1. Responses to the Great Depression
Comparing the Ideas of Hoover & Roosevelt

2. Hoover’s Response
Did not believe the government should give aid to the needy
Worried aid would undermine self-reliance and encourage people to become reliant on the government
Believed his job to generate optimism and restore public confidence
Hoovervilles: Homeless Americans built cities out of cardboard boxes
Asked healthy banks to loan money to failing ones
Reluctantly created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)- issued government loans to banks, railroads, and big business
RFC loaned money to states to help with needy- financed public works projects

3. Hoover’s Response

4. Hoover’s Response
Trickle-Down Theory: Government gives money to business  they hire more employees  more people earn money
The problem with the trickle down solution – the poor could not wait for money to trickle down.
Hoover battled the Bonus Army
Hoover called in troops to push the Bonus Army out of DC - used tear gas and tanks
Americans mad at the use of tanks to push out disabled veterans

5. FDR’s Response Roosevelt promised voters a New Deal
FDR won the1932 Election in landslide
FDR’s plans focused on Relief, Recovery, & Reform
Relief - Help unemployed
Recovery - Reverse downward slide of economy
Reform- Focused on the financial sector

6. FDR’s Response
First Hundred Days – Congress passed a record amount of legislation
Emergency Banking Act – Gave the federal government the power to help reopen banks
Beer-Wine Revenue Act – Legalized the sale of beer and wine
Reforestation Act – Provided work for 250,000 young men that year
Federal Emergency Relief Act – Granted money to states for unemployment
Agricultural Adjustment Act – Set prices for farm crops while trying to reduce overproduction
Tennessee Valley Authority – Funded the construction of flood control dams
Federal Securities Act – Regulated the sale of stocks
Home Owners Refinancing Act – Provided aid to families losing their homes
National Industrial Recovery Act – Established the Public Works Commission to supervise building projects
Banking Act of 1933 – Established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)