1. President Herbert Hoover
31st President of the United States
March 4th 1929 to March 4th 1933

2. The Election of 1928 The Candidates: Herbert Hoover (Rep)
Successful engineer
Former head of the Food Administration in WWI
7 years as secretary of commerce in the Harding and Coolidge admins.
Alfred E. Smith (Dem)
4 time gov of NY
Irish American from New York’s Lower East Side
First Roman Catholic nominated as a Presidential candidate

3. Campaign Issues:
Prohibition
Hoover: Dry
Smith: Wet
Religion
Smear campaign against Smith who believed the Catholic Church financed the Dem Party and would rule the US if Smith won.
Hoover (Quaker) tried to squash the slurs.
Result: Smith’s candidacy was seriously damaged
Prosperity of the 1920’s
Reps took credit for the prosperity and promised “two cars in every garage”

4. The Winner:
Hoover received 6 million more votes than Smith and won the electoral college 444 to 87
It’s a landslide WIN
At his inaugural address movie cameras filmed for the first time and radios broadcast the address worldwide.
Hoover stated “I have no fears for the future of our country.” “It is bright with hope.”

5. President Herbert Hoover
Hoover’s Philosophy
Rejects the idea of federal aid to suffering Americans.
Hoover urges Americans to lift themselves up through hard work
- rugged individualism=success comes from individual effort and private enterprise.
C. He believes private charities and local communities, not the Federal Government, could provide for those in need.
D. However, local governments and private charities didn’t have the resources and money to help so many people in a time of national crisis.

6. Breadlines

7. Hoover tries to boost the economy
Stimulating the economy
1. He recommended top business, labor and political leaders to maintain employment and wages in order to revive business activity and promote recovery.
2. Congress funded several public-works programs in order to stimulate business and employ jobless workers.
- Boulder (Hoover) Dam on the Colorado River, near Las Vegas
*He approved some $800 million in public works funding but it still wasn’t enough.

9. Agricultural Marketing Act of Federal Farm Board buys up the extra farm crops to increase crop prices, then the government would sell the crops later when prices were higher. Farmers rebelled by growing more crops.
Home Loan Bank Act in provided $ to savings banks, building and loan associations, and insurance companies, hoping to allow more farmers to keep their land and to boost home construction.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation- gave up to $2 billion for emergency financing for banks, life insurance companies and corporations. The $ was supposed to trickle down to the needy.

10. Hawley-Smoot Tariff 1930- tariff passed on imported goods.
In response other countries raise their own tariffs on American goods.
Fewer American goods are purchased

11. “Hooverville” Some families were forced to live in shanty towns
A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots
They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of help during the depression.
The largest Hooverville was located in Central Park, New York

12. Hooverville

15. Bonus Army Citizens are unhappy with Hoover
Bonus Army: more than 10,000 WWI veterans protested in Washington DC to support a bonus bill that would give veterans early payment for their time served in the war.
Demonstrators camped in DC but when Congress rejected the bill 2,000 of the veterans stayed against official orders.
Hoover ordered the veterans to leave by using Army soldiers to drive them out, burning their camps and injuring many veterans as well.
The nation was furious with Hoover.

18. Shantytowns “Hoovervilles”- all across the nation

19. 1932 election
Republicans nominate Herbert Hoover as their presidential candidate
Democrats nominate Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Winner?

21. Read the back of your warm-up and consider…
Did Herbert Hoover Make the Great Depression worse than it had to be?
Was Hoover in the wrong place at the wrong time in history. He was no better or worse than most presidents.
Was the Great Depression Hoover’s fault? Did he do enough to try and improve the situation?