Final answer:
The Republican Party, particularly during President Herbert Hoover's administration, was seen as the party of business and blamed for the Depression. Criticism was based on their pro-business stance and the belief that their policies contributed to economic hardship.
Step-by-step explanation:
The party seen as the party of business and often blamed for the economic downturn during the Depression Era was the Republican Party. At the helm of the Republican party during the onset of the Great Depression was President Herbert Hoover.
The pro-business policies and perceived inaction in the face of economic crisis led to widespread criticism of the Republican leadership. The Republicans were associated with the prosperity of the 1920s, and thus as the economy crumbled, they bore the brunt of the blame.
This sentiment was further fueled by the marketing efforts of the Democratic Party which coined terms like "Hoover flags" to symbolize the widespread poverty and directly pin the economic hardship on Hoover and his party.
During the 1932 election, frustration with the Hoover administration and the Republican Party was evident amongst the American public.
Given that this was a time of limited government intervention, the criticism of Hoover's failure to adequately address the economic decline could be seen in both a context of genuine policy failure and the traditional hands-off approach of the time.
Despite his efforts, which included some early forms of federal intervention, many felt it was too little, too late. The Democratic Party capitalized on this sentiment, leading to Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in the 1932 presidential election.