As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 This photo shows a team of two work horses hitched to a wagon with farm house visible in the background in Beltsville, Md., in 1935. Shanty towns also appeared in or near other cities. It was a period of the global economic crisis that began with a significant drop in stock prices in the United States. Seattle police twice burned the early Hooverville, but each time residents rebuilt. At its peak, roughly 25%, maybe more, of the American work force was unemployed. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. 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?' Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home. months[2] = "Learning made easy with the various learning techniques and proven teaching methods used by the Siteseen network. 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. When most of the veterans refused to leave their shacks, Hoover ordered his Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur to drive them out. 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. Roy lived in the Hooverville in spring 1934 while conducting this survey which became his 1935 MA thesis. 10 Question Quiz. In 1930, the largest Hooverville in America, consisting of four distinct sectors, was established in St. Louis. The numbers obviously varied, but the biggest Hooverville in Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington served as the home to 1200 people. The Great Depression caused social upheaval and political unrest. "; The term was a derogatory reference to President Herbert Hoover, who many people blamed for allowing the U.S. to fall into economic despair. Roy documents a unique spirit of tolerance and amiability between ethnic groups. Its unofficial mayor was Jesse Jackson, who led the city in tolerating the homeless and imposed lax building and sanitation regulations. 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. He had first achieved fame during World War I when he ran the U.S. Food Administration, and his. At that time, President Herbert Hoover increasingly became, in the eyes of many Americans, a grim and inept leader. 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. [1] There were hundreds of Hoovervilles across the country during the 1930s.[2]. The decision led to the establishment of the Shack Elimination Committee by the City Council. He was proud of the self-built community, saying "Hooverville is the abode of the forgotten man." Inhabitants living in the primitive conditions of the shantytowns were subject to many health problems. Courtesy Tacoma Public Library. There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation, he wrote of the squalled camp. However, Hoovervilles were typically grim and unsanitary. Come learn about Hoovervilles, how they got their name, and. Included are photographs, city documents, a 1934 sociological survey of residents, a short memoir written by the former "mayor" of Hooverville, and more. The term itself was first used in 1930 by Charles Michelson, the Publicity Chief of the Democratic National Committee when he published an article in the New York Times referring to a homeless camp in Chicago, Illinois, as Hooverville. Before long, the term was in common use. 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. After negotiating with the camps mayor, the Health Department agreed to let the residents remain as long they observed minimal safety and sanitary rules. All rights reserved. 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. 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. How many Hoovervilles or Shantytowns were there? Hundreds of Hooverville settlements were built across the United States, but some stood out. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images. Inadequate sanitation, lack of clean drinking water and poor nutrition lead to a variety of diseases and illnesses such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, diarrhea, rickets, influenza, pneumonia and skin diseases. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. In May 1942, shortly after Seattle destroyed its Hooverville, the Tacoma Fire Department burned fifty of the "Hollywood" shacks. Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. No two Hoovervilles were quite alike, and the camps varied in population and size. 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. In 1938, Jackson wrote a short, vivid description of the community that we reproduce here. President Herbert Hoover, however, refused to propose any assistance programs, saying instead that Americans should help each other. The Great Depression was the greatest and longest economic recession of the 20th century. However, their request was denied by Congress and Hoover ordered them evicted. 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. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. Letter from Housing Authority to City Council (March 4, 1941) 19. Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. No two 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 Reasons for Homelessness: Homeowners lost their houses when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. Source for information on Okies: Encyclopedia of the Great Depression dictionary. 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. Tacoma hosted a large encampment near the city garbage dump that residents called "Hollywood-on-the-Tideflats." 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. Economic disparity in the United States during the 1930s was not limited to American born individuals. "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. We spend less time wondering what we'd do if we lost it all and had to make do with virtually nothing. Americas longest lasting Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, stood for ten years, from 1931 to 1941. Encampments and shantytowns often referred to as tent citieswith similarities to Hoovervillesbegan appearing in parts of California, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Washington and other states. 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. All Rights Reserved. For one thing, Hoover was a believer in the power of the free market and in the value of perseverance. Many felt that the government had to help those who lost work in the 1930s. The inhabitants of the Hoovervilles and shantytowns in the 1930s were deprived of many of these basic needs - for additional facts refer to Poverty in the Great Depression. As the Great Depression deepened people protested and launched hunger marches. By 1932, between one and two million American people were homeless. How many people lived in the Hoovervilles in the 1930s? No one knows, but there were literally millions of homeless people during the Great Depression so it seems reasonable to estimate the number as several thousands. Exhibit C: Physical Conditions and Occupancy of Shacks (March 5, 1941) months[8] = "This website is produced by the Siteseen network that specializes in producing free informative websites on a diverse range of topics. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. Create your account, 29 chapters | One-fourth of all workers were unemployed. Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you 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, that didn't last long. Banks closed, and factories shut down; thousands and then millions of jobs were lost. 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. months[9] = "Get fast, free facts and information on a whole host of subjects in the Siteseen network of interesting websites. Hoover was largely blamed for the ineffective federal role to that point, and Americans were largely thankful to see their government trying any policy. Here are ten key facts to know about Herbert Hoover, who he was as a person and his tenure as president. Many people turned to farming, and grew the food themselves, like fruits, vegetables, cattle, chickens, sheep, and hogs. A 'Hooverville' on waterfront of Seattle, Washington, March 1933. By the early 1940s, Roosevelts New Deal programs had turned the economy around and many of the Hoovervilles had been abandoned and demolished. These settlements were often trespassing on private lands, but they were frequently tolerated or ignored out of necessity. Request for removal of Interbay shacks (April 24, 1937) Many features of life during the Great Depression were given bitter connotations with Hoover's name. Hoover leather referred to cardboard or newspaper used to replace worn-out shoe soles. months[0] = "Discover the vast range of useful, leisure and educational websites published by the Siteseen network. Families who had lost their homes lived in shacks in temporary settlements known as "Hoovervilles," named after the current president, Herbert Hoover. WATCH VIDEO: How Artists Helped End the Great Depression. In 1932, a new mayor was elected based on his support for the Unemployed Citizens League. Hoovervilles were hundreds of makeshift homeless encampments built near large cities across the United States during the Great Depression (1929-1933). Sign Up. Response from Health Department (May 23, 1935) People were expected to fend for themselves. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! The photograph dates from about 1932 to 1937. 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. months[6] = "Uncover a wealth of facts and information on a variety of subjects produced by the Siteseen network. Early in 1941, the Seattle Health Department established a Shack Elimination Committee to identify unauthorized housing clusters and plan their removal. Brief History of Seattle. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. In his estimation, prosperity would return if people would simply help one another. A Brief Look at the U.S. Department of Labor. 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. During the Great Depression, other Hoovervilles were built in. As their investments lost value, people soon depleted their savings. The nation turned to Herbert Hoover expecting help, but he had none to give. 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. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief read more, The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred on October 29, 1929, when Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. KidsKonnect uses a secure SSL connection to encrypt your data and we only work with trusted payment processors Stripe and PayPal. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1939 novel, The Grapes of Wrath, writer John Steinbeck, vividly described his hardships as a young farmworker in the Weedpatch Hooverville near Bakersfield, California. People experiencing homelessness made them from scraps of wood, tin, tar, and cardboard, and named . 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. In late 1935, the city Health Department estimated that 4,000 to 5,000 people were living in the various shacktowns. Hoover also received criticism for signing, in June 1930, the controversial Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, which imposed a high tariff on foreign goods in an effort to prevent them from competing with U.S.-made products on the domestic market. 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. Roys 1934 census provides a breakdown of the population by ethnicity and nationality. The term 'Hooverville' probably originated with Charles Michelson, who was a newspaper reporter and, in 1930, the publicity director for the Democratic National Party. Homelessness was present before the Great Depression, and was a common sight before 1929. As fears grew, many Americans believed the U.S. government could and should do something to help. "; A survey located 1687 shacks in five substantial colonies and many smaller ones. The committee included two Whites, two Blacks, and two Filipinos. These communities of shacks or shanties were called Hoovervilles, after President Hoover, who refused to help the growing number of homeless. lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. Built with all over the world Copyright 19992023This site uses cookies to improve your experience. A Tarpaper Carthage: Interpreting Hooverville, by Joey Smith, Where were Hoovervilles situated? months[1] = "Find information about the instructive websites produced by international publisher Siteseen Ltd. "; 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. As the Depression worsened in the 1930s many looked to the federal government for assistance. The anger directed at Herbert Hoover didn't stop with the label given to the makeshift settlements. Between 1929 and 1932, the value of world trade declined by more than half. Click to see google map of shack towns in Seattle area and more photos and descriptions.In Seattle shacks appeared in many locations in 1930 and 1931, but authorities usually destroyed them after neighbors complained. months[7] = "The Siteseen network is dedicated to producing unique, informative websites on a whole host of educational subjects. By the spring of 1932, when it could have most helped ease the Depression, Americas revenue from world trade was reduced by more than half. By the early 1940s, with the economy rebounding during World War II, many Hoovervilles had fewer residents and most were torn down. Hoover also didn't think it would work and that a crisis such as this one would have to blow over on its own. Protest against Hooverville evictions (October 10, 1938) Divided into distinct sectors, the racially integrated and cohesive encampment was home to as many as 8,000 destitute people. Renters fell behind and faced eviction. City officials alternately tolerated and tried to eradicate the shack town. It stood for ten years, 1931 to 1941. The Great Depression rolled on, and people got caught in a vicious cycle. With such a well-developed social order, the camp maintained itself as a functional separate community from 1930 to 1936, when President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal sweeping economic recovery plan allocated federal funds for its removal. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was the President of the United States during the start of the Great Depression and was given the blame for it. A large number of small houses were constructed from scrap materials. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/hoovervilles-homeless-camps-of-the-great-depression-4845996. Homeowners lost their property when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. Follow the Great Depression Project/ Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project on Facebook. 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. Most were unemployed laborers and timber workers, few of whom had held any jobs in the previous two years. Hoover Pullmans were rusted railroad boxcars used as dwellings. The rectangular reservoir north of Belvedere Castle was taken out of service when the stock market crashed in 1929. Hoovervilles of the Great Depression Daily Dose Documentary 6.73K subscribers Subscribe 223 Share 42K views 2 years ago For more episodes, please visit http://dailydosenow.com Today's Daily Dose. Click here to see more photographs of Hoovervilles and homeless encampments in Seattle and Tacoma. The term was coined by Charles Michelson. A structured government ran Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, and extensive documentation was collected. However, the countrys 31st president, Republican Herbert Hoover, who took office in March 1929, believed that self-reliance and self-help, not government intervention, were the best means to meet citizens needs. 2 See answers Advertisement jayilych4real [3], The city tolerated Hoovervilles until the eve of World War II. 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. Trade your paper with a Partner. Ultimately, they were a bitterly ironic symbol of the suffering inherent in the worst economic crisis in U.S. History. There was no work, people were starving and the local police repeatedly burned down the camp. Some families were fortunate enough to stay with friends and family members that hadn't been evicted yet, but homeless men, women and children were forced to take up residence in shacks as a result of the Great Depression. Named for President Herbert Hoover, the ramshackle settlements ranged in size and were set up across the nation. Excerpt from "Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle" by Donald Francis Roy (1935) 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! Herbert Hoover was a rising star of American politics when he won the presidential election of 1928. As the optimism of the 1920s gave way to fear and desperation, Americans looked to the federal government for relief. Donald Francis Roy, a resident of Seattles Hooverville, recorded 639 residents, only 7 of whom were women. 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. Hoovervilles In the 1930s, Hoovervilles (shantytowns) formed coast to coast in cities of the United States. 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. Join 51,000+ happy teachers and students who use our teaching worksheets and resources every day. In his famous novel the Joad family briefly settles into a Hooverville in California. Hoover later claimed that MacArthur had used excessive force, but his words meant little to most of those affected. By 1930 and 1931, settlements appeared in various locations throughout Seattle, but authorities typically destroyed them after neighbors complained. Riverside Park, New York City: A shantytown occupied Riverside Park at 72nd Street during the depression. President Herbert Hoover & the Great Depression, America During the Great Depression: The Dust Bowl, Unemployment & Cultural Issues, End of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles & the League of Nations, Ku Klux Klan Nativism & Eugenics | Movement & History. But even as the Great Depression eased and the Hoovervilles began to vanish, they remained a potent symbol of how a combination of bad luck, governmental philosophy, and rotten timing could create a lasting, negative image. [1] After 1940, all of Hooverville were destroyed as the economy recovered and the unemployment rate fell eventually. For example, newspapers used to shield the homeless from the cold were called Hoover blankets, while empty pants pockets pulled inside outdemonstrating no coins in ones pocketswere Hoover flags., When soles wore out of shoes, the cardboard used to replace them was dubbed Hoover leather, and cars pulled by horses because gas was an unaffordable luxury were called Hoover wagons.. Seattle's Hooverville had lasted a full decade.[4]. Hoovervilles were not fancy or well-constructed. "Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression." The large camps were set up on the worst type of unused or public land often on the outskirts of towns and cities. It is a city built on hills and around water, in a mild marine climate that encourages prolific . Hoovervilles Appear Nationwide As the Depression worsened and millions of families lost their jobs and depleted their savings, they also lost their homes. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons. Usually built on vacant land, the camps were largely tolerated by city authorities. Hoovervilles are very similar to refugee camps. 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. 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. By the end of the decade it covered a six block area and, like Seattle's Hooverville, included a large number of little houses that residents had built out of scrap materials and steadily improved over the years. Cardboard covering a worn-out shoe sole was 'Hoover leather,' and cars pulled by horses (since no one could afford gasoline) were 'Hoover wagons.'. [3] Men, women and children alike lived in Hoovervilles. copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. Tensions between destitute citizens and the Hoover administration climaxed in the spring of 1932 when thousands of World War I veterans and their families and friends set up a Hooverville on the banks of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. 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. It became the most widespread crisis of the twentieth century, affecting several countries worldwide. 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. OKIESOkies is a term applied generally to people from the American Southwest who migrated to the Pacific Coast, particularly to California, during the Great Depression. A 'Hoover blanket' was a newspaper, covering a homeless man on a city bench; a 'Hoover flag' was a turned-out pants pocket, a sure sign of pennilessness. It was a highly diverse population. months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. Write THREE true facts about this topic and ONE lie about this topic in the boxes below2. Unit densities soared in the early 1930s. var months = new Array(12); The answer to this question is practically anywhere. A Tarpaper Carthage: Interpreting Hooverville. Thesis, University of Washington, 1935), pp.42-45. 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. What were the Hoovervilles (Shanty Town) of the Great Depression? This Hooverville had its very own unofficial mayor, Jesse Jackson. 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. Almost 6,000 shanty towns, called Hoovervilles, sprang up in the 1930s. If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source. Eight different Hoovervilles were established in Seattle, Washington, with the largest one lasting from 1932 to 1941 and built on the tidal flats adjacent to the Port of Seattle. Around and many smaller ones made easy with the label given to federal. Large number of small houses were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass lumber... 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