In 1929, unemployment was around 3%. In April, residents of the main Hooverville were given notice to leave by May 1. I feel like its a lifeline. Create your account, 29 chapters | Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression. 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 1933 is generally regarded as the worst year of the Depression: One-quarter of Americas workersmore than 15 million peoplewere out of work. University of Washington: The Great Depression in Washington State. [17] Movies such as My Man Godfrey (1936) and Sullivan's Travels (1941) sometimes sentimentalized Hooverville life.[18]. The publics frustration with President Hoovers refusal to deal with the Depression peaked in the spring of 1932 when an estimated 15,000 World War I veterans and their families established a Hooverville along the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. On June 17, 1932, many of the veterans, known as the Bonus Army, marched on the U.S. Capitol demanding payment the badly needed WWI combat bonuses the government had promised them. Police officers doused the little structures with kerosene and lit them as spectators watched. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. And hundreds of thousands--no one knows how many--took to the streets, finding what shelter they could, under bridges, in culverts, or on vacant public land where they built crude shacks. Source for information on Okies: Encyclopedia of the Great Depression dictionary. By the time the U.S. entered World War II in 1941, enough Americans were working again that virtually all the encampments had vanished. Roy noted that the only Filipinos and Mexican men were segregated, generally due to language rather than racial discrimination. Unsanitary conditions in the camps left both their residents and the nearby communities at risk of disease. No two 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. 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. Facts About Hoovervilles The term Hooverville came from the blame on President Herbert Hoover for the intolerable economic and social conditions. [9], Regardless of the gender of the residents, Hoovervilles served as a common ground for many different nationalities and ethnicities. The city of Seattle tolerated the unemployed living situation and imposed loose building and sanitation rules. "Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression." months[10] = "Looking for accurate facts and impartial information? 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. By 1930 and 1931, settlements appeared in various locations throughout Seattle, but authorities typically destroyed them after neighbors complained. 10 Question Quiz. Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression? The camps, dubbed Hoovervilles after Republican President Hoover, often sprang up near charity operated soup kitchens and rivers for drinking water and limited sanitary needs. Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. 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. One of the important events during his presidency was the emergence of the Shanty Town during the Great Depression. 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. here to see more photographs of Hoovervilles and homeless encampments in Seattle and Tacoma. months[3] = "Check out the interesting and diverse websites produced and created by the international publisher in the Siteseen network. Who Were the Democratic Presidents of the United States? Despite being some of the hardest hit victims of the Great Depression, the encampments residents remained upbeat, naming their neighborhoods Hoover Heights, Merryland, and Happyland. They elected a mayor and a liaison to represent the camp in negotiations with St. Louis authorities. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. [2] Donald Francis Roy, a citizen of Seattles Hooverville, took detailed recordings of the population during his time there. Many authorities frequently tolerated the shantytowns out of sheer necessity. Hooverville served as a home for different nationalities and ethnicities. Seattle lies on a narrow strip of land between the salt waters of Puget Sound and the fresh waters of Lake Washington. Response from Health Department (May 23, 1935) They usually had a small stove, bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements. They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. When most of the veterans refused to leave their shacks, Hoover ordered his Chief of Staff Gen. Douglas MacArthur to drive them out. Definition and Summary of the Shantytowns and HoovervillesSummary and definition: The Shanty Towns, known as Hoovervilles, sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression (1929 - 1941). Longley, Robert. Hoovervilles were not fancy or well-constructed. Trade your paper with a Partner. 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. Inhabitants living in the primitive conditions of the shantytowns were subject to many health problems. Grade Level. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. months[4] = "Locate all of the popular, fast and interesting websites uniquely created and produced by the Siteseen network. 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. The smaller camps tended to come and go, while the larger Hoovervilles proved far more permanent. Dwellings in the Hoovervilles were little more than shacks built of discarded bricks, wood, tin, and cardboard. 2 See answers Advertisement jayilych4real When a new mayor took office in 1932, owing his election in part to support of the Unemployed Citizen's League, Seattle's Hooverville gained a measure of official tolerance that allowed it to survive and grow. Get unlimited access to over 84,000 lessons. 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. 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. Life in the encampments remained best described as grim. 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. Hoovervilles lacked the services found in typical towns. People who rented their homes fell behind with the rent and were evicted by bailiffs. The Great Depression started on Wall Street. Even before the Great Depression, there were homeless people, but most large cities were able to build municipal lodging houses for the homeless. Riverside Park, New York City: A shantytown occupied Riverside Park at 72nd Street during the depression. Library of Congress. The Red Scare of the 1920s History & Overview | What was the First Red Scare? Others responded to complaints by people in the neighborhood and evicted the inhabitants and burned the shacks. 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. He described the population as fluid in 1938, owing to men selling their homes to newcomers and moving on. 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". Bootleggers were becoming rich on the profits of illegal alcohol sales and violence was on the rise. Most settlers were disorganized, and only a few established a form of government. 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). Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis: Chapters 1-5 | Summary & Analysis, Themes in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Examples & Analysis, Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Summary & Characters of Bud, Not Buddy, Bud's Rules in Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis | Significance & Analysis, Vietnamization Policy & Significance | Nixon's Plan to Withdraw American Forces. The Great Depression drew to an end with the outbreak of WW2 and municipal programs aimed at "eradicating" shantytowns destroyed all the Hoovervilles. 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. Some Hoovervilles were dotted with vegetable gardens, and some individual shacks contained furniture a family had managed to carry away upon eviction from their former home. Hoovervilles primarily popped up on the outskirts of major cities. In turn, a new lexicon came into being -- words like "Hoovervilles," "Hoover blankets" and "Hoover hogs." When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize.. This was Port of Seattle property that had been occupied by Skinner and Eddy shipyard during World War I. The houses were often installed with a small stove, bedding, and some cooking materials. One of the most famous ways in which people migrated during the timeframe of the Great Depression was by 'riding the rails' on trains. It was a period of the global economic crisis that began with a significant drop in stock prices in the United States. Twelve million Americans, about 25% of the normal labor force, were out of work and many suffered poverty, deprivation and homelessness. As elsewhere in the country, Washington State's Communist Party helped to organize the unemployed into active political and social formations. Some homes were not buildings at all, but deep holes dug in the ground with makeshift roofs laid over them to keep out inclement weather. A 'Hooverville' on waterfront of Seattle, Washington, March 1933. After hosting several homeless settlements, the reservoir was dubbed the Hoover Valley and Depression Street. Today the nine acre site is used to unload container ships. Click the Edit button above to get started. And although private philanthropy increased during the early 1930s, the amounts given were not enough to make a significant impact. Hoovervilles were racially integrated. 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