Name: ______Period: ______Date: ______

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President Hoover Struggles with the Depression

Philosophy:

  • Hoover opposed any form of federal welfare, or direct relief to the needy.
  • Handouts would weaken a person’s “moral fiber.”
  • Relief, he thought, should come from private organizations.
  • Hoover’s philosophy angered and frustrated many suffering Americans.

Who did Hoover try to help?

  • By helping the wealthy, it was believed that financial health would trickle down to help people at the bottom.
  • Known as Trickle Down Economics
  • BY HELPING THE WEALTHY, IT WAS BELIEVED THAT FINANCIAL HEALTH WOULD TRICKLE DOWN TO HELP PEOPLE AT THE BOTTOM. KNOWN AS TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS
  • Hawley-Smoot Tariff

•Highest protective tariff in the U.S.

•Designed to protect American farmers and business from foreign competition.

•It had the opposite effect – world trade fell 40%

  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation

•$2 billion for emergency financing for banks, life insurance companies, railroads and other large businesses.

•Believed the $ would trickle-down to the average citizen through job growth and higher wages.

  • Construction of Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam)

•$700 million public works program

•Provided electricity, water, irrigation, and flood control to 7 western states

•Intended to create jobs and money flow

Some Major problems…..

•Hoover strongly opposed to federal intervention (prefers Laissez Faire)--thought it would ruin feelings of independence

•Yet, Gov’t was running out of money

•Indirect aid was not helping those who most needed it

Anti-Hoover Sentiment

•Americans grew more and more frustrated by the depression as time passed

•Farmers burned their crops rather than sell it at a loss

•As an insult to the president, shantytowns were dubbed “Hoovervilles,” and newspapers that were used to keep warm were called “Hoover Blankets.”

•Hoover, who was once seen as a humanitarian, was now seen as a cold and heartless leader.

The Bonus Army

•In 1932, 17,000 World War I veterans march to the Washington D.C to demand that they get paid their bonus for service in the war

•The bonuses were not to be paid off until 1945, but they wanted their bonuses immediately

•The Patman Bill would have given the army their bonuses immediately; it did not pass

•Hoover decided to forcibly remove the war veterans by using tear gas

•Many people were injured, several killed

Hoover’s END and Legacy

•Hoover could not effectively deal with the Depression.

•He was viewed as uncaring and unsympathetic towards the sufferings of Americans. People felt that Hoover had no compassion

•Americans shocked by treatment of veterans

•Failure to deal with Depression and the Bonus Army ends Hoover’s hope for re-election

•This would eventually lead to his losing the election of 1932 to Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Election of 1932

•The Republicans re-nominated President Hoover as their candidate, yet they were aware they had little chance of winning.

•The Democrats nominated Franklin Delano Roosevelt, FDR, a two term governor of New York.

•Roosevelt won the presidency by capturing nearly 23 million votes over Hoover 16 million votes.

•In the Senate, Democrats claimed a 2/3 majority and in the House they won almost ¾ of the seats.

WINNER: Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1945

The Rise of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

•1910 Senator

•Assistant Secretary of the Navy

•1921 Stricken with Polio and became paralyzed

•1928 Governor of New York

•Starts planning his “first 100 days”

•calls reforms his “new deal” for americans

•makes a more active government

Roosevelt’s plan for fixing the Great Depression: “The New Deal”

•Focus on helping Americans by offering the 3 R’s: Relief, recovery, and reform

RELIEF

•THE GOVERNMENT WILL GIVE DIRECT HELP OR RELIEF TO THOSE WHO ARE SUFFERING

•MAY BE FOOD, CLOTHING, SHELTER

•IMMEDIATE HELP

Recovery

•The government will provide jobs to help Americans recover from the Depression

•Temporary jobs & programs

Reform

•The government will regulate (make rules) for business

•No more laissez faire

•Changes to laws

•Permanent programs to avoid another depression

Roosevelt’s Actions

•Gave “Fireside Chats” to calm people over the depression

•Hired the best thinkers/problem solvers to fix the Depression (Brain Trust)

The Bank Holiday

•On March 5--the day after being sworn into office--Roosevelt stepped into the breach and declared a "bank holiday," which, for four days forced the closure of the nation's banks and halted all financial transactions.

•The "holiday" not only helped stem the frantic run on banks, but gave Roosevelt time to push the Emergency Banking Act through the legislative chain.

•Passed by Congress on March 9, the act handed the president a far-reaching grip over bank dealings and "foreign transactions."

•The legislation also paved the path for solvent banks to resume business as early as March 10.

•Three short days later nearly 1,000 banks were up and running again