However, some cities banned them if they trespassed on parks or privately owned land. Many of us spend a great deal of time imagining what we'd do if we had a lot of money--if we won the lottery, for example. Roosevelts recovery program, known as the New Deal, eventually reduced unemployment, regulated banking and helped turn the ailing economy around with public works projects and other economic programs. [4] Most of these unemployed residents of the Hoovervilles relied on public charities or begged for food from those who had housing during this era. Follow the Great Depression Project/ Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project on Facebook. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Create your account, 29 chapters | However, prosperity was soon replaced by poverty and optimism by desperation following the stock market crash of October 1929 and the general failure of the nations banking system. "; During WWI, this area belonged to the Port of Seattle but was occupied by the Skinner and Eddy shipyard. The homeless clustered in shanty towns close to free soup kitchens. Politicians continued drinking as everyday people were slapped with charges. They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. As the Great Depression deepened people protested and launched hunger marches. Anyone who has seen the famous old Civil War movie ' Gone with the Wind' might remember the Shanty Town on the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia that was occupied by freed slaves and poor whites. Unit densities soared in the early 1930s. In his journal, he states that of the 639 residents of the town, only 7 of them were women. WW1 veterans formed what was called the Bonus Army and 40,000 people descended on Washington D.C. and set up makeshift camps on areas such as the Anacostia Flats. succeed. In Seattle, Washington, stood one of the country's largest, longest-lasting, and best-documented Hoovervilles, standing for ten years between 1931 and 1941.Though several were located about the city, this Hooverville was on the tidal flats adjacent to the Port of Seattle. This drain reservoir became the site of an informal camp established by a few homeless people, but they were quickly evicted. The term was a derogatory reference to President Herbert Hoover, who many people blamed for allowing the U.S. to fall into economic despair. Although people would often use castoff lumber and building materials, more often than not Hooverville structures were built with cardboard, tar paper, and other comparatively flimsy elements. Families who had lost their homes lived in shacks in temporary settlements known as "Hoovervilles," named after the current president, Herbert Hoover. Here are ten key facts to know about Herbert Hoover, who he was as a person and his tenure as president. How many Hoovervilles or Shantytowns were there? Odd pieces of wood, stones, loose boards, crates, cardboard, scraps of other materials, old bricks and parts of boxes. Over the next several read more, Disenchantment with Prohibition had been building almost from the moment it first took effect in 1920. Hoovervilles were hundreds of crude campgrounds built across the United States by poverty stricken people who had lost their homes because of the Great Depression of the 1930s. In 1933, it was 25%, with 1 out of every 4 people out of work. This Hooverville thrived because it was funded by private donations. As their investments lost value, people soon depleted their savings. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. months[5] = "Explore the interesting, and fascinating selection of unique websites created and produced by the Siteseen network. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens. Excerpt from "Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle" by Donald Francis Roy (1935)
Did you know? "Nobody Paid any Attention": The Economic Marginalization of Seattle's Hooverville, Seattles Hooverville: The Failure of Effective Unemployment Relief in the Early 1930s, Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle, Seattle Municipal Archives Hooverville Documents, Unemployed Citizens League and Poverty Activism, Self-Help Activists: The Seattle Branches of the Unemployed Citizens League, Organizing the Unemployed: The Early 1930s, Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium | University of Washington. The Shanty Town was not new to America. Cardboard covering a worn-out shoe sole was 'Hoover leather,' and cars pulled by horses (since no one could afford gasoline) were 'Hoover wagons.'. KidsKonnect is a growing library of premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the classroom. Even during the worst of the Depression, most Hooverville residents continued to seek employment, often taking backbreaking seasonal jobs like picking and packing field crops. Trade policies made the Great Depression worse. "; Seattle, in 2009, is currently facing a recession that may be the most serious since the Depression of the 1930s, and a community similar to Hooverville has formed. There was no work, people were starving and the local police repeatedly burned down the camp. A "Hooverville" dweller, Circleville, Ohio, c. 1938. months[2] = "Learning made easy with the various learning techniques and proven teaching methods used by the Siteseen network. "; The term was coined by Charles Michelson. Inside Hoovervilles were houses called shanties . The anger directed at Herbert Hoover didn't stop with the label given to the makeshift settlements. The state described as 'absolute poverty' has been described as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information". By 1932, Hoover was so unpopular that he had no realistic hope of being re-elected, and Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York won that years presidential election in November by a landslide. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President of the United States during the onset of the Depression and was widely blamed for it. This Hooverville had its very own unofficial mayor, Jesse Jackson. In 1932, a new mayor was elected based on his support for the Unemployed Citizens League. We pride ourselves on being a safe website for both teachers and students. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens built shantytowns in and around cities across the nation. Hoovervilles primarily popped up on the outskirts of major cities. There were dozens in the state of Washington, hundreds throughout the country, each testifying to the housing crisis that accompanied the employment crisis of the early 1930s. Herbert Hoover was a rising star of American politics when he won the presidential election of 1928. Interesting Facts About Hoovervilles During the Great Depression The Bonus Army of veterans built a large Hooverville in Washington D.C. that housed around 15,000 people. READ MORE:Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression? Some were as small as a few hundred people while others, in bigger metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. and New York City, boasted thousands of inhabitants. Request for removal of Interbay shacks (April 24, 1937)
The reaction to all of this was often characterized by a grim sort of humor, sometimes represented by popular songs like the 1930's 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. In late 1935, the city Health Department estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 people were living in the various shacktowns. [3], The city tolerated Hoovervilles until the eve of World War II. Hoovervilles and Homelessness. Some have estimated that 500 Hoovervilles sprang up in 1929 and increased in number to over 6000 in the 1930s. Over its eight years of existence, the WPA put roughly 8.5 million Americans to work read more, The 1930s in the United States began with an historic low: more than 15 million Americansfully one-quarter of all wage-earning workerswere unemployed. Hoovervilles lacked the services found in typical towns. However, some countries retaliated by raising their tariffs, and international trade was hampered. When most of the veterans refused to leave their shacks, Hoover sent in U.S. Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur to evict the Bonus Army. Excerpt from "The Story of Hooverville, In Seattle" by Jesse Jackson, Mayor of Hooverville (1935)
Donald Francis Roy, a resident of Seattles Hooverville, recorded 639 residents, only 7 of whom were women. While private and corporate philanthropy provided some assistance during the early 1930s, poverty continued to increase rapidly. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Hooverville across 20 in-depth pages. Herbert Hoover was president during the start of the Great Depression. I highly recommend you use this site! An error occurred trying to load this video. The Great Depression drew to an end with the outbreak of WW2 and municipal programs aimed at "eradicating" shantytowns destroyed all the Hoovervilles. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images). Commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, the U.S. Army burned the Hooverville and drove the veterans out with tanks, tear gas, and fixed bayonets. During the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted about a decade, shantytowns appeared across America as unemployed people were evicted from their homes. New York City saw the emergence of many Hoovervilles during the 1930s: During the Great Depression of the 1930s author John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" about the lives of the people living in the Prairies states and the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl. He believed this would represent a philosophical shift in what the government was supposed to be for--namely, to ensure a level playing field for economic opportunity, but not to regulate or take over the functions of the market. Hundreds of Hooverville settlements were built across the United States, but some stood out. Writer John Steinbeck featured a family who lived in a California Hooverville and sought farm work in his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939. Named for President Herbert Hoover, the ramshackle settlements ranged in size and were set up across the nation. As Secretary of Commerce, Hoover presided over the economic boom times of the 'Roaring Twenties,' and when he entered the White House in early 1929, it seemed clear that the nation was in good hands. Residents of the previous Hooverville in Tacoma rebuilt homes on the same site they occupied throughout. Thousands of Hoovervilles began to appear all over the country. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President of the United States during the onset of the Depression and was widely blamed for it. 2 See answers Advertisement jayilych4real Come learn about Hoovervilles, how they got their name, and. Link will appear as Hooverville Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 18, 2018. Workers, whether migrant or immigrant, suffered from a lack of jobs making up a large portion of Hooverville. Seattle was also the location of seven other shantytowns. Both times, however, the Hooverville shacks were immediately rebuilt. Seattle's Hooverville and its residents were portrayed as violent, exotic, and separate from the rest of Seattle, obscuring the social accomplishments and self-organization of shantytown residents. Why was the Shanty Town called a Hooverville? But residents rebuilt and the site remained occupied all the way through World War II. Hoovervilles varied in size from a few hundred residents to thousands of people in larger cities like New York City, Washington, D.C., and Seattle, Washington. For example, in New York City, encampments sprang up along the Hudson and East rivers. Roy documents a unique spirit of tolerance and amiability between ethnic groups. Those who did were chronically underpaid. Where were Hoovervilles situated? Browse hooverville resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. Black and white Americans and immigrants from all over the world shared the camp sites. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. Next: Unemployed Citizens League and Poverty Activism. University of Washington: The Great Depression in Washington State. "; Response from Health Department (May 23, 1935)
They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. This was handled by an elected Vigilance Committee-- consisting of two whites, two blacks, and two Filipinos-- led by a white Texas native and former lumberjack named Jesse Jackson, who came to be known as the unofficial "Mayor" of Hooverville. Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression? Some squatted, either defying eviction and staying where they were, or finding shelter in one of the increasing number of vacant buildings. Library of Congress. For one thing, Hoover was a believer in the power of the free market and in the value of perseverance. Other Hoovervilles also developed: one on the side of Beacon Hill where today I-5 passes; one in the Interbay area next to where the city used to dump its garbage; and two others along 6th Avenue in South Seattle. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards. [3] Men, women and children alike lived in Hoovervilles. Exhibit B: Location and Number of Shacks (March 5, 1941)
He explained that the population was fluid, as men sold their shacks to newcomers and moved on, and at its maximum during the winter months when it reached as hight as 1,200. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images. St. Louis Hooverville, built in 1930, had its own unofficial mayor, churches and social institutions. When Congress refused payment and the veterans refused to leave, President Hoover sent in the army under the direction of Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur; the riot scene that followed included tear gas, bayonets, and tanks, and resulted in the burning of large parts of the Bonus Army's Hooverville as well as several deaths. It was a highly diverse population. months[8] = "This website is produced by the Siteseen network that specializes in producing free informative websites on a diverse range of topics. At that time, President Herbert Hoover increasingly became, in the eyes of many Americans, a grim and inept leader. Click here to see more photographs of Hoovervilles and homeless encampments in Seattle and Tacoma. Life in these Hoovervilles was difficult and caused many people to migrate throughout the United States in search of better opportunities elsewhere. months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. ThoughtCo. Chapter 1: The Great Depression Strikes Pennsylvania Chapter 2: Political Change and the New Deal Coalition Chapter 3: The New Deal in Pennsylvania: Public Works and Organized Labor Chapter 4: Popular Culture and Society in the 1930s Learn More Story Details Historical Markers In the Story Original Documents Story Credits Story Bibliography Each Hooverville was unique. Many felt that the government had to help those who lost work in the 1930s. It was a period of the global economic crisis that began with a significant drop in stock prices in the United States. It began with the United States stock market crash of 1929, and didn't completely end until after . In turn, a new lexicon came into being -- words like "Hoovervilles," "Hoover blankets" and "Hoover hogs." Letter from Housing Authority to City Council (March 4, 1941)
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis: Chapters 1-5 | Summary & Analysis, Themes in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Examples & Analysis, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Summary & Characters of Bud, Not Buddy, Bud's Rules in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Significance & Analysis, Vietnamization Policy & Significance | Nixon's Plan to Withdraw American Forces. "Hooverville" was a deliberately politicized label, emphasizing that President Herbert Hoover and the Republican Party were to be held responsible for the economic crisis and its miseries. The camps, dubbed Hoovervilles after Republican President Hoover, often sprang up near charity operated soup kitchens and rivers for drinking water and limited sanitary needs. And although private philanthropy increased during the early 1930s, the amounts given were not enough to make a significant impact. Tacoma had a large encampment that spanned six blocks. "Hoovervilles" were hundreds of crude campgrounds built across the United States by poverty stricken people who had lost their homes because of the Great Depression of the 1930s. It was named after Herbert Hoover, an American politician who was the president during the first years of the Great Depression. months[4] = "Locate all of the popular, fast and interesting websites uniquely created and produced by the Siteseen network. The majority of the homeless chose to live in small towns where they could easily access free soup kitchens. In 1929, unemployment was around 3%. Seattle's main Hooverville was one of the largest, longest-lasting, and best documented in the nation. New York City: Depression shacks "Hoover Village" in the old Central Park reservoir. Economic disparity in the United States during the 1930s was not limited to American born individuals. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Farming in 1935 . Roy noted that the only Filipinos and Mexican men were segregated, generally due to language rather than racial discrimination. They cut down dramatically on their purchases, but less buying meant fewer goods needed, so companies didn't need so many employees. Early Hooverville was burned down twice by Seattle police, but its residents continued to rebuild small houses. Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons. Almost 6,000 shanty towns, called Hoovervilles, sprang up in the 1930s. This page was last edited on 16 February 2023, at 00:48. Donald Roy created this map of Seattle's Hooverville. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. Multiple factors led to the Great Depression, including the U.S. stock market crash in October 1929 and the widespread failure of the American banking system, both of which helped destroy confidence in the nations economy. Reasons for Homelessness: Homeowners lost their houses when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. Hoover was largely blamed for the ineffective federal role to that point, and Americans were largely thankful to see their government trying any policy. WATCH: America: The Story of Us on HISTORY Vault. months[7] = "The Siteseen network is dedicated to producing unique, informative websites on a whole host of educational subjects. Many were established near rivers, as the above picture shows, or ponds - it helped to have access to some water. Probably the most famous Hooverville was the one founded on Anacostia Flats, just outside Washington, D.C., in 1932. City of Seattle.Americans React to the Great Depression. Some Hoovervilles were dotted with vegetable gardens, and some individual shacks contained furniture a family had managed to carry away upon eviction from their former home. On October 29, 1929, the date known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. This download is exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members!To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download! See the fact file below for more information on the Hoovervilles, or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Hooverville worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment. Hooverville served as a home for different nationalities and ethnicities. months[10] = "Looking for accurate facts and impartial information? Whenever possible, Hoovervilles were built near creeks, streams, and rivers to provide a source of water. Eve of World War II main Hooverville was the President during the Great Depression people! This map of Seattle but was occupied by the Siteseen network is dedicated to unique. 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