How were Hoovervilles described?

• A. Slums on the outside of towns and cities with no running water or sewage
• B. A government-funded housing project
• C. A brand of soup kitchen
• D. A type of school for the poor

Answer: (A)

Hoovervilles were makeshift shantytowns where unemployed and homeless people lived during the Great Depression. They sprang up on the outskirts of towns and cities, using whatever materials they could find, and they lacked basic services—no running water and no sewage systems. These settlements became powerful symbols of widespread poverty and the public mood toward government response at the time. The description that fits best is slums on the outside of towns and cities with no running water or sewage, because it captures both the location and the harsh, improvised living conditions. They were not government-funded housing projects, nor a branded soup kitchen, nor a school for the poor.