Johnny+M.+-+HH+-+FA09

31st President of the U.S. (Republican) Born on 8/10/1874 Died on 10/20/1964 Served as president from 1929-1933 Vice President was Charles Curtis**
 * ​ Herbert Hoover

Hoover started off his presidency at what may have been the greatest prosperity America has ever seen. That quickly changed in october 1929, when the stock market crashed, and many were quick to point the finger at Hoover. The crash was not all Hoovers fault, and he was a good president, and should get a B for his presidency. Some may disagree due to the depression, but that was not his fault, and he did many positive things during his stay in the white house.

Hoover's main goal in office was to move the nation back into progressiveness. He saw his presidency as an opportunity to push progressive reforms. He sought out to do this in many ways. For example, Hoover passed farm subsidy bills through congress to help out farmers, set asside 3 million acres for National parks, and an additional 2.3 million acres for National forests. Also, Hoover cracked down on private government oil leases, and instructed the Justice department and the IRS to pursue gansters for tax evasion. This eventually lead to the prosecution of who may have been the greatest gangster to ever live, Al Capone. Some other progressive reforms that Hoover introduced were: Increase of veterans' hospitals, insured saftey of all children no matter what race or gender, an anti-trust department, prison reform, and he also proposed a federal Department of Education.

Hoover's relationship with congres was pretty average. To start off, he had republican majority in both the house and senat, and toward the end of his term, the house was democratic and the senate remained reblican. They worked together to pass legislation which helped the farmers like the Agricultural marketing act. They also worked together to raise the tariff to 60%, the highest ever. The Hawley-Smoot tariff lead America into isolationism because in response to the tariff, Europe made a high tariff of their own, so there was no international trading between the US and Europe. This thus lead to an American buildup of goods, which was the number one cause of the great deppression. During the great deppression, Hoover and congress, like all in the face of anarchy, had some disputes. They all argued on how to solve the proplems of depression, who was better, etc. They did however enact the Reconstruction Finance Corporation which helped out banks, railroads, and other big companies in ned of immediate assistance.

The most positive outcome of the Hoover presidency was the move back toward progressivism. By setting aside National park and forest land, he helped conserve the country's resources. Also, he helped catch Al Capone by cracking down on tax evasionists, and he contributed to busting trusts. By far the thing with the most negative outcome was the Hawley-Smoot tariff. This is one of the reasons tha the great depression happened. By raising the tariff to 60%, and not allowing European goods to be sold at a competitiive price, Europe in turn put up a hgh tariff so US goods couldnt be sold there. This lead to isolationism and the overproduction of american goods, which caused the financial crash. Maybe if we had not been so cocky, the crash never would have happened, but oh well.

The most lasting impact of the president was the Hawley-Smoot tariff. It shows that isolationism is not the answer, and that our nation's economy is intertwined with other nation's economies. Much like today's crisis, the whole world was in a depression, not just us. From here on out, future presidents now know the dangers of implanting a very high tariff.

In conclusion, although Hoover was president during the depression, he was still a good one. He brought back progressive reforms, and busted law obeyors. No one could have forseen the failure of the high tariff, and it was not all his fault. Hoover deserves a B because he did all he could, and tried his best during the presidency.

Bibliography

 "American President: Herbert Clark Hoover: Domestic Affairs." Miller Center of Public Affairs. Web. 04 Dec. 2009. <[] >. 

"Herbert Hoover." Herbert Hoover. Wikipedia, 2 Dec. 2009. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. <[]>.

"Herbert Hoover." Herbert Hoover. White House.gov. Web. 3 Dec. 2009. [].