Herbert hoover government programs

His public works projects, designed to create jobs, were characterized as wasteful government spending. His efforts to promote local relief programs, rather than asking Congress to create nationwide relief programs, were viewed as callous disregard for the unemployed. At first the RFC lent money only to banks, railroads, and certain agricultural organizations, but the scope of its operations was later expanded, and it proved to be an effective tool for stabilizing business and industry.

Hoover also persuaded Congress to establish Federal Home Loan Banks to help protect people from losing their homes. By the summer of , the Great Depression had begun to show signs of improvement, but many people in the United States still blamed President Hoover. Roosevelt, exuded hope and optimism, and promised the people a "New Deal. In November, Roosevelt won in a landslide. Four long months intervened between the election and Roosevelt's inauguration.

More than 10 million Americans were unemployed, businesses throughout the country closed their doors and thousands of farmers had been forced off their lands. The president, however, was not tempted to attempt direct government relief efforts, fearing unbalanced budgets.

His response was to cut federal spending and increase taxes. About Quizzes. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. While working in China in his first job, he risked his life rescuing Chinese children during the Boxer Rebellion.

He helped get stranded tourists home during the outbreak of World War I and helped feed 9 million Belgians. This gave him the deserved reputation of a humanitarian. Hoover fed the troops without resorting to rationing at home. After the war, he headed the American Relief Administration, where he fed 15 million famine-stricken people in eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. In , he appeared in the first American demonstration of television. In , he became the Republican presidential nominee.

But Smith was the nation's first Catholic presidential candidate, which triggered demonstrations by the Ku Klux Klan. He also supported the repeal of Prohibition, which made many believe he was an alcoholic. Hoover ran and won on the theme of the nation's prosperity during the Roaring Twenties.

His campaign slogan was "A Chicken for Every Pot. Hoover divided his salary between various charities. He also gave some to his staff. Hoover became the scapegoat for the Depression and was badly defeated in He criticized the New Deal as fascist because it made the federal government too powerful.

He opposed entry into the war, especially the use of the atom bomb. In , President Truman appointed Hoover to coordinate efforts to prevent a global famine. In , he chaired a commission that strengthened Truman's Executive Departments. In , he chaired a similar commission for President Eisenhower.

Hoover was an outspoken critic of U. He thought military spending would bankrupt America. Hoover wrote a three-volume autobiography of his life through He also published four volumes of presidential papers and eight volumes of speeches. The University of Houston. Tax Policy Center. UVA Miller Center. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Table 1. Accessed Dec. World Trade Organization. Page Encyclopedia Britannica. CQ Press. Under Hoover and Roosevelt. The National Bureau of Economic Research. UC Santa Barbara. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. State Historical Society of Iowa. The Philanthropy Roundtable.