USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -"Hooverville” became a common term for shacktowns and homeless encampments during the Great Depression. There were dozens in the state of Washington, hundreds throughout the country, each testifying to the housing crisis that accompanied the employment crisis of the early 1930s.

Detailed explanation-2: -Some unemployed became transients, searching for jobs and food. In Seattle, unemployment was 11% in April 1930, rising to 26% by January 1935. Families doubled up in apartments, others were evicted and built makeshift houses. Groups of these dwellings for the homeless were called Hoovervilles.

Detailed explanation-3: -Hoovervilles were not nice places. The shacks were tiny, poorly built, and didn’t have bathrooms. They weren’t very warm during the winter and often didn’t keep out the rain. The sanitary conditions of the towns were very bad and many times the people didn’t have access to clean drinking water.

Detailed explanation-4: -As the Depression worsened and millions of families lost their jobs and depleted their savings, they also lost their homes. Desperate for shelter, homeless citizens built shantytowns in and around cities across the nation. These camps came to be called Hoovervilles, after the president.