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" I. )'1 . The boom and bust pl"riod had one outsl:mding fcalure. radicalism. Radic-,i1ism wa, a frature of life throughout the basin and can be exemplified by Ibting some of the t"Vt'nIS thai took plJce in Kansas during the r INO\. h:Jns.a~ produced su~'h people as "So~'kJess" Jerry Simpson. who became the [eJder of the Populist party III the ]X90's, and Carm' ....ation. the hat..;hel ....'ielding dlampion of temperance who gained J nation. wjde following. In the fall of 11:.;90. the Farml'rs' AIJi:mce gOI control of the House of RepresentJtives. In Ib92. lhe Demonals and the I\lpulisajoined hands in "an unholy allial1l:e:' Jnd fose 10 political power. The climax (Jme III IlN6. when WiIli,wI Jenmngs Bryan won Kansas and much 01 rhe resl of the baSin. but .\kKllIJey was elerted prl"sident. The radicalism of the basin appe.m to have been the resull of an effort tll adjust, ttuouj!h polili('al adLOI1, (0 new l'ondilillns; a se;u('hillg for the wlulion of problems where the old formulas faj]ed and new ones were unknown, The politkal radi('alism arose, at least partly, from the discontent of e('ollollli(' lllaladjusllllenL The selllers were unprepared for Ihe physio.:al hazards of the plains and the el'onumio.: bOlldagl' thOlt resulted. THE PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT :-';0 othl'r single event in the baslll'S IllSlOr)' has had the deep, long bstlng dfe('ts of its e('unomk and sodal chara('teristi('s as the drought and economk depression of the ]930's, The hardshIp of eOlrning a h\'elihood during this pNilld was an obje.:t kssiun whkh hOlS never been forgotten by till' people who lived through it. !II any of the basJll's present ('ommunit)' leaders are people: who were able to surviw the depreSSIon without going bankrupt and whose de..:isillllS, III hoth prlvate <Ind the pub]k se.:1ors, are greatly intluen.:ed by their experien\:es, In another 10 III 15 years th!:'y will probably be replaced by a younger generation, but for the present. the Iingl'ring fear that the l.'llnditillns of the 1930's rl11ght rl'apJX'ar will contllluc III inllul'IKI.' theIr altitudes, Perhaps the be~l way tll dlOlrOl('(eri/e the~ people is thaI they lend hl readily al'(ept farming mellw..h whkh hdp tll reduce llle ti~ks they fa.:e; Ihey tend tlllt tn g<lmble on new so':lal and e('onomi.: lIlstitutions if the old .;all be Itladt' to fUlldt\ln for a while hmgel: they tend to have 3 wn~rV<lll\e outlol.l~ on money maltl'rs; and they tend t<l insist upon mailltamingrathi.'rlargerl'~rves, The depression proved rather (ondusiwly lhat the farming methods of thl' ftonliet weri.' not suiti.'d to Ihe environment of Ihe ba~in. partleularly the pbms porllon, The economic hardships of lhe depresslOll undoubtedly speeded lhe ac.:eptJII('e <)f 01 large number llf agri.:ullural 1Il1l0\'atlllnS whi.'1l (amI.' inlu Widespread u~e. During the thulles and l.'<Ir1y flHtil.'S. the tra.:!or almost .:ompll'tl'ly repla('ed the horSe.' as the farm power unit. the combine h<ld made the threshing mJ.:hine obsolete. and tht' introduction of ~vera] farm implements su.:1l a~ the disc plow made It feasible to apply stubble Illukhing and other dry land farming methods to large a.:reages, With the <Idvent of modern farm machinery, thl' small acreage suhsistence farm disappeared and the large cOlllmerda] <)peratiun replaced it. The depreSSIOn was instrUllll'nlal in bringmg Olbout ('hanges III <Igril.:'ullurOllland U~. Durlllg the .;eltlemenl period, the land use empha~is had been on the exploita- lion tlf the soil resuurl'es, The dust Slorms of Ihl' 1930's proved that thh was a silualilln the \'ation could not Ollford, The result was a numher of gm'ernmental pfllgraJ1lS whi.:h pluvidt'u ecof1omk in.:enti\'es and tedlllil'al assistance for soil and waler ,'onS<.'po'ation. Perhaps more important, the agrkullUralists .;ame to realize that the maintenance of Iheir soil reSOUrl'es was in their best interests. The 1930's Ollso made rhe :\Ollion aware of the more seriuus ecunomi.: and so.;ial problems Within a,!:ri('ulture, For the tlrst Ilme ill our history. the Fedcra] Govern- ment mitiated programs 10 direl't]y .:ontrol agrkultural prudu('(ion, to Jcal with surpluses. to try to lrKrease and stahili/e the inwmesllfruralfalllilies.and tomakerura] Jifeeasier. The total dfe.:t of the Old'lption of heltl'r farming ITlct]mds. speciahlatJOn. heller l<lnd u~. .Hld the gm'ern- mental programs was re\olutioll in Olgricu]tllre. Tota] produl.'tlon dlmhed dramalically. lhe efnden.:y of a sjngle fanner irKlca:.('d se\'clal limes. Olud many of lhe hardships of rural life dlsappeOlrl'd, In "01('\. thl' declrifi- .:atiol1 lIf th,' rural :Heas through the REA's, the Old vent llf fl1l)dern COlllrTIUnl.:allllns. Jnd the improving of transpllrtatiof1 have been of tremendoll~ lmpoflanl.'e in allowinj.! the rural people 10 partake of the goods and selyices l'lljo}'ed by lhl' ll'st of sO':lely. lhe 1930's abo pmduced the StOlrt of the OUI- 1I11grallllll of the rural p'lpulatioll. The baslIl ('~)unties as a whllle proh<lbly had thelt greOllesl rural pupulalion about 1930. after Wlll.:h lhere has been a rJthel steady dedinl'. If the frontil'r was thought of 01, a SOlfet)" va]ve for the eastern pl.lpulatlllns during the ~('ttlell1ent period. the dties of Ihe \'ation ,'an he lhuught of as being a safety \'alw for the nHal population sinl"e the 1930's. The vast majorilY of the population whkh has lefl the b<lSlO'S farllls has migraled to the dlics. both wnlHn the basin and outside l)f 1I. Few havl' be':ollle farmers in other areas, By and large. url:oan <Ireas pro\'ided the out- l1ligr<lnts with a better slandard of living and greater livelihuod \lppurtunilles than lhe rutal art'Ol~ which thc)' left. There IS not ne.:essOlrily an inherent dlSad\'alllage III a dC':lea~ing populatIOn, but the sp<ll~e rural popul:Jllon wilhin much of th,' baslll has been. and IS 11l1\\. at J "