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Do you agree with President Hoover’s decisions during the Great Depression? Why or why not?

User Seek Addo
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2 Answers

7 votes

Final answer:

Assessing President Hoover's decisions during the Great Depression is subjective. He expanded public works and enacted tax cuts but his policies are contested for being insufficient and delayed. The effectiveness of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation is a central point of debate in evaluating his presidency.

Step-by-step explanation:

Whether one agrees with President Hoover's decisions during the Great Depression depends on their perspective on economic policy and intervention. Hoover's approach was characterized by a belief in rugged individualism and minimal government intervention. However, faced with the crisis of the Great Depression, he took actions to combat economic decline. Public works programs were expanded and he lobbied for a significant tax cut. Furthermore, Hoover's efforts led to the creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which could issue loans to businesses to stimulate economic recovery.

On the one hand, supporters might argue that these measures were steps towards moderating the economic crisis without fully abandoning his principles. On the other hand, critics contend that Hoover's actions were too little and too late, failing to provide direct aid to suffering individuals and being inadequate to reverse the economy's downward spiral. The pros and cons of Hoover's policies are often the core of the debates regarding the effectiveness of his Presidency during the economic turmoil of the Great Depression.

User Iokanaan Iokan
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6.3k points
9 votes

Answer: No because

Explanation: Hoover's response to the Great Depression was the Smoot-Hawley tariff which rose tariffs on over 20,000 products. ... Hoover was nicknamed "Do nothing" by the Democrats, they blamed him for sticking to Laissez faire economics, but this accusation was wrong as he pushed for more state intervention which eventually failed.

User Motoku
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