Snapshots of the Past

The plow that broke the plains; look at it now. Oklahoma – Historic Reproduction

The plow that broke the plains; look at it now. Oklahoma, 1936 Apr. — historic photograph
The plow that broke the plains; look at it now. Oklahoma, 1936 Apr.. Historic photograph from the Barns & Farms collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Few images capture their era like this historic photograph of The plow that broke the plains; look at it now. Oklahoma. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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The plow that broke the plains; look at it now. Oklahoma

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Its caption card reads "The plow that broke the plains; look at it now," a phrase borrowed from Pare Lorentz's 1936 government documentary *The Plow That Broke the Plains*, which blamed the loss of prairie grass for the topsoil that blew away in the 1930s. The card's wording points the viewer to the land's condition, the contrast between what the plow once turned and what drought and wind left behind. The picture was made in Oklahoma in April 1936, during the worst years of the Dust Bowl, when the Farm Security Administration sent photographers across the Plains to record the damage. Its later transfer to the Office of War Information files is part of the same collection.

Created / published1936 Apr.
Medium1 negative : nitrate ; 2 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches or smaller.
GenreNitrate negatives.
NotesTitle and other information from caption card. Annotation on original negative jacket: AR. Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
SubjectsUnited States--Oklahoma.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan4,096 × 3,289 px · prints to 14 × 11 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-206500

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