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Homelessness During The Great Depression

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To what extent did the rampant homelessness during the Great Depression (1929-1939) lead to the creation of federal housing in the U.S.?

Homelessness in the U.S. experienced an enormous rise unlike any other following the Great Depression (1929–1939). By looking at the effects of the ongoing homelessness, how the government helped with the establishment of the New Deal and its agencies, and looking at the creation of FHA, its concluded Federal housing was established in the U.S. as a result of the Great Depression's rise in rampant homelessness. But their effectiveness was limited because of restrictions that were placed and the use of discriminatory practices.
During the Great Depression, there were lots and lots of lingering and grinding …show more content…

One of them was the creation of Hoovervilles, which were shelters that people made that sprouted everywhere, people did this since they had to do it to survive, the homeless built and lived in well poorly made shelters which sucked and were in horrible conditions.“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. People got sick easily and disease spread through the towns rapidly” (Ducksters). Living conditions were horrible, shacks were small, poorly shielded against lousy weather, lacked warmth, and lacked even the most basic resources like bathrooms! Hoovervilles' dire circumstances really showed the urgent need for government help to address the housing crisis and help to enhance the living conditions for the homeless. So where does the name Hooverville even come from? Well, “The name Hoovervilles were named after President Herbert Hoover, but it wasn't meant as a compliment or an honor. People were mad at Hoover and the government because they blamed them for the problems with the economy that caused the Great Depression …show more content…

During the Great Depression, these organizations played a crucial role in reducing hunger and giving the homeless food. Just like soup kitchens, bread lines were another way to help feed the people, “Breadlines, in which poverty-stricken and hungry Americans queued for free food, were representative of the increasing unemployment and consequent hunger caused by the Depression. Breadlines became common in many cities during the 1930s, and the sheer numbers of homeless and unemployed people often overwhelmed the charities that were giving out food”("Breadlines, "Richardson, Kim). Homelessness and poverty were magnified by the severe and high unemployment rates; as a result, many people were unable to feed themselves and their families. Additionally, as the number of homeless and unemployed people increased, it became more difficult for people to obtain basic necessities like food, and occasionally there simply wasn't enough for everyone. Even acquiring the food wasn't easy, “Acquiring the food offered by soup kitchens was no simple task. Regardless of the weather, long lines (or breadlines) began to form outside soup kitchens at dawn. Many of the people

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Their solutions were to make these Hooverville’s which were a bunch of one-room houses grouped together and were terrible living conditions, but they were just enough for them to get by. Many of these buildings were constructed out of wooden crates, cardboard, and scrap metal. The houses were called Hooverville’s because the president at the time Herbert Hoover who was blamed for the Great depression, and they found it as a suiting name. Seattle had 8 Hooverville’s during the 1930’s. By 1934 Seattle had about 500 houses and 639 residents, and all but 7 were men.

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The experience that the majority of urban and rural Americans shared together during the depression was a flat out lack of income. The differences were very few, but in the cities, the depression was more prominently visible because of a higher percentage of the population (Schultz 2014). Besides the lack of income and employment, most Americans underwent periods of time being extremely hungry. In the cities, people spent hours waiting in breadlines and were losing their homes to only end up living on the streets in communities referred to as "Hoovervilles" nicknamed after the president (Schultz 2014). In the country, families suffered because of unusual droughts of the 1930 's that caused crops to fail miserably meant the already indebted farmers commonly lost their properties.

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During the Great Depression, my family and I went through difficult times for about ten years. I was unemployed and couldn’t pay for our home. In result, we became homeless and we don’t know where to go. Though some families allowed us to move in together under one roof, sometimes allowing strangers in homes can bring some difficulty and stress so I declined. So, because of this we are forced to live in squatter settlements called Hoovervilles (shacks that housed millions of unemployed).

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