Hoovervilles

Examples of Hoovervilles in the following topics:

• Hooverville

  • Homelessness exploded during the Great Depression resulting in the massive outgrowth of shanty towns, called in that period ‘Hoovervilles'.
  • "Hooverville" was the popular name for shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
  • Generally, however, Hoovervilles were tolerated or ignored out of necessity.
  • Most of the residents of the Hoovervilles, unable to find work, relied on public charities or begged for food.
  • Notable Hoovervilles were in Central Park and Riverside Park in New York City, where scores of homeless families camped out.

• The Human Toll

  • These became known as "Hoovervilles," a term coined by Democratic National Committee publicity chief Charles Michelson to slander the name of Republican President Herbert Hoover, whose policies many people blamed for the stock market crash and ensuing Depression.
  • Hoovervilles arose in many public areas, including well known locations such as Central Park in New York City, where scores of homeless families camped out at the park’s Great Lawn, as well as New York’s Riverside Park.
  • Local authorities did not officially recognize these Hoovervilles and occasionally removed occupants for trespassing on private lands, although they were frequently tolerated or ignored out of necessity.
  • After 1940, the economy recovered, unemployment fell, and shanty eradication programs destroyed all of the remaining Hoovervilles.
  • Makeshift housing of the type found in shanty towns that sprung up during the Depression, named Hoovervilles to place blame on President Herbert Hoover, in an alley in the Manhattan borough of New York City in 1935.

• The Great Depression

  • As the Depression deepened, vast numbers of families were unable to pay rent and were evicted from their homes to stay in “Hoovervilles,” the slang term for shantytowns that were contemptuously named after President Herbert Hoover , whose policies were considered to blame for the Depression.

• The Bonus Army

  • Most of the Bonus Army camped in a Hooverville on the Anacostia Flats, a swampy, muddy area across the Anacostia River from the federal core of Washington D.C.

• Congressional Initiatives

  • Tens of thousands of Americans found themselves homeless and began congregating in the numerous Hoovervilles (also known as shanty towns or tent cities) that began to appear across the country.

• Conclusion: Cultural Change in the Interwar Period

  • As the Depression deepened, vast numbers of families were unable to pay rent and were evicted from their homes to stay in “Hoovervilles,” the slang term for shantytowns that were contemptuously named after President Herbert Hoover , whose policies were considered to blame for the Depression.