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Amanda Chan AP United States History ** Herbert Hoover – Globalization **

Born August 10, 1874 Died October 20, 1964 Political Party: Republican

Term: 1929 to 1933

Vice President: Charles Curtis

Throughout American history, globalization plays a significant role in the United State’s affairs, and during Herbert’s presidency, globalization is healthy and alive. Hoover is the president to declare the “Good Neighbor” policy with Latin America, so he visits various parts of Latin America to promise that he will reduce military and political interference with them. He follows through with these promises when he removes American troops from Nicaragua and promises to do with same with Haiti. This helped establish friendly relations with the Latin American countries for future years. Hoover was also a supporter of disarmament. The President sent Secretary of State Stimson to meet with British and Japanese representatives to the London Naval Conference, where an agreement was made to limit the size of naval cruisers. This was an important step towards keeping the peace that America yearned for.
 * Thematic Context **

An inflexible, Stanford-educated conservative, Hoover simply was the wrong president for the time. As the depression set forth, Hoover allowed for a few public works and lowered taxes, but he refused to interfere with the free market; his refusal to reject conservative business practice and belief that “rugged individualism” would hoist American economy only sent the economy further into a spiral of poverty. Indeed, the poor, little villages that the homeless had to set up were named “Hoovervilles” in the spirit of Hoover’s inability to see the severity of the situation. Hoover’s passage of the Hawley-Smooth Tariff solidified his position as a depression-coaxer, as it hurt American trade. Hoover receives a C.
 * Thesis **

In his Inaugural Address, Hoover states that he wants to instill justice and liberty back into the federal government. Hoover did not have much judiciary reform, as he became preoccupied with other matters. His speech also states, “The larger purpose of our economic thought should be to establish more firmly stability and security of business and employment and thereby remove poverty still further from our borders.” While Hoover did try to help business by limiting government interference, he did not remove poverty from America. In fact, poverty became rampant during his presidency due to the onset of the Great Depression.
 * Goals **

Hoover’s relationship with Congress was moderately bad. Many politicians distrusted him, despite that both houses were controlled by Republicans. Hoover avoided open debate with Congress, and eventually, nobody in Congress would communicate with him. It was a cold shoulder for Hoover, and the Republican party started forming divisions within itself. The lack of communication between the President and Congress only made the Depression worse.
 * Relationship With Congress **

Herbert Hoover’s smartest move was the London Naval Conference. This meeting marked the end of many years of extreme controversy over naval ships and it set the precedent for when countries would agree to limit the size of ships in the future. Though the resulting treaty wasn’t perfect, it successfully made the agreeing countries content for the short-time being.
 * Positive Outcome **

Hoover’s most unbeneficial move was the Hawley-Smooth Tariff. This tariff would raise trade taxes to a record high in a sad attempt to protect American business. In reality, it hurt the economy of Europe who couldn’t make the money to pay their war debts back and responded by raising their own trade tariffs drastically high. This also worsened the Depression.
 * Negative Outcome **

Hoover’s treatment of the Bonus Army, a band of Veterans who demanded to be paid for “saving democracy” and had to be forcibly removed by federal troops, was Hoover’s most conspicuous moment during his presidency. He treated the veterans rudely, and he received much public backlash for it. Indeed, future politicians know to treat veterans nicely, or else they face the harsh wrath of the public.
 * Influential Decision **

Hoover receives a C, because his policies did not help America’s dark financial situation. He made a bad decision when it came to the Hawley-Smooth Tariff and how to handle the Bonus Army. His rigid adherence to conservative principles was unhealthy for America, and in turn, the federal government was limited in what it could do for the people.a
 * Conclusion **