12. Herbert Hoover Biography
Herbert Clark Hoover he was important because he
was an American politician who served as the 31st
President of the United States from 1929 to 1933
during the Great Depression.impact on the 1920 A
Republican, as Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s
he introduced Progressive Era themes of efficiency
in the business community and provided government
support for tional trade.standardization, efficiency
and interna As president from 1929 to 1933, his
ambitious programs were overwhelmed by the Great
Depression, which seemed to get worse every year
despite the increasingly large-scale interventions he
made in the economy.
13. In the First World War he built an international reputation as a
humanitarian by leading relief efforts in Belgium during the war,
and in Eastern Europe afterwards. He headed the U.S. Food
Administration during World War I. His reputation as a
Progressive businessman fighting for efficiency and elimination
of waste was built as the Secretary of Commerce 1921-28.
They all could be improved by experts who could identify the
problems and solve them. He also believed in the importance of
volunteerism and of the role of individuals in society and the
economy.
14. When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 struck less
than eight months after he took office, Hoover tried
to combat the ensuing Great Depression in the
United States with large-scale government public
works projects such as the Hoover Dam, and calls
on industry to keep wages high. He reluctantly
approved the SmootβHawley Tariff of 1930, which
sent foreign trade spiralling down. He believed it
was essential to balance the budget despite falling
tax revenue, so he raised the tax rates. The
economy kept falling, and the unemployment rate
rose to 25%, with heavy industry, mining, and
wheat and cotton farming hit especially hard. This
downward spiral, plus his support for prohibition
policies that had lost favor, set the stage for
Hoover's overwhelming defeat in 1932 by
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, who promised a
New Deal.
