The organization did not see much success as Hoover refused to spend government money and by the end of , the organization was dissolved, creating barely , jobs at a time when 15 million were unemployed.
By the end of the year, however, Hoover realized that drastic action was necessary if he had to save his presidency and the nation. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation RFC was established in early January of and provided loans to banks, firms, and other institutions in need.
An executive order was signed that temporarily halted immigration and created a Public Works Administration to coordinate and expand infrastructure projects. The most important and consequential of these policies was the Glass-Steagall Act of , that approved lending of credit by the regional Federal Reserve Bank to private banks. These policies reformed the way in which the Federal Government responds to an economic crisis, but besides the Public Works Administration, none of the policies improved the condition of American workers.
His signing of the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs Act and opposition of the Emergency Bill had created an image that cast Hoover as uncaring about the anguish of his people and his new programs were viewed as too little or too late and his popularity had already nosedived. As the election rolled in it was evident that Hoover was going to lose the election, running against Democrat Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt , who spurred optimism in crowds through his uplifting oratory.
Unsurprisingly, Hoover lost the election in a landslide, losing in 42 out of the then 48 states. To his credit, however, Hoover had to face a crisis no American President had faced before.
His initiation of large Public Works Programs and expansion of the role of Federal reserve, though deeply structurally flawed, was the most radical step that a President had ever undertaken in response to a recession. However, the main problem was that the Government did little to help the unemployed and homeless directly. Hoover, despite being cast as uncaring was the only President besides John F. President Hoover was an ideologue rather than a pragmatist but his approach failed to work during the economic downturn.
Yet Hoover is still regarded as one of the worst Presidents of the United States. History judged him harshly and his poor reputation is not what he deserved. I am a 10th Grader in High School from India and, my interests range from econ, history, and politics to coffee, sci-fi novels, and teen dramas on Netflix.
Sep 22, Similar meetings with utility companies and railroad executives elicited promises for billions of dollars in new construction projects, while labor leaders agreed to withhold demands for wage increases and workers continued to labor. However, these modest steps were not enough. By late , when it became clear that the economy would not improve on its own, Hoover recognized the need for some government intervention.
Hoover also strongly urged people of means to donate funds to help the poor, and he himself gave significant private donations to worthy causes. But these private efforts could not alleviate the widespread effects of poverty.
Congress pushed for a more direct government response to the hardship. Hoover stood fast in his refusal to provide food, resisting any element of direct relief.
But Hoover opposed the bill, stating that it ruined the balance of power between states and the federal government, and in February , it was defeated by fourteen votes. His personal sympathy for those in need was boundless. Hoover was one of only two presidents to reject his salary for the office he held. As conditions worsened, however, Hoover eventually relaxed his opposition to federal relief and formed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation RFC in , in part because it was an election year and Hoover hoped to keep his office.
This model was flawed on a number of levels. First, the program only lent money to banks with sufficient collateral, which meant that most of the aid went to large banks. Small town and rural banks got almost nothing. Furthermore, at this time, confidence in financial institutions was not the primary concern of most Americans. They needed food and jobs. Many had no money to put into the banks, no matter how confident they were that the banks were safe.
This was the Emergency Relief and Construction Act. This program failed to deliver the kind of help needed, however, as Hoover severely limited the types of projects it could fund to those that were ultimately self-paying such as toll bridges and public housing and those that required skilled workers.
While well intended, these programs maintained the status quo, and there was still no direct federal relief to the individuals who so desperately needed it.
Their anger stemmed instead from what appeared to be a willful refusal to help regular citizens with direct aid that might allow them to recover from the crisis. Desperation and frustration often create emotional responses, and the Great Depression was no exception. Throughout —, companies trying to stay afloat sharply cut worker wages, and, in response, workers protested in increasingly bitter strikes.
As the Depression unfolded, over 80 percent of automotive workers lost their jobs. Even the typically prosperous Ford Motor Company laid off two-thirds of its workforce. In , a major strike at the Ford Motor Company factory near Detroit resulted in over sixty injuries and four deaths. At the Dearborn city limits, local police launched tear gas at the roughly three thousand protestors, who responded by throwing stones and clods of dirt.
When they finally reached the gates of the plant, protestors faced more police and firemen, as well as private security guards. As the firemen turned hoses onto the protestors, the police and security guards opened fire. In addition to those killed and injured, police arrested fifty protestors. One week later, sixty thousand mourners attended the public funerals of the four victims of what many protesters labeled police brutality.
The event set the tone for worsening labor relations in the U. Farmers also organized and protested, often violently. The most notable example was the Farm Holiday Association. Although they never comprised a majority of farmers in any of these states, their public actions drew press attention nationwide.
On February 10, , Hoover married his college sweetheart, Lou Henry , and the couple had two sons, Herbert and Allan Henry At the start of World War I , Hoover dedicated his talents to humanitarian work. He helped , stranded American tourists return home from Europe when the hostilities broke out, and coordinated the delivery of food and supplies to citizens of Belgium after that country was overrun by Germany. When the U.
Hoover encouraged Americans to reduce their consumption of meat and other commodities in order to ensure a steady supply of food and clothing for the Allied troops. Once the war ended, Hoover, as head of the American Relief Administration, arranged shipments of food and aid to war-ravaged Europe. During the fast-paced modernization of the s, Hoover played an active role in organizing the fledgling radio broadcasting and civilian aviation industries, and also laid the groundwork for the construction of a huge dam on the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada.
Named for Hoover, the dam opened in In the U. Promising to bring continued peace and prosperity to the nation, he carried 40 states and defeated Democratic candidate Alfred E.
Smith , the governor of New York , by a record margin of electoral votes. On October 24, —only seven months after Hoover took office—a precipitous drop in the value of the U.
Banks and businesses failed across the country. Nationwide unemployment rates rose from 3 percent in to 23 percent in Millions of Americans lost their jobs, homes and savings. Many people were forced to wait in bread lines for food and to live in squalid shantytowns known derisively as Hoovervilles.
Hoover undertook various measures designed to stimulate the economy, and a few of the programs he introduced became key components of later relief efforts. He believed in a limited role for government and worried that excessive federal intervention posed a threat to capitalism and individualism. He felt that assistance should be handled on a local, voluntary basis.
Accordingly, Hoover vetoed several bills that would have provided direct relief to struggling Americans. By the time of the presidential election, Hoover had become a deeply unpopular—even reviled—figure across much of the country.
Carrying only six states, he was soundly defeated by Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt , the governor of New York, who promised to enact a slate of progressive reforms and economic relief programs that he described as a New Deal for the American people. He wrote articles and books outlining his conservative political views and warning about the dangers of investing too much power in the federal government.
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