Ironically, Herbert Hoover=s life up until his presidency was pictured as a fairytale success story. Hoover was orphaned at the age of nine, but by persistence later worked his way through college at Stanford University. By the time he was forty Hoover was a self-made millionaire. Unfortunately, this independent self-reliance Hoover so fervently advocated would later play against him during the Great Depression, a time when government help was strongly needed.

During World War I, Hoover was entitled the Agreat humanitarian,

When Calvin Coolidge stepped down from the presidential throne in 1929, Hoover promptly took over. In a landslide at the voting box, Hoover won the election of 1928 by more than six million votes. He won the electoral majority by more than 350 votes (Kennedy 490). It is little questioned why the American people voted Hoover into office. His past credentials proved him to be a capable and efficient leader. The events of the time caused his political spiral downward. The nation that shaped his political philosophies took a violent shift toward the need for federal assistance in contrast to Hoover=s philosophy of laissez-faire government.

To his credit, Hoover did attempt to help with the crisis by instituting some significant measures. In an effort to increase economic welfare, he announced a tax cut. However, the tax cut did little to sooth the economic wounds (Braun 370). Hoover also established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation as a government lending bank for big businesses and local governments, with the hope that unemployment would be relieved from the top of the pyramid down. None of the half a billion dollars was lent to individuals though (Kennedy 493). Hoover was criticized for appealing to the wealthy only (Kennedy 494).

Pre-depression speculation led Hoover to believe that increased productivity would lower costs and encourage higher wage payment, thus, stimulating the nation into an upward economic spiral (Hofstadter 290-291). This false theory was a major cause of the Depression. Overproduction in both farm and industry caused profits to go to a wealthy few. Money was then reinvested into production instead of salaries. This left America with plenty of goods but no money to buy them (Kennedy 492). Ironically, the Depression that made Americans= needs so great was caused because they had too much.

On October 29, 1929, a date that has been branded Black Tuesday, the stock

Some topics in this essay:
Calvin Coolidge, AWe America, Treasury@ Braun, Roosevelt Deal, Herbert Hoover, Hoover American, Depression Kennedy, Richard Hofstadter, World War, Finance Corporation, herbert hoover, kennedy 491, hoover political, political failure, hoover political failure, herbert hoover political, kennedy 510, economic crisis, tax cut, federal assistance, stock market, braun 370,