Home - About the Okies

"Well, Okie use' ta mean you was from Oklahoma. [Now] Okie means you're scum."
- John Steinbeck (Steinbeck 280).

Okie is a term used to describe people in the early 1900’s who were from Oklahoma. Originally it meant anyone from Oklahoma, but in the 1930’s the term was used to describe someone who migrated west because of the dust bowl. This term was used to describe all the people negatively because people in California and other western states did not like the Okies stealing their jobs and lowering their pay. Many of the Okies used route 66 a main highway that was a link between Oklahoma and western states

The Okies journey from being prosperous farmers on their land to being the scum of the new home is an endeavor filled with many struggles. The Okies were forced off of their farms. Many stayed, but many Okies had to leave their homeland. Okies had to face problems such as starvation, vulnerability, and fear of change. These problems killed many Okies on their path to a new life, but life for successful travelers was not as great as what the Okies expected. ( Okie - Wikipedia, the...)