Why did Herbert Hoover become so unpopular?

1. Why did Herbert Hoover become so unpopular? Was this fair?

2. Who was Herbert Hoover? • 31st President of the United States (March 1929 to March 1933) • Major careers: engineering, international relief, government and politics • Republican • Defeated by FDR in 1933 elections • President during the Great Depression 1874-1964

3. Hoover’s unpopularity • General feeling of frustration and resentment among Americans • Protests and riots reflected negative feelings • Shanty towns were nicknamed “Hoovervilles”

4. Hoover’s (lack of) policies and actions • Hoover had expected that the depression was not going to last long • Although it was not totally true to say that Hoover did nothing at all, the effort he put in was relatively small. • Hoover’s idea was that the state governments should be responsible for providing relief for the hungry and the homeless. The state governments were not wealthy enough. • Food prices and the demand for goods were falling, but Hoover failed to supply a suitable solution for this problem.

5. Cont. • The policies that Hoover did choose to adopt in order to counter the depression had little or no use: • He encouraged employers to make voluntary agreements with their workforce to keep production steady. It however did not work. • New building programmes such as the construction of the Hoover Dam provided new jobs, but it was not sufficient to solve the problem. • HOOVER had believed in self-help and “rugged individualism, just like he had succeeded in doing so himself.

6. Hoover’s beliefs • Quakerism • inflexible approach when dealing with problems • American Individualism • belief that prosperity of 1920s was due to the spirit of individualism among Americans • thought that American economy would solve its own problems • Voluntarism • encouraged people to continue businesses and to continue hiring workers regardless of the poor economic circumstances Voluntarism failed, and the American economy did not improve, so people became increasingly frustrated. Hoover gave the impression of an uncaring leader because he seemed to be doing very little to end the Depression. His reluctance to use government intervention was partly due to his personality and beliefs. He maintained that the situation would get better but when it did not, Americans became resentful and Hoover quickly lost his popularity.

7. Hoover’s gloomy image • During his campaign for a second term in office in 1932, Hoover’s image had already been quite unpopular among Americans. • He further expressed his belief that business was able to take care of the depression as long as it was left alone. This gave the impression that he was not doing anything for the people of America. • By providing federal aid, he added, the “spirit of self-reliance that had made America great” would be destroyed. Unfortunately, that was not a priority for the hungry and the homeless.

8. Cont. • His attitude was portrayed as being cold and uncaring, which was not necessarily true. But the image stuck and we can imagine how the people thought of him when they named the shanty towns after him [Hoovervilles]. • This was a strong contrast to the cheerful and confident attitude of Roosevelt, his democratic counterpart in the elections and soon-to-be president. • He made great speeches and traveled all over the country, giving the impression that he actually cared about the people. This was an important factor in his landslide victory over Hoover.

9. 1925, Congress agreed to a veteran’s ‘bonus’ to be paid in 1945 1932, veterans decided they want the grants earlier The Bonus Marchers • March to Washington • June 1932, 20,000 camped • House of Representatives voted 226 to 175 to pay the bonus but Senate vetoed • Hoover offered to pay $100,000 for transportation fees

10. The Bonus Marchers • Marchers refused to move; some sympathetic police gave passive support • General Douglas MacArthur sent in troops • Tanks, troops, tear gas used • Camps destroyed, marchers injured, two babies killed because of the tear gas • Americans were shocked and disappointed with the violent way Hoover dealt with the marchers The event worsened Hoover’s already tarnished reputation. Even though the troops were under General MacArthur’s command, Hoover was regarded as responsible.

11. WAS THIS FAIR? YES AND NO (Let’s look at both sides of the argument)

12. Yes, Hoover’s time is up . • Hoover never really did become popular among American. He built his own fortune, reaching multi-millionaire status by the age of 40, this made him quite absorbed in the idea that anyone could emulate his achievements through hard work. This also caused him to not be empathetic with the people’s problems, an error which eventually caused him to lose to Roosevelt in the 1932 elections. • His other main weakness was his oblivion of the strength of the mass media, something which his rival Roosevelt had already identified early on.

13. No, it was not fair… • He was unlucky • He could have made a great President at another time • In bad circumstances, people often look for someone to blame and Hoover became the target • People had very high expectations of him • In the 1920s he had a very good reputation so during the Depression, he seemed to have lost popularity drastically • Contrary to the common impression at the time, Hoover did attempt to counter the Depression • Advocated voluntarism • Hawley-Smoot tariff in 1930 • Tried to restore confidence in businessmen e.g. Reconstruction Finance Corporation

14. Conclusion • Hoover was partly to blame. • The impression that he lost significant popularity was because he contrasted greatly with FDR. • His beliefs would probably have been useful if he served in a more prosperous time. His personal beliefs prevented him from trying other methods when dealing with the Depression. • He did act. His measures were unsuccessful and so it gave the impression that he didn’t do anything to help.