Shekiah Shannon
Mr.Lee
US History
20 April 2015
Hoovervilles, Shantytowns, Homeless
In 1929 the Great Depression occurred that sent a panic through the country and a sharp decline in the United States economy. This decline accompanied an increase in homeless people. Although the United States had seen its’ share of homeless, the 1930s-1940s marked the peak. Many people believed the government would provide assistance but were let down. These homeless created Shantytowns to live in and called them Hoovervilles. These Hoovervilles contained awful hygienic conditions that would put many people at risk. The Great Depression brought along hundreds and thousands of homeless people and shantytowns, which was blamed on the government but has shaped
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His failure is what earned the name of Hoovervilles to the Shantytowns, and this term spread like a wildfire through the United States. An assortment of the name is even still used as a trend today to describe some opinions of Presidents such as Bushville or Obamaville. People during the 1930s even created new derogatory terms for many of the common homeless man’s or even a poor man's possessions such as the “Hoover Blanket”, which was an used newspaper used for warmth and blanketing, or “Hoover leather” which was cardboard used to line a shoe sole when it was destroyed, and a "Hoover wagon" which was an automobile with horses tied to it because the owner could not afford fuel , or even the big “Hoover flag”, which was an empty pocket turned inside out . People during these times created very degrading names, to not only demean President Hoover but to the government as a whole in which many people today still believe are at …show more content…
Hoovervilles weren't as unorganized as one might think; they were often raised by departments. The bigger the city the bigger the Hooverville, mostly because Hoovervilles were sustained off of help from others and big cities that had most resources the shantytowns needed such as Soup and bread lines, and money sufficient donors. Some were also surrounded near rivers or banks for the ample amount of infinite water. Even some hoovervilles had their own form of government, such as the one that resided in Chicago Illinois which had its own mayor Mike Donovan, and in an interview he stated, “Building construction may be at a standstill elsewhere, but down here everything is booming. Ours is a sort of communistic government. We pool our interests and when the commissary shows signs of depletion, we appoint a committee to see what leavings the hotels have.” A reader can identify the sense of community they share and helping each other out during the trying times. Seattle Washington's Hooverville one of the biggest, longest standing, and best documented accommodated over 1,200 homeless people. This town started with an unemployed lumberjack with over nine acres of land to spare, people quickly flooded in. Another large Shantytown was in Missouri near the Banks of the Mississippi River for the abundant supply of water. This Hooverville was placed into four racial sectors and housed about 500 men, in which they
The Great Depression tested America’s political organizations like no other event in United States’ history except the Civil War. The most famous explanations of the period are friendly to Roosevelt and the New Deal and very critical of the Republican presidents of the 1920’s, bankers, and businessmen, whom they blame for the collapse. However, Amity Shlaes in her book, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression, contests the received wisdom that the Great Depression occurred because capitalism failed, and that it ended because of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Shlaes, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and a syndicated financial columnist, argues that government action between 1929 and 1940 unnecessarily deepened and extended the Great Depression.
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.
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
Hoovervilles were shanty towns and homeless encampments. They were built during the Great Depression era and consisted of hundreds of homeless men. These camps were named after President Herbert Hoover.... ... middle of paper ...
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.
... home for thousands of American during the 1930’s, even though hoovervilles weren’t the most ideal places to live. Hoovervilles were full of sickness, crime, and death. A large portion of Americans would say that hoovervilles were bad things because of all the crime and death that happened there, but what they don’t realize is that hoovervilles were a huge help to a large number of the victims of America's economic downfall that we call the great depression.
The Varied Impact of the Great Depression on American People The experiences of Americans during the Great Depression varied greatly. For most, the Great Depression was a time of hardships and trials. The way that people were tried were different though, some languished in a collapsed economy, while others had to struggle to make a living in the remote regions of the country. The years berween 1929 and 1933 were trying years for people throughout the world.
There are many components that contribute to the homelessness in America. Neoliberalism and capitalism are very important contributors to discuss. Under these practices lies multiple factors that not only perpetuate, but also maintain homelessness. In a neoliberal era, there’s a shift of deregulating and privatizing public spheres/programs and move it under the authority of private and individual entities. This includes the lack of support and funding in access to affordable housing, employment, income, public health, and other public assistance. Neoliberalism, poverty, and capitalism has play a key role in sustaining the unequal distribution of wealth and resources among people, which has resulted folks in losing their sense of self.
Economic problems such as being laid off work, or the rise in the cost of housing had lead people to live on the streets. Many of the homeless are women that have become divorced or have left home because of physical abuse. These women have no education because they have not been given the chance to go and get the education that it takes nowadays to get the job, so they are forced to live on the streets. They have no family to help them and they are left with no other choice. People with mental illnesses also become homeless quite often. These people are incapable of handling the stress of living on their own. These people get kicked out of their homes and are to ashamed to go to their families because of their illness, so we see them on the streets struggling to stay warm. Teenage mothers are also forced to live on the streets because their families will not help them. The fathers are not there and that forces them to live on the streets. So they must resort to prostitution to pay for the food that their young ones need to stay alive. There are many other people that become homeless for many different reasons. Some of these people can not help becoming homeless. Some of these people are the illegal immigrants that come here from other places to get a better life but end up not having enough money to make it in this hard world that we live in.
The increase in industrialization in the U.S. during the 1820’s caused a rise in homelessness. Women made up the majority of the homeless population. During the beginning of the nineteenth century, private charities helped provide food and shelter for the homeless. Towards the end of the nineteenth century men became the majority of the homeless population. The federal government created “mother’s pension laws” which were protective labor laws that assisted poor women and children. Shelters required a work test for men to enter and only allowed them to stay for a limited amount of time. Charities did not help men in the nineteenth century (Homelessness in the United States).
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.
Homelessness in the United States has been a problem for at least 200 years. “In the early 1800s, the rank of homelessness increased for many reasons such as; Migration to the frontiers, displacement caused by the Civil War, immigration from Europe, seasonal employment patterns in agriculture, construction and mining, and severe economic slumps in the 1870s and 1890s” ( Macmillan). This shows that homelessness started to become a huge problem in the 19th century. To help the situation, “Cities developed shelt...
Weize Tan History 7B 3/09/14. Chapter 23 1. What is the difference between a. and a. What were some of the causes of the Great Depression? What made it so severe, and why did it last so long? a.
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 ...
Homelessness in America Here in Tahoe, we are lucky enough to experience a great quality of life, and only a few have to face the horrible life of poverty and homelessness. However, nationwide, even right outside the basin, homelessness is a growing epidemic across the country. There are many ways one can become homeless; for the most part poverty. There are also different concentrations of homeless in different types of terrain, such as urban or suburban areas. Last, there is the ever-growing homeless population, and how much money it costs us for others to live in poverty.