Clint Tanner HST 203=2C TTh 1-2=3A20pm.

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover compared


Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt=2C and Herbert Hoover are best classified
on opposite ends of the liberal=2Fconservative spectrum.  President Hoovers
actions can be described as conservative to say the least=2C in his 
initial handling of the great depression=2C he took a =22hands off=22 approach.
He felt the free market economy would correct the problems society was 
facing.  Franklin D. Roosevelt took a quite different approach towards 
the Depression=2C during his first =22Hundred Days=22 he proposed many new 
ideas=2C and passed more acts in his first one-hundred days than any other 
president has in history.  His straight forward approach of tackling the 
issues=2C and directing economic well-being in society were definitely liberal.  

Roosevelt=27s first action upon entering as president=2C was to establish 
what today we call=2C the =22Bank Holiday=22.  Roosevelt shut down all banks 
in the country so they could be examined=2C and then be deemed fit to 
reopen.  This caused a panic in America that was quickly calmed by 
Roosevelt=27s =22fireside chats=22=2C which were a series of discussions in 
which Roosevelt soothed the public and tried to reassure them that the 
banking system was safe=2C and the temporary shutdown was merely to 
ensure that safety.  His discussions were a success=2C and after them saw 
a =241 billion dollars return to the federal banking system.  Quickly 
after this he began to go to work on his =22New Deal=22=2C which provided 
many acts =28some unconstitutional=29=2C that would establish many programs=2C 
some of which still exist today.  Some of the most important were the 
Glass-Steagall Banking Act=2C which provided the FDIC=2C the Securities 
Exchange Act=2C which policed the stock market=2C and the Social 
Security Act were some of the legacies of his policies.  Hoover 
also attempted to restore public faith in the economy early in 
his presidency days=3B his efforts brought about little success.  His 
=22rugged-individualism=22 won the hearts of the voters against Al Smith=2C 
but unfortunately his actions did not bring about the change the country 
needed.  In the mid-term elections following his admittance to president=2C 
the house was won by the democrats.  This made Hoover=27s job even more 
difficult.  Unfortunately Hoover=27s presidency fell victim to the Great 
Depression=2C and Americans of the time blamed him for the current despair 
of the economy and nation.  Homeless and unemployed Americans established 
communities on the edges of larger cities=2C that were referred to as 
=22Hoovervilles.=22  This shows the general feelings of Americans towards 
Hoover and his policies towards the end of his presidency.

The election of 1932 pitted Herbert Hoover against Franklin D. Roosevelt=2C
and due to the overwhelming feelings towards Hoover and his actions 
=28or lack there of=29 Roosevelt won in a landslide.  He also became the 
first democratic president in the last 12 years of American politics.  
The press treated Roosevelt favorably and kept his disability from 
polio=2C which had left him barely able to walk even with the help of 
crutches and leg braces=2C hidden from the public for the most part.  
They would turn off their camera=27s while the president stepped to or 
down from his podium.  Hoover on the other hand was a well known 
success story.  He was a self-made man=2C who began his life as an 
orphan and worked his way to become a millionaire.  Hoover could 
relate with the common man=2C but unfortunately could not please him 
during his presidency.  

Unfortunately the blame of the Great Depression is associated with 
Hoover=2C and equally the solution to the Great Depression is credited 
to Roosevelt.  Neither president is fully to blame or praise for their 
actions in the handling of the U.S. economy during this time period.  
In addition both presidents did what they felt necessary to turn the 
economy around=2C even if it meant going against their original values 
and beliefs.  Hoover started by saying that any interference by the U.S.
Government in the economy could only further hurt the economy instead of 
help it. As the Great Depression continued to spiral downhill=2C he switched 
his stance and began trying to employ a slight government expenditure to 
increase employment in such fields as construction.  Franklin 
Roosevelt=27s second =22New Deal=22 came about after growing criticisms 
from both the right and left wing politicians.  Roosevelt openly 
challenged big business=2C and adopted a tax scheme similar to that 
proposed by Huey Long.  Both presidents served in the depression=2C but 
Roosevelt is often viewed as the =22savior=22 of the economy in the Great 
Depression=2C when in actuality World War II should receive the credit 
as the solution to the Great Depression.  

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