Worst Presidents: Herbert Hoover (1929-1933)
Herbert Hoover, the 31st president, and Richard Nixon, the 37th, share the ninth spot for entirely different kinds of failings. And both had offsetting qualities and achievements that keep them off the 10-worst list of some major rankings.
Hoover, elected on the eve of the Great Depression, came to the office with the skills of a consummate technocrat and manager. The Iowa native and Stanford-educated engineer ran massive relief operations in Europe both during and after World War I. He was commerce secretary under Harding and Calvin Coolidge.
Once the Depression set in, he lowered taxes and started public works projects to create jobs, but he steadfastly resisted outright relief.
Hoover's rigid adherence to conservative principles may not have been his greatest problem. A poor communicator, he came across as mean-spirited and uncaring. The homeless dubbed their make-shift shanty towns Hoovervilles.
Perhaps his single greatest policy blunder was supporting and signing into law a a tariff act that fueled international trade wars and made the Depression even worse. But style points alone would have cost him the election against FDR.
For all his good qualities, it is fair to say that Hoover failed to rise to the greatest challenge of his time.
Reader Comments
edwards rant
he raised taxes because he had the conservative view that the budget should be balanced and not go off the gold standard mate ps calm down
Joy Clark you don't have a clue
Have you ever heard of the Revenue Act of 1932? It doubled the income tax and raised the top rate to 64%!!!! Yet you repeat the mantra that "Cutting taxes in not the only thing Conservatives value". Learn about Hoover before spouting off nonsense of how "he believed the market would naturally self-correct". Hoover was a progressive who believed in the engineering of society, and he supported Theodore Roosevelt during his time. Hoover believed that laissez-faire capitalism was outdated, and Calvin Coolidge and Warren Harding, who had much more respect for the free market, usually REJECTED Hoover's advice. Hoover bailed out states for them to give aid to people. He also told businesses not to cut their wages, right after the 1929 crash, because he thought high wages caused prosperity.
Your statement that Hoover "did nothing to prevent further economic losses because he believed the market would naturally self-correct" is a total myth (I'll give you the benefit of doubt and not call it a lie). Hoover did a lot of things, and what he did made the economy WORSE!!! We've had many presidents, such as Van Buren and Harding, who rejected government intervention in depressions, but Hoover was not one of them. And guess what: Neither Van Buren's nor Harding's depressions were as bad!!!!! Those depressions are hardly remembered in the scheme of history because those presidents allowed prices to fall!!!
Hoover Was Indeed a Conservative
Sorry Edward, but Hoover was absolutely a conservative. He governed when the economy was deteriorating, but did nothing to prevent further economic losses because he believed the market would naturally self-correct, and that government intervention would be harmful. Hoover was unwilling to give direct federal aid to workers displaced by the Depression due to his belief that such assistance would destroy character and initiative. Later Hoover, when negotiating failed, willing to allow the federal government to step in to help companies, but still not individuals. You know, the conservative love of big business but not the little guy. Cutting taxes in not the only thing Conservatives value.
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