Question

What were the advantages and disadvantages of the use of mechanical harvesting machines in the USA?

Answer 1

The mechanical harvesting machines were helpful for clearing large tracts of land, breaking up soil, removing grass and preparing the ground for cultivation in a short span of time and with less human labour. However, for the poor, the machines were a bane. Mechanisation reduced labour demand and many were rendered unemployed. Also, the dust storms of the 1930s could in a way be traced back to the zealous large-scale ploughing of land with the help of these advanced machines. These storms were a result of the presence of vast tracts of ploughed land, with no grass to hold back mud.