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** Herbert Hoover ** August 10, 1874- October 20, 1964 Political Party: Republican Terms of Office: March 4, 1929- March 4, 1933 Vice President: Charles Curtis

At the start of Hoover's presidency, the country was very prosperous. He started off attempting to fix problems in the economy, promising a "New Day," however seven months into his Presidency, the stock market crashed which left Americans in a terrible state. Hoover refused to believe the crisis was anything more than an overreaction and didn't do much to help the country. Because of this Hoover deserves a D for his presidency. The early goals of Hoover were to improve the nation's agricultural sector and tariff reform. Hoover addressed these changes by calling Congress into a special session after entering office. These prices were because of too much productivity and an increase in the amount of farmland. He enacted the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, which helped to establish the first government program which aided farmers in peacetime. Although this act had a good goal, it failed because it wasn't able to manage the products. Hoover also tried to regulate tariffs once the Great Depression started. The nation was doing very well at the beginning of Hoover's presidency, with Republican majorities in Congress. Their relationship was relatively good at first, but became tense after the Great Depression began. The Congress shifted to Democrats in the middle of his Presidency which caused for many debates over certain bills he and Congress disagreed over. The most positive thing that Hoover did during his Presidency was to keep trying to make the country better. The Hoover Dam was built during his Presidency and it's purpose was to provide irrigation, flood control, and electrical power. This benefited the country in many ways. Many Americans came to build the Hoover Dam in hopes of getting jobs, and today attracts many tourists to the Las Vegas, Nevada and Arizona economies. The worst thing that Hoover did during his Presidency was ignore the Great Depression, and think it was not as bad as it was. In the beginning, Hoover refused to believe that it was anything more than an overraction of the American people combined with a depression all over the world. The Hawley-Smoot Tariff raised the tariff up to 60% and was a huge factor in the Great Depression. Hoover was blamed for the Great Depression, and this is because he believed that voluntarism and individual efforts would solve the problem. He formed the President's Organization for Unemployment Relief, but it didn't push for the necessary federal relief programs. Despite his small efforts, the economy's crisis deepened. The stock market crash had a huge negative effect on the country even after Hoover left office. It left bank failures, unemployment, and less industrial production. The nation blamed Hoover and his cabinet for this failure, calling their cheap excuses for houses Hoovervilles. Roosevelt and other future Presidents were forced to clean up this mess that Hoover left behind. The United States suffered a huge crisis during Hoover's Presidency, and although he made some efforts to help the nation, he didn't do enough. The country didn't need him and could have used someone better and more useful in his place. Americans were fed up with the government, and even Congress went in a completely different direction, the majority being Democrats when Hoover left. The country was left with high unemployment rates and terrible banks and the economy, which obviously didn't help our nation at all. Hoover deserves a D for his Presidency because of the little effort he made to help our country during this terrible time.

http://herberthoover.org/ http://www.arizona-leisure.com/hoover-dam.html http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/hoover/essays/biography
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