President Hoover
How Was President Hoover an Important Factor in the Great Depression?
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Hoover was part of the Republican Party and became the 31st president of the United States in 1928. President Hoover had an incredibly detrimental affect on citizens and is partially responsible for the horrible economy associated with the Great Depression. He was the president when the Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred. Furthermore, statistics show that he made a very finite effort to fix the economic problem. After the stock market crash, “Nationwide unemployment rates rose from 3 percent in 1929 to 23 percent in 1932” (History.com Staff 1).
President Hoover also ignored the increasing income gap throughout his presidency and believed that the Great Depression was just a small problem that would sort itself out. By ignoring the problem, Hoover ultimately jeopardized America’s economy and well-being. In his inaugural address on March 24, 1929, Hoover stated, “In the large view, we have reached a higher degree of comfort and security than ever existed before in the history of the world. Through liberation from widespread poverty we have reached a higher degree of individual freedom than ever before” (Presidential Libraries 1). Hoover seemed to be dumbfounded by the idea that the nation’s economy was failing. He was persistent in his view that the nation’s economy would continue to boom and that the nation was prospering with wealth and success.
President Hoover also ignored the increasing income gap throughout his presidency and believed that the Great Depression was just a small problem that would sort itself out. By ignoring the problem, Hoover ultimately jeopardized America’s economy and well-being. In his inaugural address on March 24, 1929, Hoover stated, “In the large view, we have reached a higher degree of comfort and security than ever existed before in the history of the world. Through liberation from widespread poverty we have reached a higher degree of individual freedom than ever before” (Presidential Libraries 1). Hoover seemed to be dumbfounded by the idea that the nation’s economy was failing. He was persistent in his view that the nation’s economy would continue to boom and that the nation was prospering with wealth and success.
What Philosophies Did President Hoover Believe in?
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In 1930, Hoover stated, “I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering…The lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people supper the government, the government should not support the people” (Danzer 134). Hoover had politically conservative views which portrayed him as a man who cared little for the suffering of the citizens of his country. A conservative character in politics generally believes that “the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems” ("Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs” 1). This goes hand in hand with Hoover’s infamous policy of “rugged individualism”, which was the idea that people should succeed by themselves and that they should not rely on government assistance. This aligned with his belief in the “laissez-faire” policy. In terms of government. it is used to note that government should leave businesses alone and should not intervene with the nation’s economy. In sum, Hoover’s belief in limited government intervention with citizens and businesses caused the nation to fail because they had no government leadership to fix the economic problems present during the time.
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In 1930, Hoover stated, “I do not believe that the power and duty of the general government ought to be extended to the relief of individual suffering…The lesson should be constantly enforced that though the people supper the government, the government should not support the people” (Danzer 134). Hoover had politically conservative views which portrayed him as a man who cared little for the suffering of the citizens of his country. A conservative character in politics generally believes that “the role of government should be to provide people the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Conservative policies generally emphasize empowerment of the individual to solve problems” ("Conservative vs. Liberal Beliefs” 1). This goes hand in hand with Hoover’s infamous policy of “rugged individualism”, which was the idea that people should succeed by themselves and that they should not rely on government assistance. This aligned with his belief in the “laissez-faire” policy. In terms of government. it is used to note that government should leave businesses alone and should not intervene with the nation’s economy. In sum, Hoover’s belief in limited government intervention with citizens and businesses caused the nation to fail because they had no government leadership to fix the economic problems present during the time.
Did President Hoover Make Any Effort to Fix the Economic Problems that Occurred During the Great Depression?
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Hoover did in fact create some reforms in an effort to save the economy, but all failed miserably. Right after the Stock Market Crash, President Hoover started to expand the Federal Farm Board (FFB). The purpose of the FFB was to give government loans to farmers to keep farm prices up during surpluses. During the fall of that year, “Hoover pushed the FFB into full action, lending to farmers all over the country and otherwise subsidizing farming in an attempt to keep prices up” (Horwitz 2). This actually caused farmers to grow more, which increased the surpluses and decreased the prices. To contradict himself thereafter, Hoover, proposed the anti-market step of paying farmers not to grow crops so that the surplus would cease.
Hoover also tried to stop wages from being cut. He felt that if wages were dropped in synch with the economic drop, citizens would not have the power to purchase consumer goods, which would cause businesses to continue to fail. The Davis-Bacon Act he passed was meant to keep wages high. In “1931, he signed the Davis-Bacon Act, which mandated that all federally funded or assisted construction projects pay the “prevailing wage” (i.e., the above market-clearing union wage)” (Horwitz 3). This also was supposed to help protect unions from being largely affected by the diminishing economy. Businesses realized that they were not making enough profit to pay all their workers the wage, so the real result was a massive rise in unemployment rates.
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Hoover did in fact create some reforms in an effort to save the economy, but all failed miserably. Right after the Stock Market Crash, President Hoover started to expand the Federal Farm Board (FFB). The purpose of the FFB was to give government loans to farmers to keep farm prices up during surpluses. During the fall of that year, “Hoover pushed the FFB into full action, lending to farmers all over the country and otherwise subsidizing farming in an attempt to keep prices up” (Horwitz 2). This actually caused farmers to grow more, which increased the surpluses and decreased the prices. To contradict himself thereafter, Hoover, proposed the anti-market step of paying farmers not to grow crops so that the surplus would cease.
Hoover also tried to stop wages from being cut. He felt that if wages were dropped in synch with the economic drop, citizens would not have the power to purchase consumer goods, which would cause businesses to continue to fail. The Davis-Bacon Act he passed was meant to keep wages high. In “1931, he signed the Davis-Bacon Act, which mandated that all federally funded or assisted construction projects pay the “prevailing wage” (i.e., the above market-clearing union wage)” (Horwitz 3). This also was supposed to help protect unions from being largely affected by the diminishing economy. Businesses realized that they were not making enough profit to pay all their workers the wage, so the real result was a massive rise in unemployment rates.
The artwork above exemplifies the thoughts of many people during the Great Depression. They felt as if Hoover was oblivious to the amount of people in poverty and that he was not making any progress in fixing the unemployment rates.