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| Really great pic. And, the dog's named King Tut. |
Hoover oversaw the worst economic period in American history and because of this, is often blamed for exacerbating the unemployment rate, bank failures and poverty in the U.S. Mr. Stewart mentioned that up until the Depression, Hoover was regarded as one of the most respected, competent politician of his time. More often than not, our presidents are looked up to as the sole entity responsible for America's prosperity. And naturally, when disasters like the Depression struck, most people cast Hoover as the scapegoat. It didn't matter that the seeds of the Depression had been sown long before Hoover ascended the presidency; and it certainly didn't matter that no one in Hoover's position could have single-handedly turned the economy around.
Hoover's attempt at reshaping the social structure of the U.S. shows his remarkably progressive mindset.
Here's a list of what Hoover tried to pass through Congress: (most of it didn't, sadly)
1) tax reduction for low-income Americans (not passed)
2) removed tax privileges for the upper class
3) Children's Charter that would protect all children regardless of race or gender (not passed)
4) Creation of a Department of Education (not passed)
5) Pension for Americans over the age of 65 (not passed)
..etc
What's even more surprising is that Hoover's administration was one of the few in history that had full Republican control. My guess is that Hoover's progressive thinking (although positive) was too radical, even for his supporters. Had he lived in a different time, Hoover would likely have been much more appreciated.
Hoover's Later Life
Hoover did redeem himself (for those who believed him a bad president) after WWII. As he had done during WWI, Hoover organized food and other aid for German refugees and citizens. He also hosted a number of charities and clubs-all of which served a positive cause. Even though his name will be forever linked to the Depression, he should be remembered for his remarkable creativity, his liberal worldview and unparalleled dedication to improving America.
I agree with everything that you have written hear, and I think that it is very important not to cast Hoover as a "bad president." He did try to fix the Great Depression, and obviously we know that it did not start because of him. But, many of the ways he tried to fix it did not succeed, which is why people do not regard him as a good president.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I agree with everything here. Although Hoover has been indelibly blamed for the great depression. Although Hoover might not have succeeded greatly in office, he was probably one of the more hardworking presidents as opposed to someone who would not even attempt to pass anything because he feared for loss of political support. I think that it was admirable for Hoover to be this strong in a such a dark time.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point entirely that presidents become the sole scapegoat when things start to go wrong in society. Some people think that presidents are responsible for everything and that when things go wrong, it just means that those presidents aren't working hard enough. While I do get why those people would think that way (For example, during the Great Depression, millions of unemployed people looked to the federal government for relief but didn't receive any; Thus, Hoovervilles) but this is obviously not the case. Presidents work incredibly hard, and all you really need is a before and after-term photo of the president to prove it. But I think part of why many of Hoover's bills failed to pass through Congress is because they were mostly social reforms. Perhaps Congress was looking for a way to increase economic recovery and hold off on addressing societal needs? Overall, I thought this was a great post! Lots of great information!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I thoroughly agree with the statement that Hoover did try to help get America out of the Great Depression, historically presidents are blamed for failure, even if it was no fault of his own. If we think back to the Obama Administration in the first term, he was blamed for the economic recession even if the roots of it stemmed outside of his presidency. Also, Hoover's comments regarding the depression, such as "economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body - the producers and consumers themselves", made it appear to the average citizen that he was not going to help them overcome the financial crisis. We have to keep in mind that most Americans only had an 8th grade education, so if they could not understand all those efforts listed above, it would be very easy to correlate a bad economy to a "bad" president.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to Lauren's comment, FDR was also the subject of rumors and conspiracy theories. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, FDR was accused of having prior knowledge of the attack yet doing nothing; others claimed he had intentionally left the fleet of U.S. battleships unguarded to tempt the Japanese into taking military action. On the other hand, just as Hoover is remembered as a "bad president" due to circumstances beyond his control, you could argue that some presidents are only revered because they happened to take office during opportune times. As one of the documentaries mentioned (I think it was the one about Teddy Roosevelt), you can make the case that Lincoln is only thought of as a great historical figure because he was "lucky" enough to become president at the onset of the Civil War—if it had been any other man, maybe he'd be remembered now as the president who freed the slaves.
ReplyDeletehttp://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/history-purpose/2013/dec/5/pearl-harbor-attack-december-7-1941-sparked-blame-/
While there is no doubt that Hoover should not be blamed solely for the effects of the Depression, nor is it false that he was a very smart, hardworking man, it should be noted that he wasn't just a good politician who fell on bad luck. Looking back, there are some things that he didn't do that would have made sense, and some things he did that made no sense at all. For instance, his main strategy to get out of the Depression was to hold his breath and wait for the bad times to pass. He refused to fix prices, regulate business, or manipulate the value of money because he thought these would lead to socialism, and refused to let the government give aid to struggling citizens because he thought it would lower morale and resolve. When he did use federal power, he passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which is special in that it seems to be the only thing that all historians explicitly agree lengthened the Depression (ok, maybe not the only thing).
ReplyDeleteAgain, I'm not saying that Hoover made the Depression as bad as it was, but there are certainly points which could have been avoided had a different person (like FDR) been in the Oval Office.