Hoovervilles

During the great depression, many people lost their jobs and were evicted from their homes.  As people got more and more desperate they began to build shantytowns in and around cities all over the country. These towns for the homeless were named "Hoovervilles" after President Hebert Hoover, whom many blamed for the worsening depression. Charles Michelson is credited with coining the term "Hooverville," which first appeared in print in 1930.  Hoovervilles were made of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could find. Some used unused stone and brick built tall structures, some reaching up to 20 feet high. However, most of these makeshift homes were not long lasting and most were constantly needing to be rebuilt. Some homes weren't even buildings, they were just deep holes dug into the ground with a makeshift roof laid on top.

Life in a Hooverville was not pleasant. Some Hoovervilles were small while other contained a large population. Such as Hoovervilles in New which had thousands of inhabitants. Some Hoovervilles were built near rivers or had vegetable gardens near them for convenience. The health conditions of Hoovervilles were not good, but there wasn't anything that the residents could do. Most Hoovervilles operated in very inorganized ways. Some of the bigger ones had spokespersons to serve as a liaison between the Hooverville and the larger community. The St. Louis Hooverville had its own official mayor, church and social institutions. This Hooverville thrived because it was funded by donations. It served as a free-standing community until 1936. Although most residents were unemployed, they took any work they could find, often working tiring backbreaking jobs for little pay.

Along with "Hoovervilles" president, Hoover's name was used in other ways to describe certain aspects of the great depression. Newspapers which people would sleep under were referred to as "Hoover blankets". Empty pants pockets were also called "Hoover flags."  When soles worse out of shoes the cardboard that people used to replace them was called  "Hoover leather" and cars that were pulled by horses because they were out of gas were called "Hoover wagons." There was a great amount of tension between the Hoover and administration and the people of America during this time and hoover today is often regarded in a negative light because of his inability to support the people and fix the great depression.

https://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/hooverville-2.jpg
https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/hoovervilles