Chapter 2.2 Why did Hoover fail to end the depression? Flashcards
(13 cards)
why was Hoover’s 1928 electoral campaign unpopular
- said he wanted a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage
-this was a very distant aim as unemployment spiralled upwards from 1929
-suffered from the fact he preceeded FDR
what was rugged individualism that hoover believed in
- the idea that people should be self relian ton not reliant on government financial support
early in the depression, what did Hoover believe
its cause lay outside of the USA
-after ww1, gemany was to pay reparation payments to allied governments, who owed the USA millions in war debts
-to help prevent the onset of a global depression, hoover negotiated a moratorium on inter allied war debt
what was the moratiroum
-a temporary suspension in reparation payments
how did hoover prevent the benefits of the moratorium
-smoot hawley tariff 1930
-this raised import taxes to the highest level in US history in an attempt to protect his domestic economy
-this was intended to raise prices of foreign goods and ensure that domestic producers were protected from foreign competition
what did the smoot hawley tarriff lead to
-other countries following suit and riasing their import taxes
-hoover aided the contraction rather thab expansion of the world economy
what was unemployment like during hoovers presidency
-13 million americans lost their jobs
-62% of these being out of work for more than a year
-these people had to rely on stage government help, which many states didnt even offer
what whole new vocabulary of words emerged
- hoover flags= pulled out empty pockets
-hoover blankets = newspapers people used as blankets when they were sleeping rough
-hoovervilles = shanty towns to house the unemployed who had been evicted, makeshift shacks built on wasteland
what was the reconstruction finance corporation
- the biggest U turn made by Hoover and his government
-one of the first direct attempts to get the usa out of the depression
-given $2 billion of taxpayers money to directly assist banks and insurance companies
why was the RFC only partially successful
-did prevent aa worsening of the depression
-feb-march 1932, helped 160 banks, 60 railroads and 18 mortgage companies
-however failed to encourage banks to lend more to businesses that were facing severe financial troubles
what was the 1932 emergency relief and construction act
-first massive relief programme
-a corporation was created, which had the power to give $1.5 billion to state governments to fund public works for the unemployed
-to qualify for funding, the state governments had to prove they were running out of money for unemployment relief
how can the ERCA be criticised
-journalist Lippmann stated that $2 billion would be enough to help just 10% of america’s unemployed
-by mid 1932, the economic depression was so deep, and business and public confidence so low that a dramatic change would be required if the economic crisis was to end
how can it be summarised that hoover failed to deal with the economic depression
-cost him the presidency of november 1933
-the smoot hawley tariff made things worse, but the US was already in a fragile state before the WSC
