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**Herbert Hoover** Born: August 11, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa Died: October 20, 1964 in New York City, New York

Political Party: Republican Term of Office: March 4, 1929- March 3, 1933 Vice President: Charles Curtis (1929-1933)

Herbert Hoover easily won the 1928 elections that were based upon the religious beliefs of the candidates and Prohibition, but his presidential term- the start of the Great Depression- would be a demoralizing stranglehold for the once popular Republican. The looming Depression struck unsuspecting the Americans who were in economic bliss and once the people started clamoring for relief and recovery, Hoover could not acquire any noticeable results. Hoover thus deserves a C+ for his presidency. He at first declined to help the suffering people but still did not pass any successful legislation when he //did// decide to help. Hoover's support of the economy-crippling Hawley-Smoot Tariff also lowered his grade, but his redeeming points come from the job-creating Hoover Dam and his start of the Good Neighbor policy. The Roaring Twenties gave Herbert Hoover an easy list of goals. The goals were mostly generic, mainly involving a desire for the American to continue to grow in the economy, education, and public health. Prohibition was the one of the main issues in the 1928 election, and Hoover sought to enforce the “holy experiment.” Contrastingly, by the time of the 1932 elections, Hoover's platform endorsed the repeal of Prohibition because it was clear that the ban was casually ignored and the liquor industry could provide some jobs. The Great Depression would have obviously changed Hoover's main goal to ending the recession. In this area, Hoover was hesitant to use the full extent of his powers due to his belief that the government should not directly aid the people. When he came to his senses, he was mostly blocked by a noncooperative Congress. Finally, Hoover also advocated for peace. He was successful in gaining goodwill from Latin America through the noninterventionist Good Neighborhood policy, but this positive was negated by troubles at home. Financially desperate veterans had marched to Washington in 1932 to demand payment of their promised bonus bill. Some were paid, but others lingered, and Hoover was forced to physically remove the hoboing veterans with military power. General Douglas MacArthur took his orders too far and injured many in the eviction process. Nonetheless, Hoover took the blame as the federal cruelties angered the country. Thus, Hoover was overall not very successful in achieving his goals. Congress and Hoover did not have a very close relationship. For the first half of the Hoover administration, the Republicans had a majority in Congress, but this changes in 1931 when lost faith resulted in an even sided Congress in the 1931 elections. Hoover did not mediate arguments in Congress and took a passive role. He was also not convincing or headstrong when he proposes his own ideas, causing many of them to be ignored. An example of disagreement can be seen from the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929. The Federal Farm Board created by the act did help, but conflict in leglislators arose when Hoover just wanted to help the business, while others wanted to directly aid individuals. Another example is when Hoover, for some strange reason, wants to tax an ailing America to lessen the federal budget deficit. He and parties of Congress bickered on who and what would be taxed, but the bill eventually passed without a clause that a side had fought for. Therefore, one way or another, a party or group of Congressman would be frustrated with Hoover so future legislation had a hard time becoming a reality. The Hoover administration's greatest deed was the construction of the Hoover Dam. Technically, Coolidge had already gotten the approval for the dam, but it was started in 1930 under Hoover's watch. The dam was beneficial in many ways. First and foremost, this public works project created much needed jobs for many unemployed Americans. The completion of the dam would mean control of the devastating floods of the Colorado River and irrigation for nearby areas. Thanks to the work of Hoover, the Hoover Dam would also provide clean energy to countless homes and businesses for generations to come. On the other hand, the Hoover administration's biggest failure is the Hawley-Smoot Tariff. Enacted to help pinched farmers, bill raised the protective tariff to an outrageous 60%! Not helping at all, the tariff did not allow the Europeans, who were both in a depression and paying debts, to make profits. The European nations were thus forced to raise their import tariffs as well so international trade was choked to a state of near death. With no one making economic gains, it became harder for any economic growth. Thus, this obscene tariff prolonged the Great Depression and immensely weakened the United States. The Hoover administration's most influential decision is the starting of the Good Neighbor policy. Latin America had been very annoyed with Yankee meddling, so Hoover's initiative to be a “good neighbor” greatly helped US-Latin America relations. Hoover gained the support of Latin America during his goodwill tour and by working to get rid of intervention policy of the Roosevelt Corollary. American troops in various Latin American countries were also promised to be withdrawn within a certain time range. Future president Franklin Delano Roosevelt would further make good use of the Good Neighbor policy to even make an alliance with Latin America against invaders (especially of the communist kind). The Good Neighbor policy created a strong partnership in the western hemisphere that would impact many of its inhabitants in the future. The United States was in a far more worse state at the end of the Hoover administration than it was at before. Obviously, the Great Depression was at its strongest, but Hoover //didn't// cause the downturn. Instead, Hoover's low grade of a C+ actually comes from his inability to react quickly and help the ailing peoples. He passed few helpful economic relief bills, partially due to the fact that he could not handle the heat in Congress. Granted, even FDR did not resolve the Depression with massive government spending, and the great Hoover Dam and Good Neighbor policy was started under Hoover. Still, Hoover could have been much more aware of the critical situation. He did what he could once he realized the enormity of the issue, but his administration was, at best, average.

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