Question

Match each intended function in responding to the market crisis to the corresponding Hoover Administration federal program or action.

1) Provided financial assistance to banks and businesses
2) Provided some local aid, but was not sufficient to deal with widespread poverty
3) Aided state and national relief agencies and organizations
4) Projected a strong, confident image to the public
5) Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Answer 1

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Emergency Relief and Construction Act were two of Hoover's main programs to address the Great Depression, aiming to provide financial assistance to banks and some aid to local communities respectively. However, they were insufficient in dealing with the crisis, lacked direct relief for individuals, and their effectiveness was limited. Option 5 is correct answer.

Step-by-step explanation:

Hoover Administration's Federal Programs for Market Crisis

The Hoover Administration implemented several programs to respond to the market crisis during the Great Depression. Here’s how they match up with the intended functions you've provided:

1. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) - This program was designed to provide financial assistance to banks and businesses, with the hopes of restoring confidence in the nation's financial institutions.
2. Emergency Relief and Construction Act - Provided some local aid through public works projects, but was insufficient in addressing the widespread poverty due to its limitations on which types of projects could be funded.
3. Emergency Relief Act - Aided state and national relief agencies, although it was less substantial compared to future federal programs.
4. The combination of these programs and actions - Hoover's endorsement of public works, tax cuts, and a call for voluntary business measures aimed to project a strong, confident image to the public but was ultimately criticized for being too little, too late.

While initiatives like the RFC and Emergency Relief and Construction Act were historic in their attempt to use federal resources to mitigate the economic crisis, they failed to provide direct and immediate relief to the individuals most affected by the Depression.

Overall, the effectiveness of these programs was limited. The aid was often not accessible to smaller banks and individuals who needed it the most, thus failing to recover the economy as intended. Criticism of Hoover's approach was a significant factor in the election of 1932, leading to the eventual rise of the New Deal programs under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.