"Mr.Hoover, where are you?"
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President Herbert Hoover, though very popular at the time of his election in 1928, quickly was disliked by many American people because they did not feel he did enough to help the American people. Many of President Hoover's advisers convinced him that the government should NOT intervene, and that the economy would fix itself. Instead, President Hoover allowed the government to fund private businesses in hopes that they would help the people, rather than letting the government help the people directly. As a result, President Hoover faced widespread criticism and blacklash from Americans who were living in poverty. Shantytowns soon became named "Hoovervilles".
Shantytowns and "Hoovervilles" - a new life of tent villages
After the stock market crash and the bank collapse, many people were unable to pay to live in their homes. As a result, those who rented their homes faced eviction and those who owned homes had their homes foreclosed upon by the banks. Many families with nowhere to live moved to places called Shanytowns. Shantytowns were tent villages where many people built make-shift homes out of blankets and found materials. With so many unemployed and homeless, these tent villages grew to be very large in scale.
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Unemployment
Unemployment reached an all-time high in the 1930s. By 1933, about 25% of Americans were unable to find a job- that's one out of every four people! With no jobs, people were not making money. And with no money, people couldn't buy goods. With people not buying goods, many shops were forced to go out of business which led to more people being unemployed. It was a vicious cycle!
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