During the Great Depression, Thousands of People Live in Shantytowns and Hoovervilles
During the Great Depression, unemployment forced many families out of their homes. This caused a rise in shanty towns- camps surrounding major cities made up of shacks made of cardboard, tar paper, glass, and any lumber that people could find. Some of these homes were holes dug into the dirt with a makeshift roof fastened on top. Obviously, these houses were not well insulated or safe for the people who were forced to live in them. These were given the nickname “Hoovervilles” by a newspaper reporter named Charles Michelson in 1930. By the 1940’s, The New Deal helped give many unemployed Americans new jobs, and these Hoovervilles were eventually torn down.