How Did Ceopl Hoover Try To Improve The Economy

After the Great War, the United States had an economic boom. Since people were earning more, many people began to invest their money in the stock market. Many Americans believed that the stock market would continue to grow and people invested beyond their means even though they didn’t have the money. Banks speculated using depositor funds which later turned out to be a huge problem (history channel video). On October 24, stock prices plummeted and people sold their stocks for any price they could get. This is referred to as Black Thursday. By October 29, known as Black Tuesday, the stock market completely crashed and banks began to call in loans (PBS). The president at the time, Herbert Hoover, insisted “any lack of confidence in the economic future or the basic strength of business in the United States is foolish.” Despite his opinion, depositors panicked and rushed to banks to withdraw their money. Unfortunately, the banks did not have the necessary funds. Thousands of individuals lost their life savings and many people were left with no money at all, causing …show more content…
Since Hoover believed that the government should only have a limited role, he was against allowing the federal government to intervene because he thought it was a threat to capitalism and individualism. He believed that aid programs should be handled on the local government levels and even vetoed several bills that would have provided direct relief to struggling Americans. Families that lost their homes because they were unable to pay mortgages gathered in shanty towns referred to as Hoovervilles, named after President Hoover who many people blamed for the Great Depression (Library of Congress). During the 1932 presidential election, he was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised economic reforms and relief programs referred to as the New Deal (history