Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover was the 31st president of the United States. He was in office during the Great Depression. Most of the down falls, due to the Great Depression, were blamed on President Hoover by most of the working class in the 1920's. Although Hoover was regularly criticized for his laissez-faire approach to the Depression, in his memoirs, Hoover claims that he rejected Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's suggested "leave-it-alone" approach, and called many business leaders to Washington to urge them not to lay off workers or cut wages. In 1931 Hoover issued the Hoover Moratorium, calling for a one-year halt in reparation payments by Germany to France and in the payment of Allied war debts to the United States. The plan was met with much opposition, especially from France, who saw significant losses to Germany during World War I. The Moratorium did little to ease economic declines. I can not determine if Hoover did cause the Great Depression to worsen; however, I can admit he did try to come up with reasonable theories to ease the transition such as the RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation) or the trickle -down economy. The RFC's initial goal was to provide government-secured loans to financial institutions, railroads and farmers. The RFC had minimal impact at the time because it was too little too late.