Hoover and Hard Times

Describe joblessness and soup kitchens, and Herbert Hoover's response.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 35

Imagine a family whose only earner loses a job, and no other jobs can be found. In the early 1930s, that happened to millions of families.
This line graph shows how bad it got. In 1929, only about 3 percent of workers had no job. By 1933, about 1 in 4 workers was jobless.
Hungry people stood in long lines at soup kitchens for a free meal. Churches and charities did what they could. Families who lost their homes built shacks of scrap wood.
Herbert Hoover was president. Hoover asked businesses and local groups to help, and started some building projects, but did not want the government to hand out money to families.
To many people, it wasn't nearly enough. They called the shack towns Hoovervilles. In 1932, voters were ready for a change.

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Social Studies:

SS5H3.a — Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.