During the years of the Great Depression, Hoovervilles sprang up across America. What
was a Hooverville? Why was it called that? As the Great Depression continued to get worse,
many who had lost their jobs were forced to leave their homes. With no place to live,
these individuals, and even entire families, were forced to find shelter wherever they
could. In many cases, the only option was for the homeless to construct shacks, or shanties,
made out of anything and everything they could find. Boxes, wooden crates, tarpaper, and
even old sheets were being utilized as makeshift homes.
Villages of these shacks sprang up in parks and empty plots of land throughout the country.
Many cities would not allow the homeless to congregate in this manner, so the shacks would
show up on the outskirts of town, or just outside city limits. The term "shantytown"
became quite common to describe these types of dwellings. However, because so many in
the nation saw President Herbert Hoover as being responsible for the economic woes, a
new name emerged. Many people began calling the villages "Hoovervilles".
In 1932, a disgruntled group of homeless World War I veterans decided to create a Hooverville
in Washington DC. They placed their little community on the National Mall, in between
the Washington and Lincoln monuments. Another Hooverville was set up just across the Potomac
River, where it could be seen by those in Washington D.C. Between the two locations,
more than 15,000 veterans, their wives, and children had gathered together.
Their purpose was to protest Congress and the president, demanding that they receive
money they felt was owed to them. In 1924, the World War Adjustment Act had been passed.
This law stated that all veterans would be paid a bonus to make up for the wages they
could have been making during the war. Unfortunately, this money was not supposed to be paid until
1944. In the midst of the economic hardships they were facing, these veterans insisted
that the money be paid sooner, rather than later. They referred to themselves as the
Bonus Expeditionary Force. The B.E.F. was told by the authorities to
disperse and return to their homes. However, many of them didn't have a home to return
to. Nearly 2,000 members of this "Bonus Army" refused to leave. President Hoover ordered
General Douglas MacArthur to remove them from the city. Using tear gas and rifles, troops
quickly cleared the National Mall before crossing the Potomac to move on the second camp. The
nation was in shock. American soldiers had attacked homeless veterans, setting fire to
their shacks and huts. The veterans and their families fled Washington DC, but received
no better treatment in other places. Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania all instructed
them to keep moving along. Former soldiers, sailors, and Marines, who
had once been thought of as heroes, were now viewed as thieves and degenerates. Once again,
many saw Herbert Hoover as the source of this dilemma. Voters would express their disgust
with the president when they went to the polls in November of 1932.