• Herbert Hoover
jk;jk;-The Presidency
jk;jk;-The Depression
jk;jk;-Foreign Policy
• Franklin D. Roosevelt
jk;jk;-The 1932 Campaign
jk;jk;-The New Deal
jk;jk;-Reform Measures
jk;jk;-The NRA and the AAA
jk;jk;-Assessing the Early New Deal
jk;jk;-The New Deal from 1935

Herbert Hoover

The Presidency
Herbert Hoover entered the Presidency as a Republican with a majority of fellow Republicans taking the majority of congressional seats. As a candidate, Hoover had assured the public he would order a special session with Congress to discuss relief for farmers and basic tariff alterations. He called this session on April 15, 1929; from it came the Agricultural Marketing Act to help farmers who suffered from low incomes, and the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act involving a great amount of agricultural work.
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The Depression
Unfortunately for Hoover, months after he became President, the stock market crash occurred in the same year, leading to his entire administration occurring during the Great Depression. Hoover approached this period with the idea that local governments in the states should aid their needy public, not the federal government. The only attempt made by Hoover was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Behind this establishment were provisions for the large companies, the idea being that by giving money to the wealthy, it would eventually circulate through to the poor. His actions were never made directly for the people. By the time his four years were over, about 13 million U.S. citizens were unemployed, and the Democrats had taken the majority of seats in Congress from the now weak Republicans.
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Foreign Policy
Hoover announced his belief that the basis of peace was foreign policy. Though he was against joining the League of Nations, he cooperated for this reason. On this note, the main achievement made by Hoover was also due to this belief of foreign policy, the signing of the naval treaty at the London Naval Conference of 1930. This treaty set limitations on the number of battleships, cruisers, and other vessels built for naval purposes.

In the beginning, Hoover was persistent in demanding that the European nations pay debts from past wars to the United States. However, the depression was felt by many of the European countries as well, causing their debts to again be suspended. It was after Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in 1931 that the major crisis of foreign policy truly began for this president. In the next year the administration declared the “Stimson doctrine”, stating the U.S. would not recognize this conquest of territory.
In conclusion, Hoover made some advances for America, but in retrospect, much more could have been accomplished during the years he was president. Hoover’s successor became more popular among the people, for he did much more in the way of their needs. For Roosevelt’s administration, please continue on.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt

The 1932 Campaign
In the 1932 Campaign, President Roosevelt ran against President Hoover; but Roosevelt was the one who caught the public eye with a “new deal.” Unlike the Republican Hoover, the Democratic Roosevelt support direct relief and public works. The ideals he spoke for included public power, old age pensions, unemployment insurance, repeal of prohibition, and the regulation of the stock exchange.

However, when speaking about recovery and reform, he was very vague. He also was not too clear about foreign policy and tariff during this time. For these reasons Roosevelt “alienated” some of the so called ‘higher class’ who left to the Communist and Socialist parties when the election was held. But, to others, Roosevelt seemed the only likely alternative to Hoover, who many believed was the cause of the Depression.
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The New Deal
On March 4, 1933, Roosevelt’s inauguration was set at a time when the economy was in a desperate situation. Nearly a quarter of the nation was unemployed, and more than half of those unemployed were looking for work but able to find it. Hundreds of thousands of people lived in small shacks of whatever scraps could be found, while others committed suicide and the amount going into the mental institution grew noticeably.

From the time that FDR first came into the public eye as a candidate for president, he tried to restore confidence from the voters. In his inaugural address he stated, “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Besides this famous quote, he included that he would simply not stand by and watch the Depression deepen further. In closing, he declared a Bank Holiday to send government officials to banks, keeping people from retrieving their money all at one time, and at the same time reviving the confidence for American citizens. He also called a special Congressional session.

Once in the White House, FDR began with conservative requests. He began by securing the passage of an emergency banking bill. This bill offered financial help to private bank owners instead of going national, as would have been the alternative. Now long afterward, he forced an Economy Act cutting about 500 million dollars for veterans, taking some from federal employees. This caused a slight amount of deflation, making purchasing even more difficult.

Next, Roosevelt initiated a relief program, a program that was much more apparent to the people. He encouraged Congress to set aside 500 million dollars for federal relief and grants to the individual states. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was created in 1933 and headed by Harry Hopkins. Hopkins quickly spent the money, and supervised 1.5 billion more dollars to direct grants.

Later during that same year, Congress also approved funding for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), the Home Owners Loan Corporation (HOLC), and the Public Works Administration (PWA). The CCC later employed over 2.5 million young men on useful conservation work. The HOLC offered largely needed assistance to mortgagors and homeowners. The PWA, while slow to act, ultimately generated billions into construction of large-scale projects. Though many wanted more, many citizens were grateful to Roosevelt for what was already being completed. The new relief programs of the New Deal gave hope not only to the average white man, but also to the lower than average blacks, Latinos, and those others doing just as badly. At the same time he did a lot to restore confidence in the government.
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Reform Measures
In the beginning of the New Deal, reform measures were taken as well. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was a corporation pushed along primarily by Congress. Another measure of reform issued by Congress in 1934 was the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC); this commission moved to create a vigilant beginning toward the regulation of the stock exchanges.

However, it is important not to forget the most significant reform, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), created in 1933. This corporation to Tennessee built multipurpose dams to control floods and generate inexpensive hydroelectric power. The dams helped to manufacture fertilizer, foster soil conservation, and cooperate with local companies of the time. These dams described still exist to this day, and continue to prove one of the most inexpensive means of electricity in the nation. The reason for this being the government still funds these dams, and they are not a private business; they are not competing for money, but are only there for the citizens to provide a service.
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The NRA and the AAA
Roosevelt’s wishes for economic recovery were put solely into two administrations created during the special session of Congress soon after his inauguration in 1933. The two administrations created were the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA).

The NRA was to prevent unfair competition within individual industries by encouraging those within those industries to create codes. These codes entailed such guidelines as pricing and production policies, and rights of collective bargaining, minimum wages, and work hours. At the same time the AAA focused on increasing farm prices through high demand, which was accomplished by the government paying the farmers extra money to harvest less produce.

Although the NRA looked to be successful, it became less effective after a while. Small businesses claimed these codes favored large corporations. Progressives rambled about the NRA releasing monopolies from prosecution. And, in the first place, some executives procrastinated in signing agreement with these codes, while others put them off completely. Had the codes been enacted more quickly and with more emphasis, these minor liabilities may not have been such a problem, but this was not the case. The NRA later proved a failure in sponsoring the socialist ideal of a government-business cooperation and possible recovery, until the Supreme Court deemed it unconstitutional in 1935.

The AAA proved to be more successful. The income by farmers increased by 50 percent during Roosevelt’s first four years of his presidency. However, some of the demand was made because of tremendous droughts, especially in the area of the Great Plains. These droughts ruined thousands of fields, causing prices to be even higher. What was worse was that those who needed the produce often could not buy it at its high prices, when they barely had any money at all.
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Assessing the Early New Deal
These measures taken as a part of the New Deal showed Roosevelt’s positive and negative traits as an aide toward the economy. He showed that he would use all that was in his power to help the nation. He had his “First 100 days” of a congressional session, began many other political sessions, made speeches, and led ‘fireside chats’ on the radio. The confidence he possessed and his ability to take action instilled a confidence in the people that was much needed at this time.

At the same time, the New Deal Programs showed his dedication and effort to our country. These policies showed him to be a cautious political leader. On this note, FDR refrained from supporting any civil rights issues in order to keep the Southern Democrats’ seats in Congress. It was important for him to do this so that the Southerners stayed peaceful, as we know that in the past Abraham Lincoln made a mistake in that area. He also believed it important to give power and possibility to large businesses and commercial producers. He also managed to stay away from deficit spending, as many European nations did in order to come out of depression, and raising taxes, both which would have redistributed individual income. Therefore, trying to buy the power necessary to help the nation recover became nearly impossible. In these events, the practical President Roosevelt caused a preservation of capitalism, without making any huge changes.
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The New Deal from 1935
In 1935, the New Deal made a slight U turn. FDR began to support bills abolishing holding companies, raising taxes on the wealthy, and shifting monetary policy to Washington from the bankers in New York. These actions clearly showed Roosevelt’s failing belief in the idea of a government-business corporation. And as Congress disagreed, Roosevelt began compromising. As a team, both helped those who wanted tougher laws against the rich, yet they did not support radical anti-business ideals or wishes.

During this period, Roosevelt worked hard, and effectively, for three significant acts passed during this year. The three consisted of the Wagner Act, the Works Progress Administration, and Social Security. The Wagner Act distributed about 11 billion dollars to work relief over the next few years. The Works Progress Administration which helped individual laborers to begin bargaining on an equal level with their management. Third, social security was much needed by the fourth of the nation that were jobless. In this Act, the government provided compensation to those of old age, those who were disabled, and those who had more children or one parent.

These successes caused Roosevelt to be elected again as President in 1936 against his Republican opponent Governor Landon of Kansas. In this second term, Roosevelt was faced with even more obstacles. At this time Congress was made up of many older members, most of which were very conservative and refused a good amount of FDR’s attempts to change things. As one could imagine, this angered him greatly until he passed anther New Deal legislation to correct it.

Also during his second term, there were many strikes in factories, and though he opposed business strikes, he was blamed quickly. It was believed that this activism in the labor force was because of his actions taken, or lack thereof. In later 1937, there was a sharp cut in money due to a large amount of federal spending in 1936. Surprised and disappointed, Roosevelt waited for early the next year to order less spending in order to catch up to an economic recovery once again.

These new developments made Roosevelt all the less popular in Congress. And, in the 1938 elections, Republicans gained seats in Congress, causing a conservative period, as opposed to the Democratic Roosevelt. This continued until 1939 when the war in Europe took most of our attention, and then we joined the war in 1941 after the bombing of Pearly Harbor. Around this time, FDR died, leading to Truman to take over from there.
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