“

In the soil poisoned by speculation grew those ugly weeds of waste, exploitation, and abuse of financial power. In this overproduction and speculative mania we marched with the rest of the whole world.  Republican Party nomination speech

Republican Party nomination speech

”

Legacy

Hoover was president for less than a year when the stock market was seized by the most devastating crash in American history, plunging the U.S. into the period known as the Great Depression and initiating an international economic crisis. The consequences of the crash were devastating as businesses went bankrupt, banks failed, and millions became unemployed. People lost their homes, farmers lost their land, and many lost their life savings. By the end of 1930 more than 1,300 banks had closed across the country. Ultimately the Great Depression witnessed the failure of 10,000 banks and the loss of $2 billion in deposits. Nearly five million Americans were out of work by January 1931. Unfortunately, the economic situation continued to deteriorate and by 1933 nearly 13 million people were unemployed.

In the days following the crash, Hoover announced his intention to maintain a balanced budget, but to also cut taxes and increase public works spending as a means of providing employment. Though Hoover attempted to rally the people, he firmly believed that providing direct aid to the destitute was not the job of the federal government. Rather, he believed that local communities should take charge of administering assistance to those in need.