As I was researching, I came across some interesting facts about the way that Herbert Hoover's name became synonymous with the suffering and desperation of the Great Depression era.
Herbert Hoover was president during the start of the Great Depression. After the end of WWI and the Wall Street Crash, Hoover declared that the US had "passed the worst" and the economy would soon sort itself out. He said this in 1930 truly believing the the worst thing to come was the Wall Street Crash. He was very wrong as the depression would continue into the late 30's. This absolutely outraged the public when they realized that the steep decline was in no manner going to pass anytime soon.
Most of the public was outraged at Herbert Hoover. People who lost their homes during this depression era mostly lived in shanty towns which were basically just slums for the homeless and poor. These shanty towns were nicknamed "Hoovervilles" after their beloved president to show just how thankful they were since many believed the depression was fully Hoover's fault. On top of that, the stew served in soup kitchens was called "Hoover Stew", the newspapers that many used to keep warm were called "Hoover Blankets", and the broken cars the people had access to that were pulled by mules were nicknamed "Hoover wagons". As well, many coined the term "Hoover flag" for a mere pocket turned inside out and when a shoe sole ripped, members of the shanty town would use "Hoover leather" to fix it up, which was just cardboard.
http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/04/12_great-depression.html
Great post! I was interested in why people were not only angry with him about the depression but actually blamed him for it. I did some research and found that Hoover approved the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which raised import taxes to a new high. The tariff was higher than it had been in decades and did significant damage to trade. Also, along with saying that the economy would get better, he often said that unemployment and poverty had nothing to do with the financial crisis which helped worsen panic.
ReplyDeleteAnother reason why Hoover was so unpopular was that he refused to give direct federal aid to individuals, believing that doing so would create dependency and prevent individuals from helping themselves. He believed that helping large banks and corporations would allow money to trickle down to the masses. This did not work out because Hoover underestimated the effects of the Great Depression. As a result, political opponents encouraged the idea that Hoover did not care for the people, though he was in fact a philanthropist and progressive before he became president.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the big book we're supposed to read. Hoover believed that the cause of the depression was from internationally. He believed that their dependence on the gold standard and the balance of trade system was the source. Meanwhile at that time, FDR believed that the cause was domestic. This belief of his can explain why he refused to give federal aid or why he raised import taxes. To him, domestically, the economy and the infrastructure was not the problem.
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