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Herbert Hoover
Historical figureUnited States1874-1964

Herbert Hoover

31st President of the United States (1929-1933) · U.S. Secretary of Commerce

Engineer and relief organizer who became the 31st US president in 1929, just before the Great Depression, and is remembered for a cautious response built on voluntary action.

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Profile on 12 axes10 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Herbert Hoover, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+50
    PublicPrivate

    Defended private enterprise and individual effort, as set out in his 1922 book American Individualism.

  2. 02Markets+20
    PlannedFree

    Favoured voluntary cooperation between businesses over direct regulation, yet he set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a state lender for banks and firms. The score leans mildly toward free markets.

  3. 03Welfare+35
    SharedSelf-reliant

    Held back from federal relief paid straight to individuals, and relied on voluntary effort, public works and loans to states. Scored toward self-reliance.

  4. 04Authority-35
    DemocraticStrong leader

    Preferred to work through commissions, Congress and voluntary agreements instead of using more executive power.

  5. 05Security+15
    LibertyOrder

    Enforced Prohibition. In 1932 he ordered Bonus Army marchers cleared from federal buildings, though the Army went beyond his orders. He had earlier backed their right to protest.

  6. 06Structure-20
    LocalCentral

    Sent what direct aid he allowed through state governments, in keeping with his belief in local responsibility.

  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional

    The sources used show no position on family or social norms, so this axis is null.

  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious

    A Quaker, but the sources used show no program on religion in public life, so this axis is null.

  9. 09Technology-30
    EmbraceCaution

    A trained engineer who liked efficiency and big public works, including the Boulder Canyon project that became Hoover Dam.

  10. 10Culture+35
    MulticulturalNational identity

    His Depression-era response included the Mexican Repatriation, which pushed out hundreds of thousands of people of Mexican descent, many of them US citizens.

  11. 11Trade+60
    GlobalProtected

    Signed the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff, which raised import duties, although he had earlier doubted the case for high tariffs.

  12. 12Foreign policy-40
    CooperationStrength

    Worked on naval disarmament, called for a pause in war debt payments in 1931 and promised less US military meddling in Latin America.

2 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Herbert Hoover?

Herbert Hoover was born in Iowa in 1874 and lost both parents young. He studied geology at Stanford and made a fortune as a mining engineer. In the First World War he ran food relief for Belgium, and he later headed the aid effort across Europe. He served as Secretary of Commerce for Presidents Harding and Coolidge, then won the White House in 1928. The stock market crashed in 1929 and the Depression followed. Hoover tried public works, farm support and emergency loans, but he resisted giving federal money straight to people. Franklin Roosevelt beat him heavily in 1932. Later he chaired commissions on government reorganization for Presidents Truman and Eisenhower.

Political views

  • Wrote about the importance of the individual in American life in his 1922 book American Individualism.Source: millercenter.org
  • Set up the Federal Farm Board to encourage farmers' cooperatives rather than direct subsidies.Source: millercenter.org
  • Backed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a government body that lent money to banks and businesses in the Depression.Source: millercenter.org
  • Gave way only a little on direct aid. A 1932 law paid for public works and sent relief funds to state governments.Source: millercenter.org
  • Signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, which raised duties on farm goods and manufactured goods alike.Source: millercenter.org
  • Asked in 1931 for a one-year pause in payments on war debts between governments.Source: millercenter.org
  • Said the United States would interfere less in Latin America, and worked for naval disarmament.Source: millercenter.org

Legacy

For decades Hoover was blamed for a slow and weak reaction to the Depression, a picture fixed by the shantytowns called Hoovervilles. Many historians now say he did more than that image suggests. His public works, emergency lending and farm programs pointed ahead to parts of the New Deal. Critics on the right say his tariff and his interventions made the slump worse, and most economists think Smoot-Hawley did little good. The violent clearing of the Bonus Army in 1932 and the Mexican Repatriation also hurt his name. Admirers stress his humanitarian work in Europe after the First World War, which helped feed millions.

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Herbert Hoover: questions

Was Herbert Hoover a conservative?

He was a Republican who believed in private business, voluntary cooperation and limited federal relief. But he also backed big public works and set up government lenders, so he was not a strict small-government figure.

Did Hoover cause the Great Depression?

No. The crash came months into his term, and its causes were broad. Critics say his tariff and slow relief made things worse. Defenders note that he did more than his image suggests, and that some of his steps led into the New Deal.

What were the Hoovervilles?

They were shantytowns built by jobless and homeless Americans in the early 1930s. People named them after Hoover because many blamed him for the hardship of the Depression.

Sources