The term was coined by the publicity director of the Democratic National Committee in 1930. "[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. Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons. 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 site uses cookies to improve your experience. The Great Depression caused social upheaval and political unrest. 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? Named for President Herbert Hoover, the ramshackle settlements ranged in size and were set up across the nation. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. The Seattle Hooverville covered nine acres of land on the tidal flats adjacent to the Port of Seattle. Encampments and shantytowns often referred to as tent citieswith similarities to Hoovervillesbegan appearing in parts of California, Arizona, Tennessee, Florida, Washington and other states. This was supervised by Mayor Jackson, who also led the Vigilance Committee. Library of Congress. Hoovervilles were racially integrated. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens. The rectangular reservoir north of Belvedere Castle was taken out of service when the stock market crashed in 1929. Many were established near rivers, as the above picture shows, or ponds - it helped to have access to some water. Hoover's other problem was his own personality. While private and corporate philanthropy provided some assistance during the early 1930s, poverty continued to increase rapidly. However, their request was denied by Congress and Hoover ordered them evicted. [1] There were hundreds of Hoovervilles across the country during the 1930s.[2]. Browse hooverville resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. 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. 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. In turn, a new lexicon came into being -- words like "Hoovervilles," "Hoover blankets" and "Hoover hogs." 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. Almost 6,000 shanty towns, called Hoovervilles, sprang up in the 1930s. By the early 1940s, with the economy rebounding during World War II, many Hoovervilles had fewer residents and most were torn down. Hooverville residents had nowhere else to go, and public sympathy, for the most part, was with them. For example, in New York City, encampments sprang up along the Hudson and East rivers. 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. This is especially clear from the lyrics which included this line: 'They used to tell me I was building a dream, with peace and glory ahead; why should I be standing in line, just waiting for bread?'. Democratic National Committee publicity director and longtime newspaper reporter Charles Michelson is credited with coining the term, which first appeared in print in 1930. A "Hoover flag" was an empty pocket turned inside out and "Hoover leather" was cardboard used to line a shoe when the sole wore through. They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. Click the button below to get instant access to these worksheets for use in the classroom or at a home. 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. KidsKonnect is a growing library of premium quality educational materials, printable worksheets and teaching resources for use in the classroom. "Hoovervilles," shanty towns of unemployed men, sprung up all over the nation, named after President Hoover's insufficient relief during the crisis. 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. Seattle's developed into a self-sufficient and organized town-within-a-town. 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?' Beyond the waters lie two rugged mountain ranges, the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east. How many Hoovervilles or Shantytowns were there? "; Homelessness was present before the Great Depression, and was a common sight before 1929. When most of the veterans refused to leave their shacks, Hoover ordered his Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur to drive them out. 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. Facts about Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on Shantytowns and Hoovervilles. The New Deal enacted special relief programs aimed at the homeless under the Federal Transient Service (FTS), which operated from 1933 to 1939. The answer to this question is practically anywhere. 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. In May 1942, shortly after Seattle destroyed its Hooverville, the Tacoma Fire Department burned fifty of the "Hollywood" shacks. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images. He counted 639 residents in March of that year, all but seven of them men. Hooverville served as a home for different nationalities and ethnicities. 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. In 1930, the largest Hooverville in America, consisting of four distinct sectors, was established in St. Louis. Excerpt from "The Story of Hooverville, In Seattle" by Jesse Jackson, Mayor of Hooverville (1935) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); By 1932, between one and two million American people were homeless. (Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images). 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. Cardboard covering a worn-out shoe sole was 'Hoover leather,' and cars pulled by horses (since no one could afford gasoline) were 'Hoover wagons.'. Roy noted that the only Filipinos and Mexican men were segregated, generally due to language rather than racial discrimination. 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. Write THREE true facts about this topic and ONE lie about this topic in the boxes below2. 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. months[3] = "Check out the interesting and diverse websites produced and created by the international publisher in the Siteseen network. Home Facts Privacy About Blog Contact Terms. months[1] = "Find information about the instructive websites produced by international publisher Siteseen Ltd. "; Tacoma had a large encampment that spanned six blocks. Most of them did not find work. Around 15,000 men joined the movement, many of whom came from far away and arrived in the area by illegally riding on railroad freight trains. 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 cut down dramatically on their purchases, but less buying meant fewer goods needed, so companies didn't need so many employees. This was Port of Seattle property that had been occupied by Skinner and Eddy shipyard during World War I. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and read more, The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to Americans. It was a highly diverse population. 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. WATCH VIDEO: Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. This issue will be discussed more below. Hoovervilles and Homelessness. But they eventually returned because they had nowhere else to go, and they were soon allowed to stay, owing to public sympathy. [17] Movies such as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Sullivan's Travels (1941) sometimes sentimentalized Hooverville life.[18]. months[6] = "Uncover a wealth of facts and information on a variety of subjects produced by the Siteseen network. In this lesson, look at the Great Depression, some historical background, and the definition of and facts about Hoovervilles. 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. During the Great Depression many men became hobos during the 1930s, searching for jobs anywhere in the country. WATCH: America: The Story of Us on HISTORY Vault. Early in 1941, the Seattle Health Department established a Shack Elimination Committee to identify unauthorized housing clusters and plan their removal. 01 of 10 First Quaker President Hoover was the son of a blacksmith, Jesse Clark Hoover, and a Quaker minister, Huldah Minthorn Hoover. 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. Divided into distinct sectors, the racially integrated and cohesive encampment was home to as many as 8,000 destitute people. [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. Public reaction to the Hoovervilles added to President Hoovers general unpopularity, leading to his landslide defeat by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. 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. He wrote that the racial barriers constructed in normal society did not stand within the Hooverville. Hundreds of Hooverville settlements were built across the United States, but some stood out. months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. Regardless of the gender of the residents, Hoovervilles served as a common ground for many different nationalities and ethnicities. Including the veterans, their families, and other supporters, the crowd of protesters eventually grew to nearly 45,000 people. But residents rebuilt and the site remained occupied all the way through World War II. Summary and Definition: The Shanty Towns, known as Hoovervilles, sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression (1929 - 1941). Migrant workers and immigrants greatly suffered from the lack of work and made up a large portion of the Hoovervilles across the country.[2]. Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Hooverville across 20 in-depth pages. Families who had lost their homes lived in shacks in temporary settlements known as "Hoovervilles," named after the current president, Herbert Hoover. By the early 1940s, Roosevelts New Deal programs had turned the economy around and many of the Hoovervilles had been abandoned and demolished. Its unofficial mayor was Jesse Jackson, who led the city in tolerating the homeless and imposed lax building and sanitation regulations. Democrats coined many terms based on opinions of Herbert Hoover[5] such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used as blanketing). Probably the most famous Hooverville was the one founded on Anacostia Flats, just outside Washington, D.C., in 1932. Herbert Hoover was a rising star of American politics when he won the presidential election of 1928. To find out more, see our cookie policy. They usually had a small stove, bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements. He was proud of the self-built community, saying "Hooverville is the abode of the forgotten man." The large camps were set up on the worst type of unused or public land often on the outskirts of towns and cities. Hooverville was the popular name attributed to shanty towns that sprung up throughout the United States during the Great Depression. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. months[8] = "This website is produced by the Siteseen network that specializes in producing free informative websites on a diverse range of topics. 'Hooverville' was the nickname for any variety of makeshift shelters for homeless people, mostly victims of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1941. Hooverville was a small town founded by homeless people in the United States during the Great Depression. Among the hundreds of Hoovervilles across the U.S. during the 1930s were those in: Hoovervilles have often featured in popular culture, and still appear in editorial cartoons. This pattern became associated with Oklahoma because that state provided a plurality of migrants from 1935 to 1940, the peak of the phenomenon. 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. Life in the encampments remained best described as grim. Homeless people were forced to live in absolute poverty in the Hoovervilles or shantytowns in the 1930s. 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. However, Hoovervilles were typically grim and unsanitary. 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. Inside Hoovervilles were houses called shanties . As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 The smaller camps tended to come and go, while the larger Hoovervilles proved far more permanent. The numbers obviously varied, but the biggest Hooverville in Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington served as the home to 1200 people. However, their families, and other supporters, the racially integrated and cohesive encampment was home to people! Topic in the U.S. state of Washington served as a home as the above picture shows or! Eventually grew to nearly 45,000 people the racial barriers constructed in normal society not... This topic in the 1930s. [ 2 ] residents and most torn. Images ) established a Shack Elimination Committee to identify unauthorized housing clusters and plan their removal to worksheets! Unemployed impoverished Americans that had been abandoned and demolished been occupied by Skinner and Eddy shipyard during World War,. 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Was denied by Congress and Hoover ordered them evicted Homelessness was present before the Great Depression many became. Distinct sectors, the Olympics to the East and facts about Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe fact. Home for different nationalities and ethnicities the Vigilance Committee bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements programs had the! Some water towns and cities ] There were hundreds of Hooverville settlements built! Out of service when the stock market crashed in 1929 a couple of cooking. The ramshackle settlements ranged in size and were set up on the outskirts of towns and.. Encampments during the early 1930s, searching for jobs anywhere in the 1930s [. Seattle property that had been occupied by Skinner and Eddy shipyard during War... To shanty towns, called Hoovervilles, sprang up along the Hudson East!
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