In the 1930s, due to the economic devastation of the Great Depression, shantytowns known as Hoovervilles emerged across the United States as unemployed people lost their homes and had no place else to live. These makeshift communities, made up of scrap materials like cardboard and tin, provided shelter for homeless families and individuals who blamed President Hoover for the economic downturn. The largest Hooverville was located in New York City's Central Park and housed thousands. Efforts to eliminate Hoovervilles in the 1930s proved difficult as the communities persisted due to lack of alternatives for residents. It was not until 1941, after employment levels began rising again during World War II, that shantytowns were finally torn down

1. Hoovervilles
In the 1930s, Hoovervilles (shantytowns) formed coast to coast in cities of the United States.
Some families were fortunate enough to stay with friends and family members that hadn't been evicted
yet, but homeless men, women and children were forced to take up residence in shacks as a result of
the Great Depression. Angry, cold and hungry Americans, who had no other place to reside, dubbed
groups of those shacks in honor of President Herbert Hoover.
Those desperate folks blamed Hoover for the downfall of economic stability and lack of
government help. The small amount of resources that the federal government actually made available
often did not go to the sick, hungry and homeless. That was simply because many city officials were
corrupt, and kept those valuable resources to themselves.
Home sweet home
One of the largest Hoovervilles lay in the center of New York's Central Park. The Midwest and
West Coast regions of the U.S. also were devastated by the depression. "Squatters' shacks" and rickety
structures popped up everywhere. The depression affected the poor so much that they felt nothing but
hopelessness.
Like human pack rats, ordinary people were forced to carry, wheel and drag bits of lumber, tin,
cardboard, tar paper, glass, composition roofing, canvas, and other materials to the sites of America's
new real estate boom. Some fortunate men were skilled in carpentry, and were capable of constructing
fairly solid structures, while others less skilled scraped together packing boxes and other discarded
items to provide shelter. Unemployed masons salvaged stone blocks and old bricks to create 20-foot tall
shanties. However, more unfortunate men were reduced to sheltering themselves inside empty water
mains.
Hoovervilles and the economy
As the economic crash of the 1930s dragged on, more and more people were ruined. Delinquent
taxes, drastically rising unemployment and mortgage foreclosures were heavy burdens to overcome.
Those factors forced ordinary people to either move into Hoovervilles or become transients. Between
1929 and 1933, more than 100,000 businesses failed across the nation. When President Hoover left
office in 1933, national unemployment hovered at a staggering 13 million — nearly 25 percent of
America's work force.

2. Getting rid of Hoovervilles was a difficult task; people had no other place to call home. Several
attempts were made to eliminate those small villages during the 1930s, but government and city
officials couldn't really do anything about the health issues and scattered mess that Hoovervilles
created.
Although most American cities participated in several New Deal programs, much of the
country's political leadership was not enthusiastic about most federal initiatives. Many city officials
fought local efforts to establish a city housing authority in 1938, arguing that public housing would
depress property values, and was susceptible to Communist influence.
Some of the larger shantytown populations were organized; having their own mayor, sanitary
committee and other committees. Finally, in 1941, a shack elimination program was put into effect, and
shantytowns were torn down. Employment levels had begun to rise, which gradually provided some
shelter and security for formerly homeless Americans.