American Exodus

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Generations of Americans have come to know the epic story of Oklahoma farm families driven west to California by dust storms, drought, and economic hardship through Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath and Dorothea Lange's unforgettable photos. James N. Gregory's pathbreaking American Exodus is a classic historical study that uncovers the full meaning of these events. Gregory takes us back to the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and the war boom of the 1940s to explore the experiences of the more than one million Oklahomans, Arkansans, Texans, and Missourians who sought opportunities in California. Gregory reaches into the migrants' lives to reveal not only their economic trials but also their impact on California's culture and society. He traces the development of an "Okie subculture" that over the years has grown into an essential element in California's cultural landscape, including an allegiance to evangelical Protestantism, "plain-folk American" values, and a love of country music. The legacy of the Dust Bowl migration can also be measured in political terms: throughout California, and especially in the San Joaquin Valley, Okies have implanted their own brand of populist conservatism.--From publisher description.