Hoover vs. Roosevelt free essay sample

The great depression began on October 29, 1929 when the stock market completely crashed. The country was in shambles, people lost their jobs, businesses and banks went under, and poverty struck the nation. During the period of the great depression two men had control of the office, the first Herbert Hoover, a republican that believed heavily in people helping themselves and not relying on government, second there was FDR a democrat who believed that the government should be made to help the people, both men had completely different ways of trying to bring the country out of the biggest financial disaster in its history. The great depression was one of the most detrimental and difficult things ever put on the US, people all across the country lost their jobs, went hungry, lost their homes, and were forced to live in poverty. People had to resort to eating out of dumpsters, scavenging for food, living in hoovervilles, sharing a small house with multiple families. One boy states that â€Å"We ate that dog meat with potatoes† (Doc 1). People were forced to eat meat that was meant for dogs, not humans. They were forced to live of small scraps of low grade meat and potatoes for weeks at a time. African Americans at this time were also put in extreme hardships, with most of their employers no longer having enough money to hire them they were forced to live in run down shacks, and rent out rooms to other people just to make up the rent. â€Å"Negro families were forced to take in lodgers [†¦] frequently whole families slept in one room. † (Doc 2). President Hoover believed â€Å"the Government should not support the people. Hoover a self-made man, believed people should be able to support themselves, and make someone of themselves on their own, like he did. â€Å"Hoover on the other hand tells the working man to build homes, and in the face of the fact nearly every working man has had his home taken off of him† (doc 3). For quite some time, he simply refused to accept that the economic crisis was so widespread and so grave that people could not help themselves, no matter how much they wanted to. After enough persuasion he finally realized he needed to do something to help the people earn money and get a job. His administration spent hundreds of millions of dollars on public works projects such as the construction of the Hoover Dam, The Federal Farm Board, which loaned farmers money and bought up tons of their surplus crops that no one else could afford. However, these policies did not go far enough to help those who needed it most, and economic conditions did not improve. Millions of Americans who had always worked hard and supported themselves and their families were suddenly destitute. They were doing anything and everything they could to support them and their families and survive. Homeless people created little communities called Hoovervilles, named after the president, as an insult. Hoover also enacted the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC); it was modeled after the War Finance Corporation of World War I. The corporation gave $2 billion in aid to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses. In the election of 1932 FDR was elected into office by a landslide, because people were so fed up and dissatisfied by hoovers response to the great depression, Roosevelt offered hope and change for a successful America to the people (Doc 4). Roosevelt’s first act passed to start the bounce back from the depression was the Bank Holiday which was put in place so that the panic would be stopped. Roosevelt began the New Deal in 1933 which included many acts, bills, and laws to start the relief, recovery, and reform process. To begin relief efforts Roosevelt continued Hoovers major relief program for the unemployed under its new name: Federal Emergency Relief Administration. Next he created the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Civil Works Administration to create jobs working on federal jobs. Next was the recovery process, which was considered Pump Priming Temporary programs to restart the flow of consumer demand. To start it off Roosevelt enacted the Agricultural Adjustment Act which taxed food processors and gave the money directly to farmers as a payment for not growing food. This decreased supply so price would go up. Then the National Industrial Recovery Act; which created the National Recovery Administration, a group of businesses organized by the government and given the power to set rules and regulations for the economy. Then the Home Owners Loan Corp was put in place and it gave loans to home owners so they could pay their mortgages. This prevented people from going homeless and prevented banks from going under. Works Progress Administration; which provided long term government jobs building schools and other public works projects. Lastly was reform, which was compiled of permanent programs to avoid another depression and insure citizens against economic disasters. The Securities amp; Exchange Commission was the first piece enacted, it is was a permanent agency set up to monitor stock market activity and ensure that no fraud or insider trading was taking place. Then the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which was designed to insure citizen’s money in savings banks, so people would again have confidence in the US banking system. There were a few more such as the Social Security Administration, the National Labor Relations Act and National Labor Relations Board, and lastly the soil conservation act. Overall both presidents were put into a very tough position, and had a big challenge to overcome. Neither of their efforts actually brought the country out of the depression, it was WW2 that did that. But when comparing both of their strategies Hoovers way was much less productive seeing as people then could not always only rely on themselves to better their lives like he did, they needed help, and he didn’t have the charisma and charm needed to revamp a nation, while Roosevelt’s ideas at least put people back to work, helped them back on their feet, and it gave the American people hope that everything would be okay.