Most Americans know the story, October 24, 1929, Black Tuesday. The pivotal event that signals the start of the worst economic disaster in American History: the Great Depression. Prior to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election as President in 1934, Herbert Hoover presided over the nation’s frightful times. This was a time marked by soup kitchens, lines of unemployed persons, shantytowns called Hoovervilles and the Bonus Army’s march on Washington. The depression brought together people from all walks of life and united them under a common animosity and common target, President Hoover. The people came together through common association, through the Bonus Army, Hoovervilles, and through purely political motives intent on blaming Hoover for their …show more content…
struggles during the Great Depression. It is to be of note that the people blamed the Hoover administration for the lackluster economy, largely evident through commonly uttered catch phrases such as Hoovervilles (shantytowns) and Hoover blankets (newspapers used as blankets). An anonymous editorial published in the Chicago Daily Tribune in May 1930 states what is still reflected and felt in modern day, “A national administration always takes credit for an era of prosperity occurring while it is in office; […] every President must expect […] to be charged with responsibility for poor business.” In other words, an administration takes credit for the good times, regardless of whether or not it is as a result of an event that it contributed to; however, it must also be held accountable for economic downturns. Both during the bad times and during the good times an administration should exercise all available means to either boost a bad economy or maintain a good economy. Another editorial in the Chicago Daily Tribune voices what can be described as the American everyman. In a July 1931 editorial titled “Relief”, W.B. of Rockford, IL writes, “while several thousand of us at middle age and older have lost everything we had accumulated for old age and not even a job in sight […] if we can bolster Germany, why not put up money to save frozen assets.” W.B can presumably be described as a middle-aged, middle-class worker. It appears that he lost much if not all of his retirement nest egg. He criticizes the Hoover administration, asking how they can support Germany, which had a faltering economy at this time, but not support American businesses. W.B. implies that a little bit of money allocated towards manufacturing plants and factories can help very desperate people. The overarching point is that with many American citizens in similar situations, the blame was united towards Hoover. People have lost their retirement nest eggs and the present administration needs to take responsibility for that. An anonymous 1932 Chicago Daily Tribune editorial of the day titled, “The Party of Solvency,” accused Hoover’s administration for spending too much. The editorial reads, “The administration […] will go down as the most extravagant and wasteful in history.” The editorial goes on to say, “the rank and file of the voters do not understand that government extravagance means poverty to them […] stagnation, unemployment, and suffering.” This person, like the previously mentioned other two writers, has a disdain for the Hoover administration’s economic policies. The writer believes that Hoover spending so much money is a fiscally poor decision for the government as large expenditures will be difficult to payback. This is in contrast to the others who stated that the administration needs to spend more money and booster the economy, though they did not comment on the government’s ability to payback what it is spending. The great debate is largely one that occurs during every downturn, should the government spend and attempt to jumpstart an upturn, or should the government refrain from spending in order to preserve its solvency. It is ironic that Hoover appears to be disliked no matter what he does – if the government spends money to boost the economy some argue it is not enough, while others argue it should not be done. It is a poor economy that united the people under a common animosity towards Herbert Hoover. The other large source of this animosity was coordinated through the Bonus Army. A poster dated December 1932 calls for “Rank and File Veterans March to Washington [including negro and white as indicated at the top]” The poster is calling for the uniting of all those who are veterans to unite against a common enemy, Hoover and Congress. The Bonus Army is crossing racial barriers and uniting African Americans and whites. A July 1932 The Nation article by Mauritz A. Hallgren gives a grand overview of the members of the bonus army. They come from all occupations and all classes; they are unified under a common disdain for Hoover and desire to have their bonus paid. Hallgren writes in regards to who are the bonus-seekers, “they are mostly farm workers, fruit pickers, factory workers, […] a large majority are skilled mechanics, white-collar workers, and even professional people.” Hallgren further states that he does not believe a single state or industry is underrepresented. The Bonus Army is a representative slice of America; it includes everyone from the lowly farmer to a dentist. Once again, it is evident that the Depression is uniting people from all lifestyles who normally would not come together. There are blacks and whites, factory works and lawyers, all united towards a common cause. The Bonus Army, while composed of veterans, had supporters from the non-veteran ranks. Hallgren writes, “the sympathy [towards the Bonus Army] reveals itself in many ways, in the comments one hears in government offices […] in the donations from Washington [D.C.] residents.” While at first glance, it appears that the Bonus Army is solely filled with veterans from all lifestyles, common Americans also support them. The disdain towards Hoover is strong and unites people from all walks of life, ‘rich’ and ‘poor’, veteran and non-veteran, skilled-worker and unskilled-laborer, and even government employees. Furthermore, the veterans and country are united through Hoovervilles. As a result of rampant homelessness during the Great Depression, people formed shantytowns, towns of huts, cardboard boxes, and other varying degrees of shelter.
These shantytowns were soon to be aptly named ‘Hoovervilles’ as people generally blamed Hoover for the poor state of the economy. Once such picture taken in Manhattan shows what appear to be relatively nice huts in a small Hooverville near some buildings. These huts, based on the title ‘Huts and Unemployed’ show two men, perhaps in their thirties, sitting outside of the row of huts; presumably, the men are unemployed and lost their homes as a result they have relocated to a small Hooverville. In regards to the appearance of the huts themselves, they appear to be relatively sturdy. It looks like they are made out of broken fencing, wood scraps, and cloths. This small Hooverville is in stark contrast to the ones near Washington D.C. as described by Hallgren. Hallgren writes, “the Hoovervilles […], communities of homeless families which have erected shelters out of packing boxes and old tin cans.” The Hoovervilles spoken of by Hallgren are described as being made from whatever could be found. However, the Hoovervilles near Washington D.C. sound rather poorly made, not sturdy, and barely qualify as shelter. On the other hand, the Hooverville pictured in New York is a solid wood structure with doors and wooden roofs. Nonetheless, these Hoovervilles brought Americans together. The homeless and unemployed were brought together under a common problem: not having a place to stay. They formed small-communities to attempt to support one another. Americans, blaming Hoover for their problems, named these communities
Hoovervilles. The Great Depression was and is considered by many to still be the worst economic disaster in U.S. history. These hard times saw people including lawyers, veterans, factory workers, and farmers unite together against President Herbert Hoover with a common animosity. Some blamed the administration for not doing enough. They questioned why the government helped other countries, like Germany, rather than allocate that money towards Americans at home. Others thought government spending was too high, and would cause problems for the economy in the future. Regardless of the specifics, many Americans did not like Hoover. The Bonus Army is one of the stronger examples of the people’s reaction towards Herbert Hoover, as it included people from all walks of life who wanted one thing from Hoover and Congress, help. They wanted the government’s help and wanted what they were owed several years early. History paints Hoover’s presidency practically as a failure; he lost the favor of the American people. In contrast, people saw FDR as a savior.
The Great Depression hit the United States while Hoover was serving his first and only term as president. In the end, the public saw Hoover as a man who began his presidency as a liberal, but who’s beliefs began to resemble those of a conservative towards the end of his term. The Progressive Age had come to an end by 1910 and big business thrived as Harding, Coolidge, an...
Since the majority of the population went bankrupt, they were evicted from their homes due to no money able to pay bills. People came home from work to find their houses locked and their belongings outside, they were forced to live on the streets and live in tent camps. Because of President Hoover's wide unpopularity, people began calling homeless tent camps “Hoovervilles” and an empty pocket inside a “Hoover Flag” (Concise Encyclopedia).... ... middle of paper ...
Hoover is also vilified repeatedly for his inaction with the Depression. His personal policy and his party’s policy were designed to let the country find its own way, for if it became dependent on government aide, it would be a weaker nation that if it found it’s own way. This was a flawed assumption on their behalf though, because even in the 1920’s, there was a movement from many of the nation’s younger voters advocating change.
Hoover’s nation was coming out of a war and was facing an economy plummeting into an unknown Great Depression. Hoover proclaimed a need for reform of the criminal justice system, the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment, cooperation of government and businesses, the development of education, organization of the public health services, and maintaining the integrity of the He called for restoration with action, and promised solutions to the economic crisis, unemployment, world policy. He however, does remind the people, “We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed.”
After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States took a turn for the worse on October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, better known as Black Tuesday and the official beginning of the Great Depression. The downfall of the economy during the presidency of Herbert Hoover led to much comparison when his successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, took office. Although both presidents had their share of negative feedback, it is evident that Hoover’s inaction towards the crisis and Roosevelt’s later eccentric methods to simulate the economy would place FDR in the positive limelight of fixing the nation in one of its worst times. Herbert Hoover was sworn into office when the economic status of the country stood at its highest and the nation was accustomed to a prosperous way of living. When the stock market plummeted and took its toll on the citizens from coast to coast, it was out of his control.
However, for the worst affected, the most difficult effect on morale must have been the lifelong memory of seeing their children and family suffer, and having no power to change this. For the lack of power to change the future is the exact opposite of the ‘American Dream’. References: Prosperity, Depression and The New Deal, Peter Clements, 2001, Hodder and Stoughton, London Letters To The Roosevelts, various authors, date and publisher unknown An Editor Loses His Job In The Great Depression, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression, Studs Terkel, 1978, Pantheon Books. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime? , Jay Gorney, 1932, Warner Bros. Music The Great Depression, Mc Elvaine R., 1984, Times Books, New York
Hoovervilles were small towns that were built by homeless people during the Great Depression. They were built with any scrap material that they could find. Hooverville houses were very small and lacked a lot. An entire family would live in one small hut or tent. Most Hoovervilles were next to soup kitchens to get food.
Many people looked to the federal government for assistance, but, especially before the government set up assistance programs, when the government failed to provide assistance many people “the shantytowns that cropped up across the nation, primarily on the outskirts of major cities, became known as Hoovervilles” (Lears 2). Hoovervilles were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. “Most shanties, however, were distinctly less glamorous: Cardboard-box homes did not last long, and most dwellings were in a constant state of being rebuilt” (Lears 2).
During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the depression, many Americans spoke their minds through pen and paper. Many criticized Hoover’s policies of the early Depression and praised the Roosevelts’ efforts. Each opinion about the causes and solutions of the Great Depression are based upon economic, racial and social standing in America.
The Great Depression America 1929-1941 by Robert S. McElvaine covers many topics of American history during the "Great Depression" through 1941. The topic that I have selected to compare to the text of American, Past and Present, written by Robert A. Divine, T.H. Breen, George M. Frederickson and R. Hal Williams, is Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first president of the United States and America's president during the horrible "Great Depression".
Where do you go when you have no home to go to? During the great depression, thousands of Americans were asking themselves this question. America’s economy was at an all time low, most people were laid off, and the few who weren’t had a major decrease in their salary. A large portion of America’s population was unable to afford their houses anymore. Lots of people went to live with family, but not everyone had a family who was able to take care of them. So where do these people go? The answer is hoovervilles, hoovervilles are groups of random makeshift shacks and any other things people were able to throw together for shelter. Most hoovervilles were in large cities because there were more job opportunities. Since there were so many people living in these camps, it was harder to control them. There was so much crime going on in hoovervilles that officials couldn’t stop it, and sometimes even made it worse. Hoovervilles were not very desired places to live.
The Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression.
The years berween 1929 and 1933 were trying years for people throughout the world. Inflation was often so high money became nearly worthless. America had lost the prosperity it had known during the 1920's. America was caught in a trap of a complete meltdown of economy, workers had no jobs simply because it cost too much to ship the abundance of goods being produced. This cycle was unbreakable, and produced what is nearly universally recognized as the greatest economic collapse of all times. These would be trying years for all, but not every American faced the same challenges and hardships. (Sliding 3)
Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:
The 1930s was a time of not only political turmoil abroad, but of economic chaos on the home-front as well. After President Herbert C. Hoover's Presidency took the blame for launching the ...