war efforts abroad and therefore, lack prior knowledge of the role Oklahoma farmers played prior to and during the First World War.

• Many students will mistakenly credit the crash of the Stock Market as the beginning of the Great Depression, neglecting to recognize the effects of earlier agricultural overproduction and falling crop prices. 

Instructional Resources