25.2 President Hoover’s Response

1. Hoover’s Philosophy & Approach

• Believed in limited government and rugged individualism.

• Opposed direct federal aid; thought handouts would destroy initiative and character.

• Urged Americans to tighten belts and businesses to voluntarily maintain employment.

• Programs for relief were small-scale, highly specific, barely helping millions.

• Personal background shaped beliefs: poor → Stanford → engineer → wealthy → hard work = moral fiber + national strength.

• Left office with one of the lowest approval ratings in U.S. history.

2. Hoover’s Early Reaction to the Crash (1929–1931)

• After Black Tuesday (Oct 1929): reassured the public “The worst is behind us.”

• Warned President Coolidge about stock speculation; encouraged the Federal Reserve to raise rates, but avoided public panic warnings.

• Relied on voluntary industrial agreements:

  • Industrialists to maintain wages.

  • Railroads/utilities promised new construction.

  • Labor leaders held off wage demands.

• Congress passed $160M tax cut to boost incomes.

• Early efforts were praised but failed to stop economic decline.

3. Limited Government Programs

• PECE → POUR: assisted state & private charities (Red Cross, YMCA, Salvation Army). No direct aid.

• Hoover personally donated ~$25k/year and raised $500k for child welfare.

• Congress tried direct aid:

  • $60M drought relief → only $47M (no food).

  • $375M Federal Emergency Relief Bill → defeated; Hoover opposed it.

• 1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC):

  • $2B to banks & financial institutions, small towns mostly excluded.

• Emergency Relief & Construction Act: $1.5B for public works; limited to self-paying projects & skilled workers.

• Outcome: well-intentioned programs, but most Americans still suffered.

4. Public Anger & Protests

• Hoover became symbol of suffering:

  • Hoovervilles = shantytowns

  • Hoover blankets = newspapers for warmth

  • Hoover flags = empty pockets turned inside out

• Strikes & labor unrest:

  • 80% auto workers lost jobs

  • Ford Hunger March (1932): 3,000 workers marched 9 miles → police fired → 4 dead, 60+ injured, 50 arrested

• Farm protests (Farm Holiday Association):

  • Demanded higher farm prices & gov’t purchase of surpluses

  • Tactics: barricades, attacking nonmembers, “penny auctions,” threatening judges

  • At least one death, protests declined after FDR election

• Public anger focused on Hoover’s refusal to provide direct relief, not causing the Depression.

5. Bonus Army & Hoover’s Final Blow (1932)

• ~15,000 WWI veterans marched for early bonuses due 1945.

• Set up camps in Anacostia Flats, stayed nearly 2 months.

• Senate rejected request → Hoover ordered police → fired into crowd (2 veterans killed).

• Hoover escalated → General MacArthur, Eisenhower, Patton forcibly removed veterans.

• Result: shantytown burned, dozens injured, 12-week-old infant killed.

• Public outrage cemented Hoover’s unpopularity, presidency effectively over by summer 1932.

Timeline of Key Events