Keely+G.+-+HH+-+FA12

Herbert Clark Hoover August 10-11, 1874 – October 20, 1964 Political Party – Republican Party Dates in Office – March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933 Vice President – Charles Curtis __Thematic Context – American Identity __  Several events took place during Hoover’s administration that tested the defining characteristics of American identity, including confidence in America as the land of opportunity, faith in individualism, the importance of justice, and a guarantee to equal opportunity. Two specific developments during the Hoover administration were the Great Depression and the Scottsboro Affair.  The Great Depression was one of the worst national tragedies America has ever faced. A country that had once represented opportunity and prosperity was now facing rising numbers of unemployed, homeless, and failures in banks and businesses. As the worst economic panic in American history, it put a great amount of pressure on the nation’s laborers. Thus, the Depression challenged the American high opinion of the individual. President Hoover himself had admitted to the high esteem of the individual in American society in his book published before he pursued the presidency. When Hoover took office, he continued to hold self-made men in high regard by refusing to use government funds to provide direct aid. Without government support, the individuals and their families were forced to deal with the terrible effects of the Depression. As jobs and wages disappeared, American laborers responded to the crisis by working even harder to find employment. In desperate attempts to provide for their families, once respected men worked the most menial of jobs. The Great Depression showed the strength of individuals in America and proved that they deserved the high reputation which they were given, but the Depression was even more instrumental in demonstrating that in times of national crises, hard work was often times not enough and government intervention was necessary.  The Great Depression also changed the dynamic of families during this time. Men, the traditional breadwinners of the family, found themselves out of work as their wives maintained somewhat steadier, although low paying, jobs. The role of women in the house became more impressive during the Great Depression as they often became the moral leaders of the family. Thus, American identity changed with the shifting structure of the American family.  American ideals of equality and justice were also challenged during the Hoover Administration as demonstrated by the Scottsboro trials and subsequent Supreme Court Decision //Powell v. Alabama//. Nine black teenagers, known as the Scottsboro Boys, were taken to trial after being accused of raping two women. The trials were astonishingly unjust, complete with an all white jury, incompetent defense attorneys, and a biased judge. In addition, the boys were given an inadequate amount of time to discuss legal proceedings with their lawyers. Despite these unfair circumstances in the trials and an outright confession from one of the women that no rape had been attempted, the court continued with the case. In the end, the boys were found guilty and eight of the nine were sentenced to death.  The Scottsboro case was appealed to the Supreme Court in //Powell v. Alabama//. In their statement, the Supreme Court declared that the boys had not been given a fair trial, which violated the right of citizens to due process of law. The Scottsboro affair demonstrated that even decades after the Civil War, African Americans remained in a lower class than white citizens simply because of race. Even though the Supreme Court recognized that the conviction was unconstitutional, the widespread public support for a death sentence further demonstrated that discrimination even extended itself into one of the most basic rights given to Americans: the right to a fair trial. Thus, the significance of the Scottsboro affair reflects African Americans’ struggle to gain fair treatment from the government following the Civil War.

__Thesis __  Herbert Hoover gained the nickname the “Great Humanitarian” after his efforts with the Food Administration during World War I. When the Great Depression hit in 1929, many hoped that the reform minded Hoover would provide effective relief. However, Hoover failed the American people when he held to the ideal that the United States had been made strong through the use of hard work and individualism, refusing to send direct government aid to the large number of struggling and unemployed Americans. Though Hoover’s administration did make momentous decisions in government intervention in business and foreign policy with Latin America that had enduring effects on American government, he ultimately failed to serve the public welfare. Therefore, Hoover deserves a D+ for his time as president.

__Goals __  Hoover had been strongly affected by the progressive movement, as demonstrated by his efforts during World War I. Thus, when Hoover gained office, he outlined a policy firmly rooted in reform. Unfortunately, Hoover had little chance to attain these goals after the country began to feel the real effects of the Great Depression shortly after his term began. Therefore, Hoover failed to attain many of the goals that he originally sought.  Hoover did have a chance to carry out several of his progressive policies before the Great Depression demanded his attention. For example, he organized the Wickersham Commission to begin reform for prohibition and criminal justice. However, the Commission failed to create an accurate and decisive report on how best to handle the issue of law enforcement. Hoover was also able to address his goal of promoting peace with other nations. He had success to this end in the Latin American countries, negotiating treaties to remove federal troops. However, he had less success with countries involved with World War I. His administration specifically failed when they refused to support the League of Nations by placing heavy pressure on the Japan to end its imperialistic actions in China. As the Depression became increasingly devastating, Hoover lost his commitment to the cause. The Untied States instead made a weak attempt to stop Japan by delivering the Stimson Doctrine which simply stated that the US would not recognize Japan’s territorial gains in China. The doctrine did not stop Japan from using force in China. This failure in ending Japan’s actions contributed to the causes of WWII. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Other issues were directly related to the Great Depression. Hoover expressed in his inaugural address his goal to promote cooperation between the government and businesses while denouncing direct government intervention in limiting the business’s power. He employed this tactic as a means to end the Great Depression. However, his plan was not sufficient to end the widespread misery caused by the Depression. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Many of Hoover’s early goals had to be abandoned in order to deal with the much larger issue of the Great Depression. Therefore, his failure at attaining these goals is not completely his fault. However, Hoover also failed to provide adequate relief during the worst American crisis since the Civil War. In conclusion, Hoover failed at almost every goal he was seeking to achieve, both those that he had planned to deal with and those with which he was forced to deal.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Congress __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hoover did not have a positive relationship with Congress, and this led to problems with cooperation between the President and Congress. Both houses had a Republican majority in the first two years of Hoover’s presidency. During the last two years of his presidency the Democrats gained a majority in the House of Representatives. The pressing issues of the time caused many disputes in Congress and Hoover often faced hostilities from members of his own party. Often times, Hoover’s plans would fail in Congress or Hoover would veto a measure approved by Congress. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hoover faced early opposition from the farm bloc which advocated for government subsidies to provide relief to farmers. Hoover’s supporters and opponents debated in Congress, reaching a stalemate that Hoover did not attempt to break. Congress passed the Agricultural Marketing Act which did not have a significant effect on improving issues American farmers were facing. Hoover again failed to effectively cooperate with Congress when he allowed senators from eastern states to add measures to the Hawley-Smoot Tariff that contradicted its original purpose to provide indirect relief to farmers by protecting their products in the world market. Hoover’s inability to influence Congress on issues he found important was a great failure on his part. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hoover continued to have disagreements with Congress, especially with progressive Republicans, over how to deal with the Great Depression. Despite wise advice against his policies, Hoover maintained that direct government intervention of the crisis was against the ideals of the nation. Therefore, he vetoed many of this Republican faction’s measures calling for government aid. Such measures included the Muscle Shoals Bill to build a dam across the Tennessee River. Hoover also vetoed a measure regarding early access to bonuses granted to struggling WWI veterans and a bill that would have established employment agencies to combat unemployment. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Hoover’s bad relationship with Congress added to his stress of dealing with the urgent problems brought on by the Great Depression. With opposing forces in Congress, it was difficult for either to pass legislature that had a positive effect on the people. Cooperation was essential during such a crisis, and Hoover’s inability to lead and quell arguments within Congress was another of his shortcomings as president.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Positive Outcome __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover took few truly beneficial actions in his presidency. The successes he had regarding the Great Depression came too late to have a long lasting effect on the struggling masses and his actions in foreign policy proved unsuccessful to create stability in a nations that were facing similar depressions. However, Hoover did make a very good decision by supporting the Twentieth Amendment. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> At this time, presidents were elected in November were unable to start their term in office until March. Thus, there was a long period of time in which the previous president remained in office even though the next president and pother elected officials had been chosen. This time period was known as the “lame duck” period because little legislative activity took place. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The Twentieth Amendment changed the starting dates of the presidential term and the dates for the sessions of Congress to shorten the lame duck period. Thus, the amendment allowed for Congress to be more productive year round. Because of this, it was a success of the Hoover administration.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Negative Outcome __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover’s presidency was unfortunately defined by the Great Depression, which has given him a bad reputation. In previous economic panics, American presidents had used hands-off policies and provided little relief. As a staunch believer in individualism and voluntarism (the same policy he used to provide foodstuffs to Europe during World War I), Hoover, at the beginning of his term, took the same approach. However, the hands-off policy of the past was not sufficient enough to deal with the worst economic panic in American history. Realizing this, Hoover changed his policies to favor more direct government aid than had previously been used. However, this realization came only after his policies failed. Because Hoover neglected to realize the severity of the situation in time to pass effective relief policies, his handling of the Great Depression had the worst effect on the nation. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The Stock Market Crash in 1929 proved to America how unstable its economy was. After almost a decade of increasing stock prices, they crashed in October, causing many to demand that banks give them money that wasn’t there. Many weaknesses in the economic structure of the nation during the 1920s combined to cause the Great Depression. One of these weaknesses was the overproduction of goods, specifically agricultural goods. This led to falling prices and discontent among farmers that would only intensify during the Hoover administration with ineffective relief programs and a devastating drought. The Great Depression was also due to the fact that the rich were continually investing their money instead of spending it. This led to businesses lowering their workers’ wages and disparity of wealth between the poor and the wealthy increased. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Though Hoover was not at fault for causing the Great Depression, he is responsible for creating inadequate policies to deal with the crisis that did little to lessen the effects, even worsening them in some cases. One example of a well intentioned attempt at relief was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. Hoover approved of the bill which raised tariffs on imported agricultural products. However, by the time the bill was in its final form, the tariff on manufactured goods as well as agricultural goods was raised to the highest it had ever been. Not only did this fail in providing relief to farmers, but it also discouraged foreign countries from trading with the US. Hoover, believing in the value of hard work, was generally opposed to “government handouts” to the poor. Instead, he proposed cooperation between the owners of corporations and labor to keep wages steady and cooperation between state and local government to increase public works to combat unemployment. Such measures would have been appropriate during a much smaller economic panic but not one as widespread as the Great Depression. During this period of cooperation and public works spending unemployment continued to climb to 4 million as 25% of banks failed, all while Hoover vetoed several of Congress’s measures that would have been beneficial to veterans and the unemployed, including a Bonus Bill that Congress passed over the veto. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> As the Depression worsened, Hoover provided further relief, though this continued to be done in an indirect manner. He finally had a small amount of success with the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation three years after the Stock Market crashed. This measure provided loans to large institutions like banks and railroads and thus ensured stability to those organizations affected. However, it was enacted too late for its positive effects to “trickle down” to the masses as Hoover intended. The only truly positive outcome of Hoover’s relief efforts was the Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act which protected labor unions and finally gave laborers the right to organize. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Any success that Hoover had, however, was diminished by the way he handled the Bonus Army. Many veterans who had bravely and heroically fought during World War I found themselves unemployed during the Great Depression. In 1932, 15,000 veterans came to Washington, setting up camps in the street and staying in abandoned buildings, to demand the bonuses that had been guaranteed to them during the previous administration. When the army refused to leave, Hoover ordered a forceful removal of the veterans and their families which resulted in several injuries. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover, throughout his administration and in years after, has been blamed for the devastation of the Great Depression. The shacks built by the unemployed and homeless were referred to as “Hoovervilles” and the newspapers they used to cover themselves were called ‘Hoover blankets.” This reputation is only partly deserved. Despite the ultimate failure of Hoover’s policies, they were instrumental in demonstrating the necessity of more direct government aid during national crises. However, the fact remains that Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the Depression and to respond adequately to its detrimental effects. He held so closely to his ideals of individualism that he was unable to realize that those in need of government aid had already worked hard and achieved much only to lose it through no fault of their own. Therefore, the way Hoover responded to the Great Depression was undoubtedly his worst decision in office.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Influential Decision __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Herbert Hoover faced many disasters both at home and with the European countries involved with World War I. However, he faced no major issues in pursuing what would become his most influential decision; he initiated the Good Neighbor Policy with Latin American countries. Upon his election as president, he immediately traveled to the area and assured them that he would take measures to improve America’s relations with them and act as a “good neighbor.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover did not fail to deliver his promises. By 1933, his policies had successfully removed the US marines from their occupation in Nicaragua. Hoover had also set a date for the removal of the marines from Haiti. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover’s peaceful actions with America’s southern neighbors had long lasting effects as well. Hoover’s successor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, continued the Good Neighbor Policy even more forcefully than Hoover had. Under his administration, the marines left Haiti in 1934. Additionally, Roosevelt also repealed the Platt Amendment on Cuba’s constitutional, thus eliminating America’s right to interfere in their affairs. FDR also stated at the Pan-American Conference that they were willing to adopt a foreign relations policy that provided for less American interference in the Latin American countries. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> Hoover’s actions in Latin America marked a positive turn in US foreign policy that had not occurred since the imperialistic days of Theodore Roosevelt. This positivity continued during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. Not only was the Good Neighbor Policy important in creating allies out of Latin America during WWII, but it also caused America to be more friendly to neighboring countries, which proved to be helpful in many future instances. Therefore, Hoover’s Good Neighbor Policy was his most influential decision.

__<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">Conclusion __ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;"> The United States was without a doubt in a much worse position following Hoover’s administration than it had been when he took office. At the beginning of 1929, though there were signs of an economic collapse, America was still experiencing the “roaring twenties” as stock prices continued to soar. However, this false sense of financial security was destroyed in 1929 with the crash of the stock market. Furthermore, Hoover, reluctant to change the traditional hands-off policy, failed to take beneficial actions to deal with the crisis. As Hoover’s supporters in the 1932 campaign accurately summarized, “It Might Have Been Worse.” Even though Hoover’s actions were well intentioned and did bring about a new policy in the management of economic panics, they were ultimately unsuccessful in decreasing the harms caused by the Depression, including unemployment, low wages, homelessness, and hunger. At the same time, Hoover also had mixed success and failure in foreign policy. Because of this, Hoover deserves a D+ for his term as president.

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