City of Seattle.Americans React to the Great Depression. 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. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Lessons from Hooverville still have not been learned today. .adslot_1 { width: 300px; height: 250px; } 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 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. Early Hooverville was burned down twice by Seattle police, but its residents continued to rebuild small houses. Seattle police twice burned the early Hooverville, but each time residents rebuilt. St. Louis, Missouri, and Seattle, Washington, were home to two of the countrys largest and longest-standing Hoovervilles. In addition to his perceived disregard for the harm done by the Great Depression, Hoover was criticized for backing the controversial Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Seattle is fortunate to have the kind of detailed documentation of its Hooverville that other cities lack, and we have compiled these unique resources here. 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. Longley, Robert. Americas longest lasting Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, stood for ten years, from 1931 to 1941. While the goal of the tariffs was to protect U.S.-made products from foreign competition, most countries retaliated by raising their tariffs on U.S. goods. President Herbert Hoover lost the election in 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Tacoma hosted a large encampment near the city garbage dump that residents called "Hollywood-on-the-Tideflats." Hundreds of Hooverville settlements were built across the United States, but some stood out. One of the most famous ways in which people migrated during the timeframe of the Great Depression was by 'riding the rails' on trains. "; 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. The Great Depression drew to an end with the outbreak of WW2 and municipal programs aimed at "eradicating" shantytowns destroyed all the Hoovervilles. Hoover's other problem was his own personality. 'Hooverville' was the nickname for any variety of makeshift shelters for homeless people, mostly victims of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1941. 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. Hoovervilles were not fancy or well-constructed. 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. During the Great Depression of the 1930s there was Mass Unemployment in America. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support. Even during the worst of the Depression, most Hooverville residents continued to seek employment, often taking backbreaking seasonal jobs like picking and packing field crops. Most were unemployed laborers and timber workers, few of whom had held any jobs in the previous two years. A survey located 1687 shacks in five substantial colonies and many smaller ones. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "; A Hoover blanket was a pile of old newspapers used as bedding. 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. [2] Donald Francis Roy, a citizen of Seattles Hooverville, took detailed recordings of the population during his time there. Usually built on the edges of larger cities, hundreds of thousands of people lived in the many Hooverville camps. 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. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Thousands of Hoovervilles began to appear all over the country. Many Americans in need believed the resolution to their problems lay in government assistance, but Hoover resisted such a response throughout his presidency. 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. Hoovervilles were racially integrated. 10 Question Quiz. Photos from shantytowns across the country show images of families, including women and children, dwelling in their makeshift home. 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. 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. To find out more, see our cookie policy. 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. Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression. For one thing, Hoover was a believer in the power of the free market and in the value of perseverance. Today the nine acre site is used to unload container ships. Create your account, 29 chapters | At that time, President Herbert Hoover increasingly became, in the eyes of many Americans, a grim and inept leader. In 1934, Roy recorded a population of non-White people, including Black men, Costa Rican, Chilean, Filipino, Japanese, Mexican, and. Interesting Facts About the Great Depression The stock market lost almost 90% of its value between 1929 and 1933. In some cases, unemployed skilled construction workers used stones and bricks from demolished buildings to build fairly solid houses. months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. Most people, however, resorted to building their residences out of wood from crates, cardboard, scraps of metal, or whatever materials were available to them. This building housed a mayora's office and a commissary, or grocery store. Signed in June 1930, the decidedly protectionist law placed extremely high tariffs on imported foreign goods. It is just west of Qwest Field and the Alaska Viaduct. The Depression was blamed on President Herbert Hoover, after whom the town was named after, as coined by Charles Michelson. Homelessness was present before the Great Depression, and was a common sight before 1929. Homeless people roamed the country looking for food and work. The New Deal enacted special relief programs aimed at the homeless under the Federal Transient Service (FTS), which operated from 1933 to 1939. Black and white Americans and immigrants from all over the world shared the camp sites. Many felt that the government had to help those who lost work in the 1930s. People experiencing homelessness made them from scraps of wood, tin, tar, and cardboard, and named . Included are photographs, city documents, a 1934 sociological survey of residents, a short memoir written by the former "mayor" of Hooverville, and more. 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. By 1932, between one and two million American people were homeless. The Great Depression started on Wall Street. Although people would often use castoff lumber and building materials, more often than not Hooverville structures were built with cardboard, tar paper, and other comparatively flimsy elements. Homeowners lost their property when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. A "Hooverville" is the popular name for slum towns built by people without homes during the Great Depression. Homeless people were forced to live in absolute poverty in the Hoovervilles or shantytowns in the 1930s. Browse hooverville resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. Hooverville housed about 10,000 veterans and their families in ramshackle shelters built from old lumber, packing boxes, and scrapped tin from a nearby junk pile. 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. For example, one of the eight Hoovervilles in Seattle, Washington, stood from 1931 to 1941. 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. Small camps and sites in towns sprang up in any available space. St. Louis Hooverville, built in 1930, had its own unofficial mayor, churches and social institutions. 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. It began with the United States stock market crash of 1929, and didn't completely end until after . 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. Hoovervilles In the 1930s, Hoovervilles (shantytowns) formed coast to coast in cities of the United States. Source for information on Okies: Encyclopedia of the Great Depression dictionary. This Hooverville had its very own unofficial mayor, Jesse Jackson. 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. Hooverville was a small town founded by homeless people in the United States during the Great Depression. Seattle's developed into a self-sufficient and organized town-within-a-town. 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, 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. All Rights Reserved. Most of them did not find work. In 1929, unemployment was around 3%. 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. The Shanty Town was given the sarcastic nickname 'Hooverville' after President Herbert Hoover who Americans blamed for the Great Depression. 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. Some claim to have been made up of men, women, and children, while others claim to only have had men. In 1930, the largest Hooverville in America, consisting of four distinct sectors, was established in St. Louis. Even when Hoovervilles were raided by order of parks departments or other authorities, the men who carried out the raids often expressed regret and guilt for their actions. Hoovervilles: Some 200,000 migrant farmers relocated to California. Hoover was largely blamed for the ineffective federal role to that point, and Americans were largely thankful to see their government trying any policy. 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. Men, women, and children living in Hooverville either relied on public charities or begged for food from those who had permanent housing during the era. Roy found the relaxed social atmosphere remarkable, describing "an ethnic rainbow" where men of many colors intermingled "in shabby comraderie. 10 Facts About the Great Depression. 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? They are crowded, dirty, miserable, and they are places where the homeless gather to build temporary homes. Robert Longley is a U.S. government and history expert with over 30 years of experience in municipal government and urban planning. KidsKonnect is a growing library of high-quality, printable worksheets for teachers and homeschoolers. As fears grew, many Americans believed the U.S. government could and should do something to help. 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. 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. In his famous novel the Joad family briefly settles into a Hooverville in California. What were the Hoovervilles (Shanty Town) of the Great Depression? Regardless of the gender of the residents, Hoovervilles served as a common ground for many different nationalities and ethnicities. An error occurred trying to load this video. All the Hoovervilles were 'eradicated' at the end of the Great Depression in 1941. MacArthurs troops set fire to the Hooverville and drove the group from the city with bayonets and tear gas. He had first achieved fame during World War I when he ran the U.S. Food Administration, and his. The homeless clustered in shanty towns close to free soup kitchens. His records show populations of Japanese, Mexican, Filipino, Native American, Costa Rican, Chilean, and Black men. Hoover leather referred to cardboard or newspaper used to replace worn-out shoe soles. How many people lived in the Hoovervilles in the 1930s? Write THREE true facts about this topic and ONE lie about this topic in the boxes below2. Will Work ForAnything. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); By 1932, between one and two million American people were homeless. 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 Renters fell behind and faced eviction. It was a period of the global economic crisis that began with a significant drop in stock prices in the United States. 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. Thesis, University of Washington, 1935), pp.42-45. Excerpt from "Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle" by Donald Francis Roy (1935) Beyond the waters lie two rugged mountain ranges, the Olympics to the west and the Cascades to the east. 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. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. I feel like its a lifeline. Migrant workers and immigrants greatly suffered from the lack of work and made up a large portion of the Hoovervilles across the country.[2]. Democrats coined many terms based on opinions of Herbert Hoover[5] such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used as blanketing). Not ready to purchase a subscription? How many Hoovervilles or Shantytowns were there? Unsanitary conditions in the camps left both their residents and the nearby communities at risk of disease. [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. The easiest way to travel across the country was by train and Shantytowns, nicknamed 'Hobo Jungles' sprang up by most city railroad stations. No two Hoovervilles are very similar to refugee camps. ThoughtCo, Dec. 6, 2021, thoughtco.com/hoovervilles-homeless-camps-of-the-great-depression-4845996. Sign Me Up. This website helped me pass! Hoover Pullmans were rusted railroad boxcars used as dwellings. People who rented their homes fell behind with the rent and were evicted by bailiffs. Some people . Absolutely anything that would provide shelter. Ultimately, they were a bitterly ironic symbol of the suffering inherent in the worst economic crisis in U.S. History. 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. Because of the lack of government, it took a lot of work. After 1940, all of Hooverville were destroyed as the economy recovered and the unemployment rate fell eventually. Home Facts Privacy About Blog Contact Terms. "; Hoovervilles were the nickname given to a Shanty Town during the Great Depression and consisted of camps of makeshift shacks or tents set up on unused or public lands. The Seattle City Council decided to close Hooverville in May 1941, despite the increased reliance on it for shelter. 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. Usually built on vacant land, the camps were largely tolerated by city authorities. [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. Hooverville residents had nowhere else to go, and public sympathy, for the most part, was with them. However, some countries retaliated by raising their tariffs, and international trade was hampered. During the Great Depression, Hoovervilles provided shelter to many of the homeless population of America. [2] Among the white population, nationalities included English, Irish, Polish, Spanish, Italian, and Russian. In the summer of 1931 a group of Seattle residents organized to establish self-help enterprises and demand that government officials create jobs and increase relief assistance to unemployed. These communities of shacks or shanties were called Hoovervilles, after President Hoover, who refused to help the growing number of homeless. Those who did were chronically underpaid. [6], After 1940, the economy recovered, unemployment fell, and shanty housing eradication programs destroyed all the Hoovervilles. As the optimism of the 1920s gave way to fear and desperation, Americans looked to the federal government for relief. In his estimation, prosperity would return if people would simply help one another. In this lesson, look at the Great Depression, some historical background, and the definition of and facts about Hoovervilles. Out of desperation, the homeless began building camps of makeshift shacks near cities across the nation. All rights reserved. As a member, you'll also get unlimited access to over 84,000 months[0] = "Discover the vast range of useful, leisure and educational websites published by the Siteseen network. 19. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. New York City: Depression shacks "Hoover Village" in the old Central Park reservoir. One of the important events during his presidency was the emergence of the Shanty Town during the Great Depression. And although private philanthropy increased during the early 1930s, the amounts given were not enough to make a significant impact. Hoovervilles were large groups of simple, makeshift houses built by people who had nowhere else to live during the Great Depression. Shanty towns also appeared in or near other cities. It stood for ten years, 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. "Hooverville" became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. Bootleggers were becoming rich on the profits of illegal alcohol sales and violence was on the rise. This was supervised by Mayor Jackson, who also led the Vigilance Committee. Probably the most famous Hooverville was the one founded on Anacostia Flats, just outside Washington, D.C., in 1932. Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons. Follow the Great Depression Project/ Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project on Facebook. There is a sorrow here that weeping cannot symbolize.. This drain reservoir became the site of an informal camp established by a few homeless people, but they were quickly evicted. As the Depression deepened, the sheer number of homeless people became overwhelming. [9], Regardless of the gender of the residents, Hoovervilles served as a common ground for many different nationalities and ethnicities. Some squatted, either defying eviction and staying where they were, or finding shelter in one of the increasing number of vacant buildings. The shanty town was so big that people established their own community government and elected a 'mayor' as their leader to settle any disputes. Different nationalities and ethnicities assistance, but each time residents rebuilt York city: Depression shacks Hoover! Who refused to help men, women, and his for relief a period of the eight in... Old Central Park reservoir federal government for relief Mexican, Filipino, Native American, Costa Rican Chilean. And although private philanthropy increased during the Great Depression, and black men up of,. Including women and children, while others claim to have been made up of men women. 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