Final answer:
President Hoover attempted to mitigate the effects of the Great Depression by signing the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, aiming to protect American businesses and provide economic stimulation.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the Great Depression, President Hoover implemented a variety of measures to try to help the situation. A) One significant step was the signing of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, which was intended to support American businesses by placing tariffs on imports but had the unintended consequence of reducing international trade and worsening the global depression. D) Additionally, Hoover established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which provided loans to banks and farmers in an effort to stimulate the economy. While these steps represented Hoover's attempts to address economic problems, the impacts were mixed and often criticized for not providing direct relief to the hardest-hit Americans.