Protest against Hooverville evictions (October 10, 1938) The largest Hooverville, located in St. Louis, Missouri, was home to as many as 8,000 homeless people from 1930 to 1936. Courtesy Tacoma Public Library. Seattle police twice burned the early Hooverville, but each time residents rebuilt. St. Louis, Missouri, and Seattle, Washington, were home to two of the countrys largest and longest-standing Hoovervilles. Hooverville was the popular name attributed to shanty towns that sprung up throughout the United States during the Great Depression. 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. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. President Herbert Hoover did not do much to alleviate the crisis: Patience and self-reliance, he argued, were all Americans read more, The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. months[1] = "Find information about the instructive websites produced by international publisher Siteseen Ltd. "; [1] There were hundreds of Hoovervilles across the country during the 1930s.[2]. Roy documents a unique spirit of tolerance and amiability between ethnic groups. They cut down dramatically on their purchases, but less buying meant fewer goods needed, so companies didn't need so many employees. Though Hoover later agreed that MacArthur had used excessive force, irreparable damage to his presidency and legacy had been done. These settlements were often trespassing on private lands, but they were frequently tolerated or ignored out of necessity. Hoovervilles were racially integrated. Thousands of Hoovervilles began to appear all over the country. The Great Depression started on Wall Street. read more, The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression. The answer to this question is practically anywhere. "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. Along with Hoovervilles, other derogatory terms aimed at President Hoovers continued refusal to initiate welfare programs became common in both the homeless camps and newspapers. Excerpt from "Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle" by Donald Francis Roy (1935) Although a common factor among Hooverville residents was unemployment, inhabitants took any work that became available, often laboring at such backbreaking, sporadic jobs as fruit picking or packing. The government refused to pay, citing Depression-era budgetary restrictions. Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. Many Americans in need believed the resolution to their problems lay in government assistance, but Hoover resisted such a response throughout his presidency. Browse Catalog. Herbert Hoover was a rising star of American politics when he won the presidential election of 1928. Covering nine acres of public land, it housed a population of up to 1,200, claimed its own community government including an unofficial mayor, and enjoyed the protection of leftwing groups and sympathetic public officials months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. His records show populations of Japanese, Mexican, Filipino, Native American, Costa Rican, Chilean, and Black men. Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression. By 1932 millions of Americans were living outside the normal rent-paying housing market. The new mayor allowed the towns Hooverville to thrive and grow, even granting it some official tolerance. The homeless clustered in shanty towns close to free soup kitchens. Report of Shack Elimination Committee (April 14, 1941) Others were simply holes dug in the ground covered with pieces of tin. 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. A structured government ran Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, and extensive documentation was collected. Sign Me Up, Editing resources is available exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members.To edit 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 editing! As America's housing and economic crisis worsened through 2009, homelessness was on the rise. The nickname 'Hooverville' was given to the shanty towns that sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression. The primary cause was rapid economic growth, which was accompanied by excessive risk-taking at the aggregate level in the market. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. He wasn't a particularly warm, charismatic individual; he had won the presidency on the strength of his record and his character, but very few people would have described him as sympathetic (though by all accounts, he agonized over the suffering of the Great Depression). This worksheet can be edited by Premium members using the free Google Slides online software. Some Hoovervilles had basic public services and conveniences. Most large cities built municipal lodging houses for the homeless, but the Depression exponentially increased demand. He offers fascinating observations about social mores and culture of the community, including the easy racial relations and tolerance of homosexuality. By the middle of 1941, Roosevelts New Deal programs had increased employment to the point that all but a few Hoovervilles had been abandoned and demolished. People who rented their homes fell behind with the rent and were evicted by bailiffs. Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. They posed health risks to their inhabitants as well as to those living nearby, but there was little that local governments or health agencies could do. However, Hoovervilles were typically grim and unsanitary. There was no work, people were starving and the local police repeatedly burned down the camp. Twelve million Americans, about 25% of the normal labor force, were out of work and many suffered poverty, deprivation and homelessness. Facts about Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on Shantytowns and Hoovervilles. [7], While some Hoovervilles created a sort of government, most were unorganized collections of shanty houses. The effect was the virtual freezing of international trade. 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. Technically, these settlements were often in violation of state or local law; and even though they were often raided, it became common practice for authorities to endure them. Some cities allowed squatter encampments for a time, others did not. Some people . During the Great Depression of the 1930s there was Mass Unemployment in America. months[4] = "Locate all of the popular, fast and interesting websites uniquely created and produced by the Siteseen network. 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. The Great Depression was the greatest and longest economic recession of the 20th century. Some Hoovervilles even received assistance from churches and private donors. Both times, however, the Hooverville shacks were immediately rebuilt. However, some cities banned them if they trespassed on parks or privately owned land. 01 of 10 First Quaker President Hoover was the son of a blacksmith, Jesse Clark Hoover, and a Quaker minister, Huldah Minthorn Hoover. The numbers obviously varied, but the biggest Hooverville in Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington served as the home to 1200 people. This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download! An error occurred trying to load this video. 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. Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home. What became the city's main Hooverville started as a group of little huts on land next to Elliott Bay south of "skid road," as the Pioneer Square area was then called. var months = new Array(12); In addition to his perceived disregard for the harm done by the Great Depression, Hoover was criticized for backing the controversial Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. [6], After 1940, the economy recovered, unemployment fell, and shanty housing eradication programs destroyed all the Hoovervilles. Filipinos and Mexicans were the only ones who were separated, but this was due to language rather than racial discrimination. However, most buildings were little more than crude shelters thrown together from wooden crates, cardboard boxes, tar paper, scrap metal, and other fire-prone discarded materials. The current "Nickelsville" is a nod to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, just as "Hooverville" was a sarcastic nod to . The Seattle Hooverville covered nine acres of land on the tidal flats adjacent to the Port of Seattle. Sign Up. The New Deal enacted special relief programs aimed at the homeless under the Federal Transient Service (FTS), which operated from 1933 to 1939. These areas were frequently on private lands, but the trespassing settlements were simply ignored as the crisis demanded. The committee included two Whites, two Blacks, and two Filipinos. Most shanties, however, were distinctly less ambitious: Cardboard-box homes did not last long, and most dwellings were in a constant state of being rebuilt. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you The large camps were set up on the worst type of unused or public land often on the outskirts of towns and cities. People were expected to fend for themselves. He counted 639 residents in March of that year, all but seven of them men. He was proud of the self-built community, saying "Hooverville is the abode of the forgotten man." Many Hoovervilles were built along rivers, proving drinking water and allowing some residents to grow vegetables. Tacoma had a large encampment that spanned six blocks. Tacoma hosted a large encampment near the city garbage dump that residents called "Hollywood-on-the-Tideflats." "[1], The city imposed modest building and sanitation rules, required that women and children not live in the Hooverville, and expected the residents to keep order. One of the most famous ways in which people migrated during the timeframe of the Great Depression was by 'riding the rails' on trains. For webquest or practice, print a copy of this quiz at the Great Depression - Hoovervilles webquest print page. They usually had a small stove, bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements. About this quiz: All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on the page at The Great Depression - Hoovervilles . "; Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. At that time, President Herbert Hoover increasingly became, in the eyes of many Americans, a grim and inept leader. "Hoovervilles," shanty towns of unemployed men, sprung up all over the nation, named after President Hoover's insufficient relief during the crisis. 'Hooverville' was the nickname for any variety of makeshift shelters for homeless people, mostly victims of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1941. "Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression." The makeshift shacks were constructed from unwanted materials and lacked basic amenities such as adequate sanitation and clean drinking water. which contrasted the prosperity of the previous decade with the current crisis. But residents rebuilt and the site remained occupied all the way through World War II. During the fall and winter of 1931 and 1932, unemployed workers established Seattle's "Hooverville," a shantytown named in sarcastic honor of U.S. President Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), on whose beat the Great Depression began. Trench Warfare in WWI: History & Facts | What is Trench Warfare? The camp began when an unemployed lumberjack Spread over nine acres; it housed a population of up to 1,200. For example, one of the eight Hoovervilles in Seattle, Washington, stood from 1931 to 1941. Out of desperation, the homeless began building camps of makeshift shacks near cities across the nation. This was at a time when most workers didn't have access to unemployment benefits, health care, or Social Security--in fact, none of the programs that could provide that kind of help even existed. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. He was the President, after all, and there were many things he could do--but he was in trouble from the start, for a couple of different reasons. A "Hoover wagon" was an automobile with horses hitched to it, often with the engine removed. Dwellings in the Hoovervilles were little more than shacks built of discarded bricks, wood, tin, and cardboard. [2] Among the white population, nationalities included English, Irish, Polish, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. Advertisement. What were Hoovervilles during the Great Depression? They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. "Nobody Paid any Attention": The Economic Marginalization of Seattle's Hooverville, by Dustin Neighly, Seattles Hooverville: The Failure of Effective Unemployment Relief in the Early 1930s by Magic Demirel, Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle by Donald Francis Roy, The Story of Seattle's Hooverville by Jesse Jackson, "Mayor" of Hooverville, Seattle Municipal Archives Hooverville Documents. The quality and livability of structures built in Hooverville camps varied widely. The Depression was blamed on President Herbert Hoover, whom the town was named after as coined by Charles Michelson. What were the rickety shacks in Hoovervilles and Shantytowns built with? Homeless people were forced to live in absolute poverty in the Hoovervilles or shantytowns in the 1930s. Many felt that the government had to help those who lost work in the 1930s. "; He had first achieved fame during World War I when he ran the U.S. Food Administration, and his managerial skills, relentless work ethic, and ability to feed both the troops and the homefront simultaneously won him enormous praise. 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?' Request for removal of Interbay shacks (April 24, 1937) var current_date = new Date(); month_value = current_date.getMonth(); day_value = current_date.getDate(); year_value = current_date.getFullYear(); document.write( months[month_value] ); was the 31st American President who served in office from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933. Seattle's Hooverville had lasted a full decade.[4]. Enrolling in a course lets you earn progress by passing quizzes and exams. Letter from Housing Authority to City Council (March 4, 1941) [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. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images. Regardless of the gender of the residents, Hoovervilles served as a common ground for many different nationalities and ethnicities. Early in 1941, the Seattle Health Department established a Shack Elimination Committee to identify unauthorized housing clusters and plan their removal. President Herbert Hoover lost the election in 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Named for President Herbert Hoover, the ramshackle settlements ranged in size and were set up across the nation. The rectangular reservoir north of Belvedere Castle was taken out of service when the stock market crashed in 1929. 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