facts about hoovervilles

copyright 2003-2023 Study.com. A "Hooverville" dweller, Circleville, Ohio, c. 1938. 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. 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. 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. Pre-K - K; 1 - 2; 3 - 5; . "; It was headed by the Commissioner of Health, the Superintendent of Buildings, the Chief of Police, and the Chief of the Fire Department, tasked to draft a plan on how to proceed with the elimination of Hooverville. 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. This issue will be discussed more below. Many authorities frequently tolerated the shantytowns out of sheer necessity. Exhibt A: Map of Number and Distribution of Shacks (March 5, 1941) 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. A Tarpaper Carthage: Interpreting Hooverville. The people who lived in a Hooverville or Shanty Town were men, women and children, black and white, from all walks of life, who had been evicted from their homes and made homeless due to unemployment in the Great Depression. "; 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. [2], However, not every Hooverville fits this description. The government refused to pay, citing Depression-era budgetary restrictions. People were expected to fend for themselves. [7], While some Hoovervilles created a sort of government, most were unorganized collections of shanty houses. https://www.thoughtco.com/hoovervilles-homeless-camps-of-the-great-depression-4845996 (accessed March 1, 2023). Sign Me Up. [1] Hoovervilles primarily popped up on the outskirts of major cities. Some claim to have been made up of men, women, and children, while others claim to only have had men. The new population was forced to set up makeshift "towns" known as "Hoovervilles." 16. Donald Francis Roy, a resident of Seattles Hooverville, recorded 639 residents, only 7 of whom were women. Many people would can their food so that it would last longer. ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/hoovervilles-homeless-camps-of-the-great-depression-4845996. Both his parents were dead by the time he was nine. "; KidsKonnect is a growing library of high-quality, printable worksheets for teachers and homeschoolers. Brief History of Seattle. Come learn about Hoovervilles, how they got their name, and. However, Hoovervilles were typically grim and unsanitary. 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". There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation, he wrote of the squalled camp. 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. 19. months[7] = "The Siteseen network is dedicated to producing unique, informative websites on a whole host of educational subjects. The economic depression began in September 1929 and was immediately followed by the October 24 Wall Street stock market crash. The highly unpopular Hoover was defeated in the 1932 presidential election by Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose New Deal recovery programs eventually helped lift the United States out of the Depression. Follow the Great Depression Project/ Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project on Facebook. They usually had a small stove, bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements. Twelve million Americans, about 25% of the normal labor force, were out of work and many suffered poverty, deprivation and homelessness. KidsKonnect is a growing library of premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the classroom. Absolutely anything that would provide shelter. Tacoma had a large encampment that spanned six blocks. Nonwhites comprised 29% of the colony's population, including 120 Filipinos, 29 African Americas, 25 Mexicans, 4 Native Americans, 4 South Americans, and 2 Japanese. ThoughtCo. A request from the city was that women and children would not be allowed to live in the shantytown. In his estimation, prosperity would return if people would simply help one another. When most of the veterans refused to leave their shacks, Hoover ordered his Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur to drive them out. 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. He counted 639 residents in March of that year, all but seven of them men. 1933 is generally regarded as the worst year of the Depression: One-quarter of Americas workersmore than 15 million peoplewere out of work. Check out the Siteseen network of educational websites. [2] Among the white population, nationalities included English, Irish, Polish, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. The Story of the Great Depression in Photos, How the Great Depression Altered US Foreign Policy, Reconstruction Finance Corporation: Definition and Legacy, Biography of Louis Armstrong, Expert Trumpeter and Entertainer, What Is Patriotism? Black and white men would share homes out of convenience and, likewise, exemplify camaraderie and friendship. The nickname 'Hooverville' was given to the shanty towns that sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression. As the Depression deepened, the sheer number of homeless people became overwhelming. 2 See answers Advertisement jayilych4real 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. 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. Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home. Who Were the Democratic Presidents of the United States? 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. Many other names were coined by Democrats based on his opinion, including Hoover blanket, flag, leather, and wagon. Hoovervilles, or shantytowns, became a common sight. While private and corporate philanthropy provided some assistance during the early 1930s, poverty continued to increase rapidly. Thousands of Hoovervilles began to appear all over the country. 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. Seattle's developed into a self-sufficient and organized town-within-a-town. A Brief Look at the U.S. Department of Labor. here to see more photographs of Hoovervilles and homeless encampments in Seattle and Tacoma. 01 of 10 First Quaker President Hoover was the son of a blacksmith, Jesse Clark Hoover, and a Quaker minister, Huldah Minthorn Hoover. The quality and livability of structures built in Hooverville camps varied widely. Interesting Facts About the Great Depression The stock market lost almost 90% of its value between 1929 and 1933. Roy found the relaxed social atmosphere remarkable, describing "an ethnic rainbow" where men of many colors intermingled "in shabby comraderie. "Hoovervilles," shanty towns of unemployed men, sprung up all over the nation, named after President Hoover's insufficient relief during the crisis. [2], Tacoma's "Hollywood-on-the-Tideflats" was burned by city officials in May 1942, but was soon reoccupied and rebuilt. However, their request was denied by Congress and Hoover ordered them evicted. 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. Join 51,000+ happy teachers and students who use our teaching worksheets and resources every day. Seattle's Hooverville had lasted a full decade.[4]. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. I highly recommend you use this site! "; Almost 6,000 shanty towns, called Hoovervilles, sprang up in the 1930s. An error occurred trying to load this video. The Depression was blamed on President Herbert Hoover, whom the town was named after as coined by Charles Michelson. 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. Some Hoovervilles had basic public services and conveniences. 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. No two Most people, however, resorted to building their residences out of wood from crates, cardboard, scraps of metal, or whatever materials were available to them. During the Great Depression, Hoovervilles provided shelter to many of the homeless population of America. Including the veterans, their families, and other supporters, the crowd of protesters eventually grew to nearly 45,000 people. 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. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. 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. On October 29, 1929, the date known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression. 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. Some of the men who were forced to live in these conditions possessed construction skills, and were able to build their houses out of stone. 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. Did you know? 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. "; Reasons for Homelessness: Homeowners lost their houses when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. 10 Question Quiz. These camps came to be called Hoovervilles, after the president. Though Hoover later agreed that MacArthur had used excessive force, irreparable damage to his presidency and legacy had been done. READ MORE:Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression, In addition to the term Hooverville, President Hoovers name was used derisively in other ways during the Great Depression. 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. 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 There was no work, people were starving and the local police repeatedly burned down the camp. It maintained itself as a free-standing community until 1936, when it was razed. St. Louis Hooverville, built in 1930, had its own unofficial mayor, churches and social institutions. Americas longest lasting Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, stood for ten years, from 1931 to 1941. They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. Hoover leather referred to cardboard or newspaper used to replace worn-out shoe soles. Some squatted, either defying eviction and staying where they were, or finding shelter in one of the increasing number of vacant buildings. Shanty towns also appeared in or near other cities. A 'Hooverville' on waterfront of Seattle, Washington, March 1933. 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. He described the population as fluid in 1938, owing to men selling their homes to newcomers and moving on. 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. 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. READ MORE:Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression? A Tarpaper Carthage: Interpreting Hooverville, by Joey Smith, For webquest or practice, print a copy of this quiz at the Great Depression - Hoovervilles webquest print page. [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. Crime here that goes beyond denunciation, he wrote of the squalled camp crowd protesters... Nation during the early 1930s, poverty continued to increase rapidly population, nationalities included,. 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