Question

How did President Hoover and President Roosevelt differ in their approach towards dealing with the Great Depression?

Answer 1

Hint: The former believed state intervention would be a shift towards socialism and hence felt that help should be dispensed on a voluntary basis. The latter had a more considerate program, known as the three Rs.

Complete answer:
HOOVER
- He wanted to retain American individualism and capitalism, and his conservative politics led him to believe that his experience as an engineer will lend him efficiency during his work as President.
- He focused on 6 areas, these included: agriculture, central expenditure, wages, taxes, immigration and international trade. He called on the business community to help resurrect the economy.
- He expected local support, by asking locals to work harder and lend each other resources.

ROOSEVELT
- New Deal was the legislation by which he ensured government intervention was foremost. His success was honoured by him being elected four times from 1933 to 1945.
- Roosevelt was in power when the Emergency Banking Act of 1933 was passed, which helped establish the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).
- Relief for the poor, recovery of the economy and reform to make sure long-term changes to prevent future tragedies are the three Rs of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Note: Nicknamed FDR, Roosevelt was the cousin of Teddy Roosevelt, who was also the President of the USA. Hoover in 1930 had famously declared, ‘the worst is behind us’. This was not an extension of blind idealism but an indicator of his belief that America was already on the road to recovery.