Saturday, November 25, 2017
Life in Hoovervilles
Named after president Hoover, the homeless or unemployed people during the Great Depression lived in Hoovervilles. These were small towns created by people who had no other place to go after selling everything they had in order to live and buy food. The Great Depression caused many hardships for the people living at this time because of so many people of all social classes losing their jobs. These people looked up to the government for support, but the government was also struggling to gain money. The people then blamed President Hoover for all of the trouble in the social and economic orders, and for his lack of response to them. Hoover became so unpopular that the US citizens started naming things after him, for example Hoover flags, which were inside out pockets representing no money. These shantytowns where built all over the nation, and housed hundreds to thousands of people. They were built from whatever they could find, from cardboard to dug up holes and temporary roofs. Using all of the resources they can, they tried to build near water sources. Most of these towns were very unsanitary and had health risks, but the government couldn't do anything about it. The larger Hoovervilles were organized and they communicated like its own city, but the smaller ones were very unorganized. Throughout the Great Depression, many people struggled to live, and barely survived in these homeless towns.
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This is so interesting, I didn't know that Hoovervilles were so widespread. What does it say about the larger shantytowns that were able to operate like big cities and the people in them? Also, it's interesting to think about all the things that our government offers today and what it would be like if certain programs and initiatives were not in place now. As shown with the hoover flags, Americans seemed to blame President Hoover, but how much of the problem was due to his inactivity, and if so, what could he have done better?
ReplyDeleteHoover was put in a situation where he is honestly destined to fail. No one could know what was coming, and he was not able to prepare for this situation whatsoever. I have to believe that managing a country-full of people during this time would be nearly impossible, so I don't think it is fair to completely blame Hoover and his inactivity with the matter.
DeleteI really enjoyed this post! I find it very interesting that people named these impoverished towns after their own president. Unfortunately, it seems as though these Hoovervilles have not completely gone away yet. While they are not called Hoovervilles anymore, there are many towns that are dedicated to sheltering those who are homeless. Luckily, our government is doing more today to help the less fortunate in comparison to the 1930s.
ReplyDeleteI think the information you gave was really interesting. To add in some facts, the houses in these Hooverville camps were often constructed out of cardboard, tar paper, lumber, tin and whatever these homeless people could salvage. Unemployed masons used cast-off stones, bricks and even built structures that stood was 20 feet tall. These houses were in a constant state of rebuilt after being easily blown away and destroyed. In some cases, homes were not built at all as deep holes were dug in the ground with makeshift roofs laid over them to keep out inclement weather. Some homeless people even sought refuge in empty conduits and water mains.
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