President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover was a republican who had won the presidential election of 1928 by an overwhelmingly majority. After just eight months of his presidency, the stock market crashed. After the crash, Hoover ordered federal departments to hurry along with construction projects. He cut $160 million in taxes and doubled the amount of money spent on public works. Hoover is criticized for his refusal to authorize large-scale relief programs, unwillingness to use federal dollars to stimulate the economy, and his failure to recognize the nature of the Great Depression. Hoover and his chief advisers thought the depression would only be temporary. Hoover believed that American success and continued prosperity depended on limited government influence on the economic system. This is a big reason Hoover never got involved much with helping Americans during the depression. Instead Hoover urged charities and local governments to help the poor and unemployed. One of the most important institutions Hoover's administration created was the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). He established it in 1932 and it was based upon the War Finance Corporation from World War One. The RFC was designed to make government credit available to banks, railroads, insurance companies, and other businesses. The RFC did save many banks from closing, but nothing to speed up recovery. In 1932 the Emergency Relief Act came into effect. It authorized the RFC to lend $300 million to states that had no money left in their relief funds. Less than $30 million had actually been given out by the end of 1933.
Protests
Major protests started occurring in 1932 as many Americans were feeling the desperate mood of the depression. On March 7, 1932, Communist organizers led a march of thousands of Detroit auto workers and unemployed to the Ford River Rouge factory in Dearborn. The demonstrators refused orders to turn back, so Ford-controlled police fired tear gas and bullets. They killed four people and seriously injured fifty others.
Farmers in Iowa organized the Farmer's Holiday Association. It aimed at raising prices by not selling produce. In August, around 1500 farmers in Sioux City, Iowa dumped milk and other perishable foods into ditches to try and make a point.
Bonus Army- Unemployed veterans of World War I gathering in Washington in 1932 demanding payment of service bonuses not due until 1945.
In the Spring of 1932 the Bonus Army gathered in Washington, D.C. The protest got its name from a 1924 act that promised $1000 in bonuses to every veteran in WWI. The veterans demanded immediate payment of the bonuses in cash. By the time summer rolled around, the number of protesters reached 20,000. Their lobbying convinced the House to pass a bill, but the Senate rejected it.
Farmers in Iowa organized the Farmer's Holiday Association. It aimed at raising prices by not selling produce. In August, around 1500 farmers in Sioux City, Iowa dumped milk and other perishable foods into ditches to try and make a point.
Bonus Army- Unemployed veterans of World War I gathering in Washington in 1932 demanding payment of service bonuses not due until 1945.
In the Spring of 1932 the Bonus Army gathered in Washington, D.C. The protest got its name from a 1924 act that promised $1000 in bonuses to every veteran in WWI. The veterans demanded immediate payment of the bonuses in cash. By the time summer rolled around, the number of protesters reached 20,000. Their lobbying convinced the House to pass a bill, but the Senate rejected it.