Tuesday, December 5, 2017
Hoovervilles and their effects during the great depression.
Hoovervilles were homeless camps and were named after president Herbert Hoover. They were named after him because many people blamed him for the depression. Hundreds of these slums were where the two million unemployed people lived until they were demolished after the economy recovered in the 1940s. They have been seen in many pictures from that era and are depicted in many types of media, from movies and TV to books. They were built out of scraps of anything that could be used as shelter. This could be scrap wood or metal.
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Hoovervilles really were formed of everything. Many of these "shanties" were made of cardboard and paper, reinforced by glass, lumber and tin. Some people did not even live in a building; deep holes were dug into the ground with makeshift roofs were built. Most Hoovervilles were also built near rivers for a water source, but they ended up contaminating the water, as Hoovervilles were very unsanitary. It is also interesting to note that Hoovervilles were tolerated and when they were cleared out, authorities generally expressed remorse and wished good luck to those who lived in the Hoovervilles.
ReplyDeleteIt seems as though most of America was pointing the blame at President Hoover simply because he was easy to point the finger at, however, I believe that President Hoover did not have too much control over what was happening. I find it very interesting that these towns were so run down, but not much was done to revamp any of these cities. I did not know that these towns had to be built, I thought they were simply just places where people would meet. Very interesting!
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