Pea Pickers Camp Nipomo, CA (1936) The Great Depression Hoovervilles Bonus Army

Pea Pickers Camp Nipomo, CA

(1936)

The Great Depression

Hoovervilles

Bonus Army

Police stand guard outside the entrance to a closed New York City bank, March 20, 1931

Unemployed workers in front of a shack with a Christmas tree, New York City, December 1937

A man on the streets killing a turtle to make

soup, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1939.

Hard Times

Fathers and some children left home to find work.

Families in Crisis

Marriage and birth rates dropped.

A family evicted with belongings on

the street, 1929.

These shacks were known as Hoovervilles.

Seattle, Washington

Homelessness

Homeless families build shacks out of wooden crates and scrap metal.

Central Park, New York City

New York City, 1930

“House of Unemployed”

Christmas Day Breadlines in New York City, 1931

In 1932, over 20,000 jobless veterans protested in Washington, D.C. demanding immediate payment.

World War I veterans were due to be paid a bonus in 1945.

The Bonus Army

Handpainted sign on Bonus Army truck states: "We Done a Good Job in France, Now You Do a Good Job in America"

Tanks and cavalry prepare to evacuate the Bonus Army

The Army burned several camps to the ground after routing thousands of protestors that were camped out in the national capital with tanks, tear gas, and

troops of armed soldiers.

Questions

1. How did people who became poor during the Depression cope with the problems presented by their poverty?

2. Describe what a "Hooverville" is. Why is this the name they used and was it the right name in your opinion?

3. In your opinion, what should Hoover have done in regards to the Bonus Army?

4. How does the Great Depression of 1929 compare with the troubles of today?