Hoovervilles and the FSA: A Glimpse into the Great Depression

Hoovervilles: Shantytowns of the Great Depression

A Nation's Struggle for Shelter

During the Great Depression, resourcefulness became a necessity for survival. People salvaged discarded materials like lumber, tin, cardboard, tar paper, glass, and canvas to construct makeshift shelters known as Hoovervilles. These shantytowns, named after President Herbert Hoover, dotted the American landscape, a stark reminder of the widespread poverty and unemployment. While some residents with carpentry skills built relatively sturdy structures, others cobbled together packing boxes and whatever they could find. Some even resorted to living in empty water mains. The ingenuity and desperation of the era were evident in these makeshift communities.

The Challenge of Hoovervilles

Eradicating Hoovervilles proved difficult. Throughout the 1930s, government and city officials grappled with the health and sanitation issues they posed. Despite various New Deal programs aimed at alleviating the effects of the Depression, many city officials resisted efforts to establish public housing, fearing it would decrease property values and potentially attract communist influences. Some of the larger Hoovervilles even had their own internal governance, with mayors and committees overseeing daily life. Finally, in 1941, a shack elimination program led to the demolition of these shantytowns, coinciding with rising employment levels that offered some former residents a path to more stable housing.

The Farm Security Administration (FSA): Documenting an Era

A New Deal Lens on Rural Poverty

The Farm Security Administration (FSA), established in 1937 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, played a crucial role in addressing the plight of the rural poor and migrant farmworkers during the Great Depression. Originally the Resettlement Administration, the FSA was transferred to the Department of Agriculture. Beyond its social programs, the FSA is renowned for its impactful photography program, led by Roy Emerson Stryker. Photographers like Arthur Rothstein, Dorothea Lange, and Walker Evans captured the realities of rural poverty and displacement, creating a powerful visual record of the era. Over eight years, the FSA amassed 77,000 black-and-white photographs, now housed in the Library of Congress. Starting in 1939, they also produced 644 color photographs, further enriching this invaluable historical collection.