How Did Fdr Respond To The Great Depression

The great depression and its consequences on the American spirit played a major role in the development of both global and domestic politics throughout the 1930’s leading into the Second World War. The national response to economic collapse was heavily characterized by the political positions of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt centering on recovery. Although stabilization and full recovery was not achieved until the industrial mobilization leading into the war, the policies, commissions, and actions taken by each president during the depression had a profound effect on the American public. Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt’s responses both utilized the federal governments more than any other respective presidencies, however, Hoover’s lassiez-faire economic outlook and presidential optimism coupled with ineffective recovery systems only exacerbated the current problems, in contrast, FDR’s New Deal was similarly ineffective in causing recovery, but FDR did lay the frame work for stability and created a modern welfare state whilst also preserving capitalism and uplifting the American spirit.

Well known as a lassiez-faire capitalist and a man of wealth, Hoover eventually became a villain to most Americans particularly the homeless and urban poor. Several significant economic actions taken by Hoover include, raising tariffs to protect American products, pleading with industrialists to reopen factories, and trying to cut taxes to stimulate the economy. Sadly, the high tariffs lead to an inflated price for goods, without the full support of the federal government, industrialists mostly acted within their own interests, and the recession was so potent that Americans had no income to be taxed in the first