Hoovervilles?
Did you ever build cardboard forts as a child? During the Great Depression, this is how some Americans had to live. They were called Hoovervilles. What is a Hooverville you might ask, a Hooverville is a shantytown in the 1930s named after President Herbert Hoover. Life in Hoovervilles were unbearable, and at points the proper authorities didn’t know how to act. Hoovervilles played a very important part during the Great Depression. To understand why that is, you must know more about what a Hooverville was.
The term was first used in a newspaper article written by Democrat Charles Michelson in 1930. As defined in the opening paragraph, Hoovervilles were ramshackle towns built by the poor during the Great Depression. They were
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normally made of cardboard, glass, lumber, or tin. "Deep holes dug in the ground with makeshift roofs laid over them to keep out inclement weather. Some of the homeless found shelter inside empty conduits and water mains" (History "Hoovervilles"). The early Hoovervilles were built under bridges, for extra protection, or near rivers for a water supply. Some of the bigger Hoovervilles include, Central Park or Riverside Park, and the three biggest were St. Louis, Seattle, and Anacostia, which was in Washington D.C. Most of the bigger Hoovervilles were informal, some had mayors, churches, social institutes, etc. Hoovervilles were ethnic rainbows with such a diverse population, but very poor conditions.
The main people living in the Hoovervilles were middle to low class citizens and made up about 25% of the workforce. People in Hoovervilles acted like rats, living clumped together and fighting for scraps of food to feed their families. Some families used public charities, and even begged, for food. "Hooverville residents had nowhere else to go, and public sympathy, for the most part, was with them." (History "Hoovervilles"). Very few people went to barber shops or to dental offices because they had no money to pay for anything. One of the reasons the suicide rate went up dramatically during that time was because of the poor conditions. Citizens of these poor Hoovervilles were not limited to out-of-work ordinary people, but also included military …show more content…
veterans. In 1932, WWI veterans demanded that they get their bonus money, which they were to have received from fighting during the war.
When the Government said no, the vets set up a Hooverville, near the Anacostia river, in Washington D.C. They marched to the capitol to appeal the Bonus Law. “We’re here for the duration and we’re not going to starve. We’re going to keep ourselves a simon-pure veteran’s organization. If the Bonus is paid it will relieve to a large extent the deplorable economic condition.” Walter Waters 1932. The veterans didn't back down and thus Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur to control them, and he used excessive force, such as the military blockading them and burning part of the Hooverville. On June 15, 1932 the Government gave the veterans a total of 2.4 billion dollars, which in today's money is about 42.2 billion dollars. After the vets got their money most of them left while a few of them stayed, the few that stayed got
evicted. In 1933, Americans were outraged by Hoover. As a result Hoover lost the 1933 election by a landslide to FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As FDR took over the presidency, the American people had hope. The Hoovervilles slowly went away and by the early 1940s, many of the Hoovervilles were gone and the American people had real houses. “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many Americans say that FDR was the reason that America lived after the Great Depression. In conclusion, Hoovervilles were Decrepit shacks that, were made by people who were too poor to own an actual house for them and their family. As Robert Bendiner said, “... scores of families the lives of reluctant gypsies.” Here he was stating what life was like in Hoovervilles. Not to mention that it was very hard to get any food, people had to buy apples on credit because they had nothing. And the WWI veterans weren’t able to get the money that they earned for fighting. But when they did most of them went home but some stayed. After that Hoover lost the election by a lot. FDR was able to bring us out of the depression and was able to get rid of all of the rest of the Hoovervilles. Hoovervilles were all over the place back then and they still are figuratively, in the papers that people write and the blood that was passed down to us. Hoovervilles were a very big part of our history, even though they were bad they are still our history. So the next time that you build a fort for fun just remember that long ago they had to build these little forts to survive.
In Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1939: Decades of Promise and Pain, author David E. Kyvig, creates historical account of the Great Depression, and the events leading up to it. Kyvig’s goal in writing this book was to show how Americans had to change their daily life in order to cope with the changing times. Kyvig utilizes historical evidence and inferences from these events and developments to strengthen his point. The book is organized chronologically, recounting events and their effects on American culture. Each chapter of the book tackles a various point in American history between 1920 and1939 and events are used to comment on American life at the time. While Kyvig does not exactly have a “thesis” per se, his main point is to examine American life under a microscope, seeing how people either reacted, or were forced to react due to a wide range of specific events or developments in history, be it Prohibition, the KKK, or women’s suffrage.
In America the Great Depression hit hard especially in the 1930’s. People lost their jobs and then their homes. When the depression hit everyone blamed President Hoover for all of the homelessness. Hoovervilles are an important part of history; some important things about hoovervilles are how they started and who it involved.
The Great Depression was definitely gruesome to live through, but it built the character of America. The Depression was a revenge on how carefree Americans were during the roaring twenties. This was a pivotal point where many laws and regulations were set in place to ensure America would never face these tough times ever again. James J Braddock was a fairly wealthy man in the Roaring Twenties, but it didn’t take him long to become just the average American living in the Great Depression working to keep his family from starvation. James J. Braddock was truly an inspiration to many Americans during the Great Depression.
Because of the plague known as the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover is often seen as one of the worst presidents in American history. He enacted policies such as the Hawley-Smoot Tariff that flushed America deeper into the depression. Hoover didn't understand that to solve a crisis such as a depression, he needed to interact directly with the people by using programs such as social security and welfare. Instead, Hoover had the idea that if he were to let the depression run its course, it would eventually end. There are three things that can be used to define Hoover's presidency during the depression, his actions, his mentality toward fixing things, and the fact that he helped pave the way for the “New Deal”
The start of this decade was an economic boom. With the war over and done, people were happy and rich. This did not last long. By the end of the century the Great Depression would begin.
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.”
As a nation coming out of a devastating war, America faced many changes in the 1920s. It was a decade of growth and improvements. It was also a decade of great economic and political confidence. However, with all the changes comes opposition. Social and cultural fears still caused dichotomous rifts in American society.
The “Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s”, was written by Donald Worster, who admits wanted to write the book for selfish reasons, so that he would have a reason o visit the Southern Plains again. In the book he discusses the events of the “dirty thirties” in the Dust Bowl region and how it affected other areas in America. “Dust Bowl” was a term coined by a journalist and used to describe the area that was in the southern planes in the states of Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, between the years of 1931 and 1939. This area experienced massive dust storms, which left dust covering everything in its wake. These dust storms were so severe at times that it made it so that the visibility in the area was so low to where people
To sum it up Hoovervilles were small towns which were built by homeless people during the Great Depression. The largest Hooverville was in Seattle, Washington which was a house to 1,200 people. Hoovervilles were named to make fun of the president then in office Herbert Hoover. Hoovervilles were made with scrap wood or any other material they could find. Hoovervilles were up for 10 years, and then burned down after the Great
Life in the Hoovervilles varied. Some Hoovervilles were big and some were small, they were most commonly placed in big cities like New York or Washington D.C. More often than not Hoovervilles were operated in an unorderly
Hoover underestimated the severity of the Great Depression. Although, he believed it would get better it progressively got worse. Approximately 13 million Americans lost their jobs, and thousands of businesses had failed, and the number of farm foreclosures increased. Provided that the plan worked, which entailed keeping money in people’s pockets and to keep people working, he contacted business leaders and urged them to not lay off workers and not to cut wages. The plan failed and as a result, Hoover watched as Americans drowned into poverty. He signed The Smoot-Hawley Act into a law, which raised taxes on imports; but it was a huge mistake because it induced foreign nations to turn the other cheek on American-made goods when the country desperately needed sales.Furthermore, in order to deal with the Depression, Hoover encouraged volunteerism. Volunteerism was a collaboration between private sectors and public sectors of the economy, meaning that, Americans should volunteer to help one another. Unfortunately, it was not good enough for many people. The people struggled to survive and needed immediate help in big ways. Communities known as shantytowns were named “Hoovervilles”and which were a settlement of improvised housing. The people named shantytowns after the president as a way to appoint blame and express anger.
Technology played an important role in the daily lives of Americans in the 1920s. Many inventions and new developments occurred during this time. A large number of items that are used today were invented by individuals and teams in research laboratories. This technology brought many conveniences such as electrical power and indoor plumbing into the home. Radios gave people access to the news and provided entertainment. Mass culture was also born and the automobile became the largest consumer product of the decade. By 1929, one in five Americans had an automobile on the road. America experienced a decade of economic growth due to the impact of technology in the 1920s.
One of Hoover’s famous quotes was “if a man has not made a million dollars by the time he is forty, then he is not worth much” (Egan, 2006) before the Great depression. How disheartening this would be to hear as a farmer struggling to make ends meet being sold worthless land provided within the United States and then less than a year later the depression starts. Hoover during the depression believed in patience and self-reliance. He felt that the depression and the change in the economy was something that will come and go and it wasn’t the government’s responsibility to intervene. Luckily when a leader was elected, President Roosevelt came up with the new deal. The new deal effected American history by setting forth programs between the years 1933-1938. Roosevelts addressed that there wasn’t enough circling money. While on the radio for the first time which changed the way America does business he told listeners “they could pull their savings out of mattresses and beneath the floor. The government would back there dollars”, If they put it in the bank. He also advocated for the local farmers and ended free-market agriculture economics which would put money back into the farmer’s pockets and less wasted food. Roosevelt would have the government buy a surplus of corn, meat and distribute it to the poor, unlike Hoover. Roosevelt didn’t want to take away the American peoples dignity so he came up
The 1920's was a time of change in the United States. “The Roaring Twenties” had an outstanding impact on the economy, social standards and everyday life. It was a time for positive results in the industry of consumer goods and American families, because of higher wages, shorter working hours, and manufacturing was up 60% in consumer goods. But it was also a time of adversity and opposition for others, such as immigrants and farmers. Immigrants had lots of competition when they were looking for work and they weren't treated fairly by Americans, depending on where they came from and what they believed. Farmers were paid very little because the price of food kept going down, they also had the Dust Bowl to worry about. African Americans became further infused with mainstream America during the Harlem Renaissance. They were also able to organize and elect officials who would make life better for them. The Roaring Twenties was a very exciting time to live in and we can all learn what the real world is like, and how we can prepare to be ready for it, today and in the future.
rural lifestyle and moving to cities where they could find work, but lived substandard lives.