What were the main features of Roosevelt’s 1932 election campaign?
By the year 1932, President Herbert Hoover’s presidency was in crisis. Despite the many steps he had taken, such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, to halt the effects of the Great Depression, the country’s economy had slumped all the more. The relief efforts that had been set up by the government also failed to take full effect. On top of this, Hoover believed that while people should not starve (he was infact a passionate humanitarian), he also believed that relief should largely be a local effort. Unfortunately, it was badly underestimated just how much government help was needed, and many of the American people felt badly let down by Hoover, whom they saw as sacrificing them on the grounds of upholding an outdated “laissez-faire” attitude.
Many modern historians, however, believe that traditional views of Hoover’s presidency have been too critical. Hoover himself cannot be said to be responsible for the Great Depression, and he did try to combat it. The effects of the Depression had been terrible. There were several harsh instantaneous results: about 15 million people were unemployed, a third of the total railroad mileage went bankrupt, over 5500 banks closed, and about one forth of all farms were lost due to the non-payment of taxes or mortgages. This was far worse than anything America had dealt with before, and the country was ill equipped to deal with it. Although in hindsight his actions could have been more drastic, Hoover simply reacted to depression as previous leaders before him. When he saw that his efforts were not too much effect, he tried taking greater action. In February 1932 the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was formed. This was formed in order to lend up to two billion dollars to large companies. It was hoped that by pumping money into companies, they would in turn spend it on employees. This technique, known as “pump-priming” was widely criticised however, because of the wasted funds that arose from it. Not only that, but large firms could simply not be trusted to take are of their employees. As a result, the Depression did not seem to be getting any better. Widespread unemployment and poverty meant that Hoover became very unpopular, and blamed for the hardships. Hoover’s attitude also did nothing to help his popularity. To many it seemed that he shifted blame to elsewhere.
