Herbert Hoover

The Great Depression is known as the most difficult time Americans have had to face individually and as a country. The two presidents that served in office through it, Hoover and Roosevelt, took different approaches in resolving the country’s problems and came out with different results. It was a time of disagreement among the American people and brought a lifetime of hardships to many. However, the government actions taken during this decade in American’s history has shaped much of how our…

The United States entered the twentieth century as a burgeoning economic superpower that had yet to assert itself politically on the international stage. Reluctant to enter World War I (WWI), the United States had, by the war’s end, assumed a lead role negotiating the Treaty of Versailles. President Woodrow Wilson hoped to use the negotiations to promote American ideals of democracy and free trade while securing a lasting peace. However, instead of fostering global economic and political…

of the Union Addresses written by Herbert Hoover in 1932 and Harry Truman in 1947, both Presidents give similar reports on the economy. In Hoover’s 1932 letter to Congress (Presidents have the option to write a letter or give a speech), he is optimistic about the future of the economy but concedes it is in dire straights at the present moment. He informs the Congress, “the situation developed during last fall and winter into a series of most acute crises.” Hoover claims the country has been…

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…

colored by the gray gloom of a deepening economic depression. Incumbent President Herbert Hoover, who had been a rising star in a Republican Party that had not lost the White House since 1916, was facing blame for the crisis. The homeless and destitute named the shacks and shanties they had been forced to retreat too “Hoovervilles” and the turned-out empty trouser pockets of men standing in bread lines were dubbed “Hoover Flags.” This was a long way from Hoover’s position in 1929 that he was the…

between 1933 and 1939. The term New Deal was actually taken from the President’s speech while accepting the Democratic nomination for the presidency in July 2, 1932. After reacting to the ineffectiveness of the administration of then President, Herbert Hoover, in meeting the ravages of the Great Depression, American voters tremendously voted in favor of the Democratic promise of a ‘New Deal’ for the ‘forgotten man’ that following November. The New Deal, which was generally opposed to the…

farmers overproduced during WWI, so the prices of their products dropped. This led negligent farmers to pull out the crops and plants from their land which eventually caused the Dust Bowl where winds blew the left over dirt during a drought. Herbert Hoover was the president at the start of the Great Depression.…

They would ridicule President Hoover by using his name mockingly in other ways during the Great Depression. For example, when a man’s empty pockets were turned inside out demonstrating that he didn 't have any money in his pockets , they would call it a “Hoover Flag”. Shanty towns during the Great Depression were named “Hooverville”. Newspapers that were used to block the homeless from the cold were called “Hoover blankets”. When soles wore out of people’s shoes, the cardboard…

Hoovervilles were named after President Herbert Hoover because citizens of the nation blamed him for the hardships they were facing. These structures were built with cardboard, tarpaper, and other comparatively flimsy elements. Churches and other charities usually funded these. One of the largest…

During his presidency, Hoover passed the Revenue Act of 1932, which raised these taxes. This has often been referenced as his biggest mistake. Raising taxes during a dismal financial time, such as a depression, is often a huge mistake and causes the "undoable" to occur (as Congress…