During the Great Depression millions of urban and rural families lost their jobs and depleted their savings and were evicted from their homes. Shantytowns started to appear across the U.S. As the severity of the Great Depression worsened in the 1930s, causing sufferings for millions of Americans, many looked to the federal government for assistance. President Herbert Hoover believed that self-reliance …show more content…
When the government failed to provide relief, President Herbert Hoover was blamed for the intolerable economic and social conditions. These shantytowns that cropped up across the nation, primarily on the outskirts of major cities, became known as Hoovervilles. The highly unpopular republican president was defeated in the 1932 presidential election by Democrat Franklin Roosevelt, whose New Deal recovery programs eventually helped lift the U.S. out of the Depression. In the early 1940s, most remaining Hoovervilles were torn down. Hooverville shanties were constructed of cardboard, tar paper, glass, lumber, tin and whatever other materials people could salvage. Some homes were not buildings at all, but deep holes dug in the ground with makeshift roofs laid over them to keep out inclement weather. Hoovervilles stretched across the United States from New York to Los Angeles. Many people were evicted from their homes and were forced to find shelter under bridges, on public land like parks, and next to other buildings in the city. The shantytowns were everywhere in the United States, but mostly in vacant lots in the suburbs. Hoovervilles had