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The Great Depression: Hoover Vs. Roosevelt

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From 1928-1945 America had two Presidents that had one of the hardest challenges that America faced, The Depression. The names of these two Presidents was Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt. One was blamed for the depression and the other one got America out of the depression. Herbert Hoover was born in August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. He went to college to become a mining engineer and during WWI he led relief efforts in Europe. Then after the war, he worked at the U.S. food administrator and the secretary of commerce. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born January 30, 1882 in Hyde Park, New York. He was born into a very wealthy family. He graduated from Harvard where he served as the university’s newspaper editor. After Harvard, …show more content…

The economy when he took office seemed to be really strong to be really strong but then it started going downhill. This was the start of the Great Depression and most Americans were blaming Hoover. The depression started eating up America, people were losing their jobs, money, homes, and their lives. People tried starting their lives again with Hoovervilles. They called these Shantytown because people would build there homes out of any scraps that was lying around. Then, the stock market crashed for the first time in history. People who had borrowed money to buy stocks couldn’t repay their loans. Many Americans lost their savings so they were spending less money on products. When people don’t buy the products, the workplaces started going out of business and people were losing their …show more content…

He would speak to America on the radio to help them through the depression. He would give most of his speeches on the chat due to his injury. It helped people get back to work and start their live over again. Most people referred the 1935-1936 as the Second New Deal Phase. Much of the Roosevelt administration’s legislation during this time dealt with long-term solutions to the nation’s problems. This would be the reform aspect of the New Deal. WW2 started going under way. Roosevelt went along with the mood in the nation, but by 1937, he realized the United States could no longer ignore its international responsibilities. He began to build up the army and the navy. He also pressured Japan to end its war in China. When the war broke out in Europe, Roosevelt took steps to assist Great Britain. Many questions were on the voters’ minds. They pondered the effectiveness of the New Deal and whether Americans were better off than they were four years before. Some thought perhaps the federal government had gone too far and weakened the free market system. Others questioned President Roosevelt’s leadership, wondering if he was a dictator similar to those emerging in Europe. FDR was reelected on November 3, 1940 because since America was in the depression America wanted to keep the same president to get them out of

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