Not ready to purchase a subscription? Follow the Great Depression Project/ Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project on Facebook. 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. 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. Technically, these settlements were often in violation of state or local law; and even though they were often raided, it became common practice for authorities to endure them. As their investments lost value, people soon depleted their savings. See the fact file below for more information on the Hoovervilles, or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Hooverville worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Sign Up. Migrant workers and immigrants greatly suffered from the lack of work and made up a large portion of the Hoovervilles across the country.[2]. It was named after Herbert Hoover, an American politician who was the president during the first years of the Great Depression. 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. When disaster struck, Americans looked to their President for leadership and compassion, but Hoover seemed to be short on both counts. University of Washington: The Great Depression in Washington State.Hoovervilles in Seattle. The Seattle City Council decided to close Hooverville in May 1941, despite the increased reliance on it for shelter. It was a period of the global economic crisis that began with a significant drop in stock prices in the United States. Nonwhites comprised 29% of the colony's population, including 120 Filipinos, 29 African Americas, 25 Mexicans, 4 Native Americans, 4 South Americans, and 2 Japanese. Hoover was largely blamed for the ineffective federal role to that point, and Americans were largely thankful to see their government trying any policy. Twelve million Americans, about 25% of the normal labor force, were out of work and many suffered poverty, deprivation and homelessness. The Great Depression caused social upheaval and political unrest. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. Sign Me Up, Editing resources is available exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members.To edit this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start editing! 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. Second New Deal Purpose & Programs | What was the Second New Deal? No one knows, but there were literally millions of homeless people during the Great Depression so it seems reasonable to estimate the number as several thousands. This download is exclusively for KidsKonnect Premium members!To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download! 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). Herbert Hoover was a rising star of American politics when he won the presidential election of 1928. succeed. 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. 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. Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images. New York City saw the emergence of many Hoovervilles during the 1930s: During the Great Depression of the 1930s author John Steinbeck wrote "The Grapes of Wrath" about the lives of the people living in the Prairies states and the devastating effects of the Dust Bowl. months[7] = "The Siteseen network is dedicated to producing unique, informative websites on a whole host of educational subjects. As the Great Depression deepened people protested and launched hunger marches. Inside Hoovervilles were houses called shanties . Summary and Definition: The Shanty Towns, known as Hoovervilles, sprang up across the nation during the Great Depression (1929 - 1941). 'Hooverville' was the nickname for any variety of makeshift shelters for homeless people, mostly victims of the Great Depression from 1929 to 1941. What became the city's main Hooverville started as a group of little huts on land next to Elliott Bay south of "skid road," as the Pioneer Square area was then called. "; Tacoma hosted a large encampment near the city garbage dump that residents called "Hollywood-on-the-Tideflats." Usually built on the edges of larger cities, hundreds of thousands of people lived in the many Hooverville camps. Seattle, in 2009, is currently facing a recession that may be the most serious since the Depression of the 1930s, and a community similar to Hooverville has formed. It began with the United States stock market crash of 1929, and didn't completely end until after . Whenever possible, Hoovervilles were built near rivers for the convenience of a water source. Probably the most famous Hooverville was the one founded on Anacostia Flats, just outside Washington, D.C., in 1932. Those who did were chronically underpaid. months[3] = "Check out the interesting and diverse websites produced and created by the international publisher in the Siteseen network. Back to History for Kids. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Commanded by Maj. George S. Patton, the U.S. Army burned the Hooverville and drove the veterans out with tanks, tear gas, and fixed bayonets. He counted 639 residents in March of that year, all but seven of them men. 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. They were built by unemployed impoverished Americans that had been made homeless and had nowhere else to live. The Shanty Town was not new to America. They cut down dramatically on their purchases, but less buying meant fewer goods needed, so companies didn't need so many employees. Many people turned to farming, and grew the food themselves, like fruits, vegetables, cattle, chickens, sheep, and hogs. In turn, a new lexicon came into being -- words like "Hoovervilles," "Hoover blankets" and "Hoover hogs." This website helped me pass! lessons in math, English, science, history, and more. MacArthurs troops set fire to the Hooverville and drove the group from the city with bayonets and tear gas. Report of Shack Elimination Committee (April 14, 1941) 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. The Shanty Town was given the sarcastic nickname 'Hooverville' after President Herbert Hoover who Americans blamed for the Great Depression. 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. Odd pieces of wood, stones, loose boards, crates, cardboard, scraps of other materials, old bricks and parts of boxes. WATCH VIDEO: Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. 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. "; The Red Scare of the 1920s History & Overview | What was the First Red Scare? The Great Depression started on Wall Street. Hoover Pullmans were rusted railroad boxcars used as dwellings. Seattle's Hooverville had lasted a full decade.[4]. At that time, President Herbert Hoover increasingly became, in the eyes of many Americans, a grim and inept leader. 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. Both his parents were dead by the time he was nine. 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 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. [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. Democrats coined many terms based on opinions of Herbert Hoover[5] such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used as blanketing). The term was coined by Charles Michelson. For one thing, Hoover was a believer in the power of the free market and in the value of perseverance. READ MORE:Did New Deal Programs Help End the Great Depression? But they eventually returned because they had nowhere else to go, and they were soon allowed to stay, owing to public sympathy. Cardboard covering a worn-out shoe sole was 'Hoover leather,' and cars pulled by horses (since no one could afford gasoline) were 'Hoover wagons.'. 10 Facts About the Great Depression. 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. This began with a heated debate over the status and rights of Hooverville residents, who became more visible in petitions submitted throughout the late 1930s. Signed in June 1930, the decidedly protectionist law placed extremely high tariffs on imported foreign goods. The Seattle Hooverville covered nine acres of land on the tidal flats adjacent to the Port of Seattle. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/hoovervilles. As elsewhere in the country, Washington State's Communist Party helped to organize the unemployed into active political and social formations. Hoover later claimed that MacArthur had used excessive force, but his words meant little to most of those affected. 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. There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation, he wrote of the squalled camp. Many people would can their food so that it would last longer. This was at a time when most workers didn't have access to unemployment benefits, health care, or Social Security--in fact, none of the programs that could provide that kind of help even existed. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. The current "Nickelsville" is a nod to Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, just as "Hooverville" was a sarcastic nod to . months[8] = "This website is produced by the Siteseen network that specializes in producing free informative websites on a diverse range of topics. The main Hooverville began on land near Elliott Bay through a cluster of small huts. Homeowners lost their property when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. 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. Donald Francis Roy, a resident of Seattles Hooverville, recorded 639 residents, only 7 of whom were women. President Herbert Hoover & the Great Depression, America During the Great Depression: The Dust Bowl, Unemployment & Cultural Issues, End of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles & the League of Nations, Ku Klux Klan Nativism & Eugenics | Movement & History. Seattle was also the location of seven other shantytowns. Response from Health Department (May 23, 1935) 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. Why was the Shanty Town called a Hooverville? Trade your paper with a Partner. As the Depression deepened, the sheer number of homeless people became overwhelming. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was an ambitious employment and infrastructure program created by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935, during the bleakest days of the Great Depression. 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. 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 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. READ MORE:Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression, In addition to the term Hooverville, President Hoovers name was used derisively in other ways during the Great Depression. It became the most widespread crisis of the twentieth century, affecting several countries worldwide. Many were established near rivers, as the above picture shows, or ponds - it helped to have access to some water. All the Hoovervilles were 'eradicated' at the end of the Great Depression in 1941. Many features of life during the Great Depression were given bitter connotations with Hoover's name. In 1932, a new mayor was elected based on his support for the Unemployed Citizens League. The Great Depression was the most severe and enduring economic collapse of the 20th century, and included abrupt declines in the supply and demand of goods and services along with a meteoric rise in unemployment. Hundreds of Hoovervilles were established across the country during the 1930s. Excerpt from "Seattle's Hooverville" by Leslie D. Erb (1935), [1] Donald Francis Roy, "Hooverville: A Study of a Community of Homeless Men in Seattle," (M.A. They usually had a small stove, bedding and a couple of simple cooking implements. A shantytown, also known as a Hooverville (named for U.S. President Herbert Hoover), was located in Seattle, Washington, during the Great Depression. The committee included two Whites, two Blacks, and two Filipinos. During the Great Depression, other Hoovervilles were built in. By the end of the decade it covered a six block area and, like Seattle's Hooverville, included a large number of little houses that residents had built out of scrap materials and steadily improved over the years. Tensions between destitute citizens and the Hoover administration climaxed in the spring of 1932 when thousands of World War I veterans and their families and friends set up a Hooverville on the banks of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); By 1932, between one and two million American people were homeless. Black and white men would share homes out of convenience and, likewise, exemplify camaraderie and friendship. "Hoovervilles" were hundreds of crude campgrounds built across the United States by poverty stricken people who had lost their homes because of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Some were as small as a few hundred people while others, in bigger metropolitan areas such as Washington, D.C. and New York City, boasted thousands of inhabitants. Divided into distinct sectors, the racially integrated and cohesive encampment was home to as many as 8,000 destitute people. Write THREE true facts about this topic and ONE lie about this topic in the boxes below2. Inhabitants living in the primitive conditions of the shantytowns were subject to many health problems. Reasons for Homelessness: Homeowners lost their houses when they could not pay mortgages or pay taxes. About this quiz: All the questions on this quiz are based on information that can be found on the page at The Great Depression - Hoovervilles . 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. Browse hooverville resources on Teachers Pay Teachers, a marketplace trusted by millions of teachers for original educational resources. Businesses made huge profits, but average workers wages did not rise at the same rate. Seattle police twice burned the early Hooverville, but each time residents rebuilt. 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. People who rented their homes fell behind with the rent and were evicted by bailiffs. 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). 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". Americas longest lasting Hooverville in Seattle, Washington, stood for ten years, from 1931 to 1941. By 1932, Hoover was so unpopular that he had no realistic hope of being re-elected, and Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York won that years presidential election in November by a landslide. I feel like its a lifeline. Excerpt from Health Department Annual Report (1935) Definition, Examples, Pros and Cons. This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Hooverville across 20 in-depth pages. "Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression." If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source. Roys 1934 census provides a breakdown of the population by ethnicity and nationality. By 1932, Herbert Hoovers last full year in office, the U.S. unemployment rate had soared to 25%, with more than 15 million people without jobs or homes. This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Families who had lost their homes lived in shacks in temporary settlements known as "Hoovervilles," named after the current president, Herbert Hoover. 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. read more, The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a work relief program that gave millions of young men employment on environmental projects during the Great Depression. Public reaction to the Hoovervilles added to President Hoovers general unpopularity, leading to his landslide defeat by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. For example, newspapers used to shield the homeless from the cold were called Hoover blankets, while empty pants pockets pulled inside outdemonstrating no coins in ones pocketswere Hoover flags., When soles wore out of shoes, the cardboard used to replace them was dubbed Hoover leather, and cars pulled by horses because gas was an unaffordable luxury were called Hoover wagons.. These are ready-to-use Hooverville worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Hooverville, which was a small town founded by homeless people in the United States during the Great Depression. Today the nine acre site is used to unload container ships. Most were white with the majority of them foreign-born, especially Scandinavians. The government refused to pay, citing Depression-era budgetary restrictions. His records show populations of Japanese, Mexican, Filipino, Native American, Costa Rican, Chilean, and Black men. The longest lasting Hooverville, located in Seattle, Washington, stood as a semi-autonomous community from 1931 to 1941. 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. Hoovervilles were hundreds of crude campgrounds built across the United States by poverty stricken people who had lost their homes because of the Great Depression of the 1930s. As such, he was highly reluctant to shift the federal government into high gear to try and solve an economic crisis. The smaller camps tended to come and go, while the larger Hoovervilles proved far more permanent. @media (min-width: 340px) { .adslot_1 { width: 336px; height: 280px; } } Some Hoovervilles had basic public services and conveniences. New York City: Depression shacks "Hoover Village" in the old Central Park reservoir. On two occasions, the Seattle Health Department ordered the residents to leave and burned their shanties when they refused. The reaction to all of this was often characterized by a grim sort of humor, sometimes represented by popular songs like the 1930's 'Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?' Facts about Shantytowns and HoovervillesThe following fact sheet contains interesting facts and information on Shantytowns and Hoovervilles. Will Work ForAnything. Seattle's developed into a self-sufficient and organized town-within-a-town. Next: Unemployed Citizens League and Poverty Activism. Roy noted that the only Filipinos and Mexican men were segregated, generally due to language rather than racial discrimination. 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. The suffering in the Great Depression, from 1929 to 1941, is hard for modern Americans to wrap their minds around. During WWI, this area belonged to the Port of Seattle but was occupied by the Skinner and Eddy shipyard. Excerpt from "The Story of Hooverville, In Seattle" by Jesse Jackson, Mayor of Hooverville (1935) In the aftermath of that event, sometimes read more. Homelessness was present before the Great Depression, and was a common sight before 1929. However, understanding that the campers had nowhere else to go, and fearing that they might still fall victim to the Great Depression themselves, most more affluent people were willing to tolerate the Hoovervilles and their impoverished residents. months[11] = "A vast range of highly informative and dependable articles have been produced by the Siteseen network of entertaining and educational websites. Which includes everything you need to know about Hooverville across 20 in-depth pages significant in. Racial discrimination before the Great Depression. but was occupied by the Skinner and Eddy shipyard 639 residents, 7... 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