Compare & Contrast Hoover & Roosevelt

Today’s Objective

• Students will compare and contrast the strategies used by both President Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the Great Depression.

Herbert Hoover

1929-1933

• Describe what you see• Who does the sign blame for their problems?• How does this make you feel towards Hoover?

Election of 1928Hoover (Republican) vs. Smith (Democrat)

• Hoover: Pro-business, conservative, belief in the individual, advocate of small federal government, Protestant

• Smith: Democrat, pro public health, workers’ compensation, civil liberties, government control of some industries, Catholic

• Hoover won

• Voters believed prosperity of the 1920s was because of the Republican party

• 6 months after election the stock market crashed = worst depression in American History

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.

Hoover’s Radio Address on Unemployment Relief

No governmental action, no economic doctrine, no economic plan or project can replace that God-imposed responsibility of the individual man and woman to their neighbors. That is a vital part of the very soul of the people. If we shall gain in this spirit from this painful time, we shall have created a greater and more glorious America. The trial of it is here now. It is a trial of the heart and conscience, of individual men and women. . . . (October 18, 1931)

1. Who does Hoover believe should help Americans during the Depression?

2. Why do you think he believes this?

3. What “painful time” is he talking about?

4. Imagine you are unemployed as a result of the Great Depression.

5. What are your feelings towards this statement?

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

• This theory did not work. Businesses used the extra money to improve their businesses instead of helping the workers.

Who did Hoover try to help?

• 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%

Who did Hoover try to help?

• 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.

– To little, to late

Who did Hoover try to help?• Construction of Boulder Dam (Hoover

Dam)– $700 million public works program

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, thousands of WWI veterans marched

into Washington D.C. demanding their bonuses

• 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 Legacy

• Hoover could not effectively deal with the Depression.

• He was viewed as uncaring and unsympathetic towards the sufferings of Americans

• 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.

Roosevelt won the election by a landslide

Franklin Delano

Roosevelt

1933-1945

The Rise of FDR

• 1910 Senator• Assistant Secretary of

the Navy• 1921 Stricken with Polio

and became paralyzed• 1928 Governor of New

York

The New Deal: What was it?

Roosevelt’s plan for fixing the Great Depression:

“The New Deal”

• Focus on helping Americans by offering the 3 R’s–Relief –Recovery –Reform

A political cartoon of the “forgotten man” shaking hands with FDR.

The caption reads, “Yes, you remembered me.”

Relief • The government will

give direct help or relief to those who are suffering

• May be food, clothing, shelter

Recovery • The government will provide jobs to help Americans

recover from the Depression

Reform• The government will

regulate (make rules) for business

• No more laissez faire

Roosevelt’s Actions

1. Gave “Fireside Chats” to calm people over the depression

2. 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

Court Packing Plan• President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's

"New Deal” faced many challenges in the courts

– The Supreme Court struck down several provisions and statutes included in New Deal programs claiming that they were unconstitutional

• The plan would have given the president the power to add one justice for every Supreme Court justice over age 70, up to a total of six

– FDR claimed that the older justices were not able to handle the increasing workload and the additional justices would improve the Court's efficiency

• The underlying purpose was to obtain favorable rulings regarding New Deal legislation that had been previously ruled unconstitutional

• Ultimately, the bill does not pass.