"The Great Depression called Western nations' most fundamental ideas about economic growth into question by disrupting the march of progress...governments had followed a common orthodoxy before the 1930s that prescribed adhering to the gold standard and cutting spending in hard times; yet during the depression they adopted a new orthodoxy that prescribed exactly the opposite: currency devaluation and increased public spending." (Dobbin 1)
That traditional economic policy that Dobbin referred to was, put simply, laissez faire, the gold standard and obsolete protectionism of American business. In 1930, the Hawley Smoot Act raised the tariff to its highest level ever in a desperate effort to protect American business, in a time when more trade was needed (see explanation of global issues under Causes). To put it simply, the tariff meant there were "fewer buyers for American goods, fewer sales, and ultimately fewer jobs" (Green).
Hoover also proposed a moratorium on intergovernmental debt payments, which passed Congress but because of a general lack of willingness among central bankers to abandon the gold standard, governments were unable to devalue their currency. Britain did abandon the gold standard, but other nations did not, causing markets to freeze up even further.
The general theme of Hoover's policies can be summed up as too little too late. Hoover believed in "[Using] the powers of government to cushion the situation" (Hoover, 31). Many of his late stage policies, such as the allocation of 140 billion dollars to public works, would be at home among those of the New Deal, but this late stage cushioning of the economy through government intervention was not enough to save his reputation as a President who sat idly by while Rome burned. Hoover laments his not acting sooner in a private letter to Governor Emerson of Illinois:
"No matter what improvement there may be in our economic situation during the fall, we shall un-questionably [sic] have considerable continuance of destitution over the winter. I am wondering if it would not be advisable to us to get the machinery of our country earlier action than last year in order that there may be provision for funds substantially made before the winter arrives" (Hoover).
The sentiment of the American people with regards to Hoover's presidency, as many squatted in Hoovervilles and used "Hoover's blankets" for warmth, is perhaps best summed up by this excerpt from a speech made by Franklin Roosevelt on 31 October 1936, in which he condemns not just Hoover but the entirety of the laissez faire government that presided over the 1920s, and
cautions against its return in the upcoming election:
"For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent." (millercenter.org)
That traditional economic policy that Dobbin referred to was, put simply, laissez faire, the gold standard and obsolete protectionism of American business. In 1930, the Hawley Smoot Act raised the tariff to its highest level ever in a desperate effort to protect American business, in a time when more trade was needed (see explanation of global issues under Causes). To put it simply, the tariff meant there were "fewer buyers for American goods, fewer sales, and ultimately fewer jobs" (Green).
Hoover also proposed a moratorium on intergovernmental debt payments, which passed Congress but because of a general lack of willingness among central bankers to abandon the gold standard, governments were unable to devalue their currency. Britain did abandon the gold standard, but other nations did not, causing markets to freeze up even further.
The general theme of Hoover's policies can be summed up as too little too late. Hoover believed in "[Using] the powers of government to cushion the situation" (Hoover, 31). Many of his late stage policies, such as the allocation of 140 billion dollars to public works, would be at home among those of the New Deal, but this late stage cushioning of the economy through government intervention was not enough to save his reputation as a President who sat idly by while Rome burned. Hoover laments his not acting sooner in a private letter to Governor Emerson of Illinois:
"No matter what improvement there may be in our economic situation during the fall, we shall un-questionably [sic] have considerable continuance of destitution over the winter. I am wondering if it would not be advisable to us to get the machinery of our country earlier action than last year in order that there may be provision for funds substantially made before the winter arrives" (Hoover).
The sentiment of the American people with regards to Hoover's presidency, as many squatted in Hoovervilles and used "Hoover's blankets" for warmth, is perhaps best summed up by this excerpt from a speech made by Franklin Roosevelt on 31 October 1936, in which he condemns not just Hoover but the entirety of the laissez faire government that presided over the 1920s, and
cautions against its return in the upcoming election:
"For twelve years this Nation was afflicted with hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most indifferent." (millercenter.org)