History of the United States II / Unit 2 USH2 0160 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Sod Houses and Locusts
Captions available
The idea
Homesteaders built sod houses of mud and thatch that let in rain and vermin, and faced drought, blizzards, tornadoes and very low rainfall.
In practice
Locust swarms six to twelve inches deep, stripping every green thing in their path.
Where people slip
An eighteen seventy-eight Kansas newspaper reported insects devouring everything green. The environment itself was the homesteader's first enemy.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
Builds on
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