33. Politics of Boom and Bust Pt 2: 764-78
President Herbert Hoover “Hoo but Hoover?” Catholic, urban NY Gov. Al Smith nominted by Dems Radio? Hoover the perfect candidate, poor, orphan, Stanford, mining engineer, small town, philanthropist Hoover in a landslide, even in the South
Hoover as President People should take care of themselves Hard hit farmers offered Agricultural Marketing Act—coops, and Farm Board—loans and surplus buying Farmers just producing too much Hawley-Smoot Tariff raised tariffs even more, foreign govts react against American farms More and more isolationistic nations
Crash! Speculative bubble crating inflated “paper” profits British increase interest rates One scare encourages more to sell, encouraging more to sell… no buyers, prices tank “Black Tuesday” in October Industry failure means layoffs
Unemployment causes unemployment! People lose their jobs People have less money to spend People buy fewer things
Why the Depression Overproduction in farm and factory Money in hands of only wealthy Overexpansion of credit Economic problems in Europe Drought
End for Hoover Did try some programs Received little support from Democratic Congress Looks even worse when he has to throw out the “Bonus Army” (vets looking for their bonuses taking over Wash DC
Hoover catch all Hoover blankets, Hoover flag, Hoover meal, Hooverville Tried Reconstruction Finance Corporation to bring in money for companies—trickle down economics (prime the pump) “Millionaires dole?” Did go for some public works projects—Hoover Dam $2.25 billion
Foreign concerns Japan took Manchuria No real response from US, not a member of L of Nations, Stimson Doctrine said we wouldn’t recognize new possessions as Japanese Japanese go on to bomb Shanghai “Good Neighbor” policy, says less aggression to Latin America