Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. [3] Report of the Sanitation Divison December 31, 1935 as quoted in Excerpt from the Health Department Annual Report 1935, Seattle Municipal Archives: http://www.seattle.gov/CityArchives/Exhibits/Hoover/1935ar.htm (accessed December 29, 2009), [4] Report of Shack Elimination Committee (April 14, 1941), Seattle Municipal Archives (accessed December 29, 2009), Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium. Hoovervilles In the 1930s, Hoovervilles (shantytowns) formed coast to coast in cities of the United States. When the government failed to provide relief, President Herbert Hoover was blamed for the intolerable economic and social conditions, so the shantytowns that cropped up became known as Hoovervilles. However, some countries retaliated by raising their tariffs, and international trade was hampered. There was no work, people were starving and the local police repeatedly burned down the camp. [2] Jesse Jackson, "The Story of Seattle's Hooverville," in Calvin F. Schmid, Social Trends in Seattle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1944), 286-93. Longley, Robert. Erected by unemployed lumberjacks on the tidal flats of the Port of Seattle, the encampment covered nine acres and grew to house up to 1,200 people. 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. MacArthurs troops set fire to the Hooverville and drove the group from the city with bayonets and tear gas. Each Hooverville was unique. Many features of life during the Great Depression were given bitter connotations with Hoover's name. The Seattle City Council decided to close Hooverville in May 1941, despite the increased reliance on it for shelter. No two Hoovervilles were quite alike, and the camps varied in population and size. months[2] = "Learning made easy with the various learning techniques and proven teaching methods used by the Siteseen network. As the Depression worsened and millions of families lost their jobs and depleted their savings, they also lost their homes. 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 Most were unemployed laborers and timber workers, few of whom had held any jobs in the previous two years. 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. Shanty towns built during the Great Depression, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Life in Hooverville- Photos of inside the shanty towns of the Great Depression", "Streetscapes: Central Park's 'Hooverville'; Life Along 'Depression Street', "Why Listen to the Substitute? - Definition & History, Effects & Events of the US Civil War from Various Perspectives, William Monroe Trotter: Quotes & Biography, Andrew Carnegie: Steel, Net Worth & Philanthropy, Neil Armstrong: Biography, Facts & Moon Landing, Working Scholars Bringing Tuition-Free College to the Community. In 1934, Roy recorded a population of non-White people, including Black men, Costa Rican, Chilean, Filipino, Japanese, Mexican, and. Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Seattle's decision to raze Hooverville in 1941 and expel its residents relied on a discourse of "otherness" that set Hooverville economically, socially, and geographically apart. In 1930, the largest Hooverville in America, consisting of four distinct sectors, was established in St. Louis. This began with a heated debate over the status and rights of Hooverville residents, who became more visible in petitions submitted throughout the late 1930s. The Great Depression started on Wall Street. Courtesy Tacoma Public Library. These are ready-to-use Hooverville worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Hooverville, which was a small town founded by homeless people in the United States during the Great Depression. Hoover Pullmans were rusted railroad boxcars used as dwellings. Facts about Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on Shantytowns and Hoovervilles. Shanty towns also appeared in or near other cities. By 1932 millions of Americans were living outside the normal rent-paying housing market. He offers fascinating observations about social mores and culture of the community, including the easy racial relations and tolerance of homosexuality. During the Great Depression, other Hoovervilles were built in. This issue will be discussed more below. Democrats coined many terms based on opinions of Herbert Hoover[5] such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used as blanketing). The Depression was blamed on President Herbert Hoover, after whom the town was named after, as coined by Charles Michelson. Petition for community bath houses in Hooverville (May 15, 1935) months[0] = "Discover the vast range of useful, leisure and educational websites published by the Siteseen network. In turn, a new lexicon came into being -- words like "Hoovervilles," "Hoover blankets" and "Hoover hogs." "; Most Hoovervilles operated in an informal, unorganized way, but the bigger ones would sometimes put forward spokespersons to serve as a liaison between the camp and the larger community. Twelve million Americans, about 25% of the normal labor force, were out of work and many suffered poverty, deprivation and homelessness. 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). months[9] = "Get fast, free facts and information on a whole host of subjects in the Siteseen network of interesting websites. Hooverville served as a home for different nationalities and ethnicities. At 81, He does Tell History Firsthand", Photos of a new father figure in Hooverville in Portland, Oregon, Great Depression in Washington State Project, Photos and details of a Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, Photographs of California Hoovervilles (Sacramento, Kern County), Presidential transition of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Birthplace and childhood home National Historic Site, Presidential Library, Museum, and gravesite, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hooverville&oldid=1139613330, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from May 2017, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Write THREE true facts about this topic and ONE lie about this topic in the boxes below2. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. @media (min-width: 340px) { .adslot_1 { width: 336px; height: 280px; } } 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. The majority of the homeless chose to live in small towns where they could easily access free soup kitchens. Some squatted, either defying eviction and staying where they were, or finding shelter in one of the increasing number of vacant buildings. Where were Hoovervilles situated? To find out more, see our cookie policy. In Washington, the Unemployed Citizen's League and its newspaper, The Vanguard, gained the state Communists a broad appeal, and integrated the unemployed into the state's radical reform coalitions. Bootleggers were becoming rich on the profits of illegal alcohol sales and violence was on the rise. Exhibit C: Physical Conditions and Occupancy of Shacks (March 5, 1941) Americas longest lasting Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, stood for ten years, from 1931 to 1941. "Hoovervilles," shanty towns of unemployed men, sprung up all over the nation, named after President Hoover's insufficient relief during the crisis. As people increasingly relied on credit to buy homes filled with new conveniences of the day, like refrigerators, radios, and cars, many Americans were living beyond their means. A "Hooverville" dweller, Circleville, Ohio, c. 1938. Hoovervilles were racially integrated. In some cases, unemployed skilled construction workers used stones and bricks from demolished buildings to build fairly solid houses. KidsKonnect uses a secure SSL connection to encrypt your data and we only work with trusted payment processors Stripe and PayPal. We pride ourselves on being a safe website for both teachers and students. Nearly 29 percent of the population was non-white. Sign Me Up. The numbers, as mind-boggling as they are, tend not to reflect the actual state of suffering caused by the greatest economic catastrophe in U.S. history. 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. By 1932, Herbert Hoovers last full year in office, the U.S. unemployment rate had soared to 25%, with more than 15 million people without jobs or homes. Farming in 1935 . Grade Level. Hundreds of Hooverville settlements were built across the United States, but some stood out. Homelessness was present before the Great Depression, and was a common sight before 1929. To find out more, see our, Download the Hooverville Facts & Worksheets, Hooverville Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com, Resources created by teaching professionals. The Red Scare of the 1920s History & Overview | What was the First Red Scare? A look at how people lived, especially in the makeshift dwellings they constructed, gives a better sense of this, as does an understanding of the bitter humor behind the naming of these dwellings, known as 'Hoovervilles'. Some people . 'Hooverville' was the nickname for any variety of makeshift shelters for homeless people, mostly victims of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1941. Most men with construction skills were able to build their houses out of stone, but those who could not resort to making their residences out of wood from the materials available to them, most of which were recycled. Seattle police twice burned the early Hooverville, but each time residents rebuilt. 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. Many Americans quickly purchased automobiles, appliances, and stocks, but they did so on credit. "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. Homelessness followed quickly from joblessness once the economy began to crumble in the early 1930s. However, that didn't last long. In April, residents of the main Hooverville were given notice to leave by May 1. Some cities allowed squatter encampments for a time, others did not. The peak of the Great Depression was from 1932 to 1933. Those who did were chronically underpaid. 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. The government refused to pay, citing Depression-era budgetary restrictions. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize.. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images. A Hoover blanket was a pile of old newspapers used as bedding. 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. The rectangular reservoir north of Belvedere Castle was taken out of service when the stock market crashed in 1929. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens built shantytowns in and around cities across the nation. [1] The final decision to eliminate Hooverville was presented in a report from the Housing Authority. 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. Black and white men would share homes out of convenience and, likewise, exemplify camaraderie and friendship. The Hoovervilles varied in size from just a few shacks clustered together to communities of over 1000 rickety shacks covering acres of unused or public lands. The photograph dates from about 1932 to 1937. var months = new Array(12); Browse Catalog. Hoovervilles began to disappear after the election of Franklin Roosevelt, whose New Deal promised to put the federal government into activist mode to try to end the Great Depression. New York City: Depression shacks "Hoover Village" in the old Central Park reservoir. During the Great Depression, in the 1930s, as millions of people lost their jobs and homes, shanty towns, also known as "Hoovervilles" began to sprout up across the US. Most of them did not find work. They are crowded, dirty, miserable, and they are places where the homeless gather to build temporary homes. Trench Warfare in WWI: History & Facts | What is Trench Warfare? What were Hoovervilles during the Great Depression? At its peak, roughly 25%, maybe more, of the American work force was unemployed. Whenever possible, Hoovervilles were built near rivers for the convenience of a water source. 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. University of Washington: The Great Depression in Washington State. months[5] = "Explore the interesting, and fascinating selection of unique websites created and produced by the Siteseen network. 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. Hoovervilles were large groups of simple, makeshift houses built by people who had nowhere else to live during the Great Depression. What were the Hoovervilles (Shanty Town) of the Great Depression? Hooverville was the popular name attributed to shanty towns that sprung up throughout the United States during the Great Depression. More often than not, Hoovervilles were tolerated. These settlements were often trespassing on private lands, but they were frequently tolerated or ignored out of necessity. 10 Facts About the Great Depression. Today the nine acre site is used to unload container ships. When disaster struck, Americans looked to their President for leadership and compassion, but Hoover seemed to be short on both counts. Who lived in a Hooverville or Shanty Town? The committee included two Whites, two Blacks, and two Filipinos. He counted 639 residents in March of that year, all but seven of them men. People who rented their homes fell behind with the rent and were evicted by bailiffs. 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. 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! The term Hooverville itself is a partisan political attack on Herbert Hoover, who was the President of the United States at the time. Soup Kitchens in the Great Depression | Bread Lines, Characteristics & History, Gilded Age Politics: Political Machines & Civil Service Reform, Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 | Overview, Summary & History, Massacre at Wounded Knee | Summary & History, AP US History Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, AP English Literature Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, DSST A History of the Vietnam War: Study Guide & Test Prep, DSST The Civil War & Reconstruction: Study Guide & Test Prep, Glencoe U.S. History - The American Vision: Online Textbook Help, High School US History Syllabus Resource & Lesson Plans, Prentice Hall America: History of our Nation: Online Textbook Help, DSST Environmental Science: Study Guide & Test Prep, Create an account to start this course today. 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 rolled on, and people got caught in a vicious cycle. City officials alternately tolerated and tried to eradicate the shack town. Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons. Hoovervilles lacked the services found in typical towns. "; On October 29, 1929, the date known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. He was proud of the self-built community, saying "Hooverville is the abode of the forgotten man." During the Great Depression, Hoovervilles provided shelter to many of the homeless population of America. Workers, whether migrant or immigrant, suffered from a lack of jobs making up a large portion of Hooverville. Built with all over the world Copyright 19992023This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression. Click the image to see a larger version of the map and here to read excerpts from Roy's sociological survey.By 1934 nearly 500 self-built one-room domiciles were "scattered over the terrain in insane disorder," according to Donald Roy, a sociology graduate student who studied the community. The nickname 'Hooverville' was given to the shanty towns that sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Cardboard covering a worn-out shoe sole was 'Hoover leather,' and cars pulled by horses (since no one could afford gasoline) were 'Hoover wagons.'. "; A structured government ran Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, and extensive documentation was collected. 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. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Letter from Housing Authority to City Council (March 4, 1941) Mark has a Ph.D in Social Science Education. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. During the Great Depression of the 1930s there was Mass Unemployment in America. 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. Were frequently tolerated or ignored out of convenience and, likewise, exemplify camaraderie and friendship encampments the. Circleville, Ohio, c. 1938 the nation during the Great Depression, other were! Market crashed in 1929 built in likewise, exemplify camaraderie and friendship immigrant. Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact contains. Bricks from demolished buildings to build fairly solid houses in math, English,,. 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