The Children's Blizzard: The murderous blizzard of 1888 David Laskin has tried to show the different between the normal blizzards that people experience each day and the one of 1888. In the early 1880s, more than a million people had started moving and settling in the Great Plains. The first group to move into the plains is the Americans; the Indians paved way for them as they showed great concern of the land. However, later on other groups like the Asians and the Mexicans also got their way onto the Planes. The land favored the interests of each group; they were all with the passion of starting up agriculture. Fortunately, the land was at a good position of promoting agriculture; it had fertile soil as well as water sources that motivated the migrants to continue staying in the land. However, people used to experience some sort of change in climate but their encounter with the 1888 weather left people wondering and asking many questions that no one could answer. Unlike other normal blizzard, the land was invaded with a storm that left massive destruction as well as death of many people. Therefore, this paper aims at understanding some of the factors that could have led to the murderous blizzard.
First, when the migrants settled in the land they changed the lifestyle of the inhabitants. For instance, women were not supposed to work but to look at the family and ensure they stay in harmony. Therefore, the migrants destroyed the traditions of the land; the tasks that connected male to female were broken down and hence leaving a totally different society. In the historical context, it becomes a taboo for any individual to change the tradition of the land. In the Great Planes, all human being used to work and consider the welfare of the land. Men and women would practice farming as well as help each other in the house work. Therefore, breaking the sphere of male to female the blizzard was a form of punishment to the land.
Second, several groups joined the Great Planes in the early 1880s. All the groups had their own believes though they had the same intentions. In some cases, fight would come up if different groups failed to agree on certain issues. However, Great Planes had a history of peace; the inhabitants used to settle their issues and conflicts without necessarily getting into violence. When the Americans, Mexicans and also the Asians inhibited the land, it was full of conflict and misunderstanding. Each group wanted to rule as well as set the policies that would govern the land. Therefore, the murderous blizzard came as a sign; it wanted people to eradicate their wrangles. However, before the blizzard various other plagues such as drought as well violence would strike the land. Great Planes never had such scenarios before. Unfortunately, people had no time of observing the occurrences to realize what was coming. Therefore, all the signs of trying to get people together had failed, then the murderous blizzard was sent for the purpose of getting peoples attention and helping them to reconcile.
However, another factor that involves the technology is related to the death toll from the blizzard. In 1880s, the technology was weak and hence to predict the storm was hard. Comparing that period and today, the advanced technology has helped in the building of superior warning machines that helps to understand the different climatic changes as well as ways of curbing all dangerous plagues. Moreover, people were a bit stubborn at the time. They failed to listen or even act when they realized a bad move. Therefore, it became hard to warn all the people as most of them never thought such scenario would come. Unlike the early days, there are various means of communication nowadays; the moment such incidence is predicted all people are alerted.
In addition, the mild sky is another factor that led to massive death of people. Before the murderous blizzard, the whole land was covered with wind as well crystals of ice rolling around the land. The victims thought it was a normal climatic change; though they had nothing to do they also never thought the blizzard would follow. Therefore, the combination of the mild sky and the blizzard left the victims with no plan. Also, the timing between the time mild sky and the ice started as well as when the blizzard started was wrong. The children walked along the way as usual before being strike by the blizzard.
In conclusion, various factors can be related to the murderous blizzard but it requires one to understand the whole scenario before making a comment of the outcome. Therefore, all the factors starting from dishonoring the traditions of the land as well as the technology and the mild sky gives a good account of the incidence if one takes time to understand David Laskin vivid description of the blizzard.
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