Final answer:
President Hoover's response to the Great Depression was inadequate due to his belief in American individualism and resistance to government intervention.
Step-by-step explanation:
President Hoover's response to the Great Depression was largely inadequate due to his belief in American individualism and his resistance to government intervention. Initially, Hoover called for Americans to find their own paths to recovery and relied on voluntary business measures to stimulate the economy, which proved ineffective in stemming the tide of the Depression. He later established federal relief programs like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) and signed the Emergency Relief Act, but these measures were too limited in scope and failed to provide significant help to the majority of Americans.