Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), America’s 31st president, took office in 1929, the year the U.S. economy plummeted into the Great Depression. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. On March 3, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a law that made "The Star-Spangled Banner," based on an 1814 poem by Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), America's national anthem.After attending Quaker schools, Hoover became part of the first class to enter Stanford University when it opened in 1891. Hoover’s reputation as a humanitarian faded from public consciousness when his administration proved unable to alleviate widespread joblessness, homelessness, and hunger in his own country during the early years of … Immediately after getting his LL.M. All Rights Reserved. However, Hoover’s response to the crisis was constrained by his conservative political philosophy.
Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa–the first U.S. president to be born west of the Mississippi River. A successful mining engineer before entering politics, the Iowa-born president was widely viewed as callous and insensitive toward the suffering of millions of desperate Americans. By the time of the 1932 presidential election, Hoover had become a deeply unpopular–even reviled–figure across much of the country. “That would have been utter ruin,” he recalled. He is the only president to date who served two nonconsecutive terms, and also the only Democratic president to win election during the period of Republican © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC.
Although his predecessors’ policies undoubtedly contributed to the crisis, which lasted over a decade, Hoover bore much of the blame in the minds of the American people.
Britannica Premium: Serving the evolving needs of knowledge seekers. History at your fingertips He believed in a limited role for government and worried that excessive federal intervention posed a threat to capitalism and individualism.
As the Depression deepened, Hoover failed to recognize the severity of the situation or leverage the power of the federal government to squarely address it.
Which U.S. first lady rescued a Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington from the White House when British troops occupied and burned Washington, D.C., in August 1814? Herbert Hoover (back) with his brother, Theodore Jesse, and his sister, Mary (called May), Button from Herbert Hoover's 1928 U.S. presidential campaign.Inauguration of Herbert Hoover, centre, flanked by portraits of Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis.Washington, D.C., police chief Major Pelham Glassford inspecting the camp of the Bonus Army during 1932.This article was most recently revised and updated by Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in a two-room, whitewashed cottage built by his father in West Branch, Iowa, a small prairie town of just 265 people. The job paid $990 a year ($19,800 in 2020) and was exempt from the draft. Herbert Hoover was the 31st president of the United States (1929–1933), whose term was notably marked by the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginnings of the Great Depression. In the late 1930s President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave him the task of investigating both foreign espionage in the United States and the activities of communists and fascists alike. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox.
He wrote articles and books outlining his conservative political views and warning about the dangers of investing too much power in the federal government. On February 10, 1899, Hoover married his college sweetheart, Lou Henry (1874-1944), and the couple had two sons, Herbert (1903-69) and Allan Henry (1907-93).Hoover’s success earned him an appointment as secretary of commerce under President Warren Harding (1865-1923), and he continued in this position under President In the U.S. presidential election of 1928, Hoover ran as the Republican Party’s nominee. He graduated four years later with a degree in geology and launched a lucrative career as a mining engineer. Promising to bring continued peace and prosperity to the nation, he carried 40 states and defeated Democratic candidate Alfred E. Smith (1873-1944), the governor of On October 24, 1929–only seven months after Hoover took office–a precipitous drop in the value of the U.S. stock market sent the economy spiraling downward and signaled the start of the Hoover undertook various measures designed to stimulate the economy, and a few of the programs he introduced became key components of later relief efforts. Carrying only six states, he was soundly defeated by Democratic candidate After leaving office, Hoover emerged as a prominent critic of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs.
He took office on August 3, 1923, following the sudden death of President Warren G. Harding The 29th U.S. president, Warren Harding (1865-1923) served in office from 1921 to 1923 before dying of an apparent heart attack.