8-January-2015Depression Presidents

Herbert Hoover

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President Herbert Hoover

• Elected in 1928 as one of the most respected men in the country; By 1932 he had become one of the most despised men in the country.

• Hoover’s name had been identified with the Great Depression.

• Despite the spiraling economic catastrophe, President Hoover had remained true to his belief in laissez-faire capitalism

• Unemployment kept rising- Hoover still rejected demands for the federal government to provide direct payments to the unemployment and needy. He thought that would reduce the incentive to work, undermining Americans’ “Rugged Individualism”

• Hoover felt it was not the responsibility of the government to step in for voluntary philanthropy.

President Herbert Hoover

• Hoover followed the advice of the leading economists of his day and believed that when prices dropped low enough, people would resume buying and that production would pick up again which would lead to employment increasing again.

• He was obviously incorrect. The economy could not recover.

• Unemployed Americans could not buy more goods, no matter how little the cost.

• The Federal Reserve made it even worse by reducing the money supply rather than increasing it.

President Herbert Hoover – FINALLY Responds

• Hoover Cut Taxes

• Increased Federal Spending on Public Projects

• Directed a federal agency to buy surplus farm crops

• In 1932: Hoover established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to give emergency loans to banks and businesses (believing that cheap loans would spur business)

• He thought this would trickle down to the average American. To little to late though.

President Herbert Hoover – FINALLY Responds

• Americans found Hoover’s lack of leadership frustrating

• Many lost their homes because they were unable to pay their mortgages – some were lucky enough to have family to move in with – others were forced to take up residence in shacks

• Shanty towns of homeless and unemployed, called “Hoovervilles” sprang up on the outskirts of cities

• Between 1929 and 1933 about 100,000 American businesses failed

• By the end of Hoover’s term (1932) unemployment had reached 13 MILLION people – 25% of the nation’s work force

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President Franklin D. Roosevelt

• FDR, the Governor of New York, was nominated as the Democratic Candidate in the Presidential election of 1932

• Roosevelt promised Americans a New Deal, to put them back to work.

• FDR won the 1932 election in a LANDSLIDE victory

• FDR’s New Deal was a MAJOR turning point in American history.

• Saw the Depression as a National Emergency

• Believed it was the President’s task to find a way back to prosperity.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt – A New Style of Leadership

• Assembled a group of talented people from leading American universities, known as the “Brain Trust”, to serve under him – He told them to be creative as possible in developing new strategies and programs to deal with the crisis

• Excellent communicator and frequently addressed the nation by radio, known as “Fireside Chats”. He explained his policies in simple conversational terms

• Roosevelt presented himself as an optimist in order to restore public confidence

• Due to his polio, his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, served as his eyes and ears by traveling throughout the country and later the world.

Women in the Great Depression• Eleanor Roosevelt was a political activist. She spoke out strongly for

women’s rights, the cause of peace and the poor

• Eleanor Roosevelt rallied women with her book, It’s Up to the Women. She called them to pull their families through the crisis.

• Women during the Depression were mothers and homemakers- while the men tried to find work, the women had to quiet but demanding task of making ends meet- cooking, cleaning, and caring for children

• Frances Perkins became the first female member of the U.S. Cabinet when she was appointed Secretary of Labor in 1933. Perkins remained at this post for 12 years, overseeing the Civil Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration

• Played a key role in the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, and the Social Security Act.