Thomas Daschle: “the tragic days of the Dirty Thirties are still remembered by many in my State. As an unbreakable drought settled over…”

“the tragic days of the Dirty Thirties are still remembered by many in my State. As an unbreakable drought settled over our region, the fields dried and the crops withered. Hot, dry winds whipped the dust into dark clouds that blew over the land and settled in great drifts on the ground. It was a desperate time for our State. Destitute and facing foreclosure, many South Dakotans had no choice but to abandon the farms in which they had invested countless years of labor. These losses rippled through our economy with a devastating effect, stripping businesses of their livelihood and farmworkers of their jobs. As the lines of the unemployed grew, so did a feeling of hopelessness among our people. It was in the midst of this terrible Depression that one of our Nation's greatest Presidents, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, offered hope to the people of South Dakota. Through the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration [WPA], he provided jobs for South Dakotans, and gave us back the dignity that comes with earning your keep. Roosevelt's mark can still be seen across the State, where the thousands of people he put to work left stadiums, sewer systems, and miles of highways and sidewalks as their legacy.”