Compare and contrasts the presidencies of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover
During the early 1920s, Americans became increasingly weary from the fighting in World War 1 and they were disillusioned by a failure to create a new world order by President Wilson. As a result of the growing calls for stability popular support for the Republican party’s plans grew since they promised the weary nation a return to normalcy. The republicans stopped promising progressive reforms in operations of the government and instead they their focus shifted to settling into the traditional ways of running the government. In 1920, close to eight years under the authority of a progressive Democrat government, Americans voters decided to elect a conservative Republican government who was to become the first of the decade’s tenure of three republican presidents. The major beneficiaries of the Republican government were big business owners and those who favored isolationism. Harding, Coolidge and Hoover were the three Republican presidents who ruled the US for the decade starting 1920 onwards.
In terms of similarities, there are few things that were common for the presidencies of Harding, Coolidge and Hoover. One of the major similarities between these three former US presidents is that they were all conservatives who preferred that the governments interferes less in matters of the economy and on the lives of the people. For instance, Harding talked about concentrating efforts of his government towards a return to normalcy after World War 1. This meant that the government would make efforts to pull back most of the programs that were put in place during the war. President Coolidge greatly supported big business and according to him less government intervention would enable business to grow faster. Lastly, President Hoover believed in rugged individualism which according to him meant self-reliance in economic matters. This meant that people and businesses would have to rely on themselves rather than depending on the government.
The differences between the three Presidents can be summarized as follows. Harding worn the election in 1920 through a landslide win on the promise that he would return the nation to normalcy. A return to normalcy was the major business of Republicans in the 1920s. in addition to being in support of big businesses, Harding’s presidency was known for its massive corruption which was exposed fully after Harding died in while still in office in 1923. Many of the government officials who served under him were forced out of office and in fact some of them narrowly escaped prison time. One of the most prominent scandals of Harding’s presidency was the Teapot Dome scandal which involved the then Secretary of Interior named Albert B. Fall who secretly leased the government oil reserves to two business operators and accepted $ 400, 000 kick backs from the deal. After the death of Harding, his vice president, Calvin Coolidge was placed as the president according to the US constitution and in 1924 he was elected as president. In contrast to Harding, Coolidge ran a fairly scandal-free government. He was a staunch pro-business president who opposed attempts by the government to regulate or interfere with matters of the economy. Herbert Hoover became the third Republican president of the decade by riding the tide of economic prosperity which earned him victory n the election of 1928. He took a slightly different stand towards big business than his predecessors. He believed that capitalism produced considerable social obligations but according to him voluntarism was the method of fulfilling such obligations rather than government coercion. In my opinion the most beneficial president to the country was Hoover due to freeing up the economy while the one who president who had the most negative impact was Harding due to the massive corruption in government during his tenure. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Question two: Discuss Hoover’s approach to The Great Depression
On October 24, 1929 there was a historic crash of the stock market which happened barely eight months into the tuner of President Herbert Hoover. According to Hoover, when the stock market crashed this as just another phase of the recession and it would come to pass. This was also the opinion of most economists and business authorities. Hoover would afterwards spend his entire presidency struggling to ward of consequences of the stock market crash. This period in the history of the world came to be known as The Great Depression. The depression was characterized by a global economic meltdown and over speculations that lead to the worst economic crisis in the history of the US.
For a long time Hoover had been a supporter of private and public collaborations and according to him this was the best way to establish long-term economic growth for a healthy and prosperous nation. He also opposed heave involvement of the government in business matters because it would lead to dependency on government which could cripple self-reliance which was an important element of a strong America. Unfortunately his efforts failed as a result of the severity of The Great Depression. Hoover formed new government agencies to address specific problems of the depression, he supported labor rights and harmony with business operators, he encouraged business and the government to stabilizes prices and he tried to maintain a balance in the federal government which would be an idea that cost him dearly.
Hoover felt that the solution to the depression lay in indirect reliefs from the government, the private sector and the sourcing of funds outside the state. Unfortunately, the depression worsened which demanded more government intervention which Hoover refused to allow so as to prevent a movement towards socialism. Although Hoover supported giving aid to banks he did not approve of direct aid to citizens. As a result he would emerge to the public as an uncaring man who would allow the whole nation to sink into extreme poverty before releasing available federal money to help them. Hoover did not succeed in convincing the public that giving aid to citizens would in the long term be destructive and would destroy the foundation of the government hence resulting in state financial deficits and disorder. His adamant attitude was the major factor in him being defeated by Franklin Roosevelt in the election of 1932.
Hoover reacted to The Great Depression by pressurizing business authorities to avoid laying off workers or reducing wages. He wanted prices of common commodities to stabilize. Hoover invested some money in public works initiatives such as ship construction. He also approved the building of the Hoover Dam in 1920. His imitative to reduce unemployment rates were mostly successful which lead to a decrease in the national unemployment rates. However, his innovative to prevent federal aid to citizens were mostly unsuccessful which lead him from being reelected. In my opinion President Hoover did all he could do o save the nation even though he took some stance which were hugely unpopular but ultimately beneficial to the nation.
Question three: Describe Roosevelt’s New Deal
Franklin D. Roosevelt replaced Herbert Hoover as president of the US in 1932 as a result of unpopular measures that Hoover had put in place to deal with The Great Depression. According to economists, the Great Depression was a series of four back to back depressions which all had different causes. However, the first of the depressions started just like any other financial depression as a result of the government making credit and money too easily the result of which was overinvestment. The subsequent series of depressions were caused by uncalled for government efforts to correct the first one.
Roosevelt just like his predecessor Hoover increased government spending without increasing taxes which lead to huge deficits in the budget. It is believed by most economists that the effect of their deficits made the Great Depression longer. Roosevelt popularly referred to his big time spending as The New Deal.
Both Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt were presidents during the Great Depression. They increased government spending without increasing taxes, thereby creating huge budget deficits. Many economists say their deficits made the Great Depression longer. Roosevelt called his big-spending, The New Deal. One of the effects of The New Deal was the creation of many new agencies by the government. As a result the government became much bigger than before, so did its spending. The new agencies consumed a huge amount of tax dollars and if the tax dollars had remained in the pockets of the people, the people would have had more to spend on the things that they actually needed. Roosevelt and his new system of government really did an injustice by taking the tax dollars out of the common mans pocket into the pockets of the bureaucrats. Many economists believe this is what made the Great Depression last longer than expected.
Roosevelt was a great politician who really connected greatly to the people of American in a very difficult economic time. It is important to note that the New Deal was not Roosevelt’s idea. The plan was in actual sense devised by a brain trust which was made up of economic advisors, businessmen and leaders of industry who understood how the economy worked. Roosevelt just labeled the plan and introduced it to Congress and the public. The deal as formulated concentrated on three key areas: Relief which provided food aid and jobs to those who really needed it by 1933; Reform which was meant to change laws and regulate the country’s economy so as to prevent future depressions and Recovery which helped preserve the major industries and key economic sectors that were needed to survive the Depression and later on rebuild the economy.
In my opinion the most effective of these was reform which has enabled the nation to prevent the occurrence of future great depressions and recovery which has helped protect the key industries and economic sectors which enabled the nation to survive the great depression and facilitated rebuilding of the economy. The two facets of the New Deal have positively impacted the US enabling it to regain its strong economic footing after the Great Depression.
Question four: Describe how the American people dealt with the war on the home front
In many ways the first world way as a total war for the people of America. Even before the US declared war on Germany in 1917, over 90 percent of Americans were in favor of building up of the armed forces. When America officially entered the way there was a great outpouring of patriotism. As a result in the rise in patriotism, many US citizens volunteered to serve in the military. However, their numbers were not enough to build up the strong military needed to fight in the war. President Wilson called for all males between twenty one and thirty one years to volunteer for military service.
On the home front, purchasing of war bonds or saving stamps was one of the most popular way to support the war. By buying the bonds or savings stamps, citizens’ lend money to their government. The money was to be paid back after the war with interest. Another way to support the war was by growing and conserving food. All American citizens including city dwellers and children were required to raise food and not waste any of it. Planting a garden was a sign of patriotism and leaving food on plate was greatly disapproved. Beginning May to December 1918 sugar was rationed and as a result of these efforts, America produced four times as much food in 1918 than in the previous years. Food preservation efforts were also very successful. While some citizens chose to dry the food, the main method of preserving it was through canning which was mostly carried out in canning clubs.
State owned factories and mines were involved in heavy efforts to support the way. Manganese, pyrites and chromium production was intensified to produce the raw materials required for military munitions and equipment. Textile factories all across the country produce clothes and tents for the army while some coastal towns were used for ship making during the war. All existing charitable organizations and almost all American churches contributed towards the war efforts. When the war began, volunteers swamped the offices of Red Cross seeking for ways to contribute towards the war. Red Cross sent some people to work in the fields as rescuers and first aiders while others were sent to base camp hospitals while some civilians were taught how to give first aid assistance to war casualties.
The YMCA was also actively involved in home front efforts towards the war. It operated huts at home and abroad where service men would take refuge and recuperate from the hostilities of the war. It also recruited railroad builders, mechanics and other skilled workers to go abroad to play a supportive role to the military. The children in America worked just as hard as adults and played their part in contributing towards the war. Boy scouts held patriotic rallies together with the liberty loan drivers. The woodcraft girls distributed pledge cards for food and entered patriots into a completion for growing the largest crop of potatoes. Girl guides involved themselves in all those activities and even sold war bonds; wrapped Christmas presents for soldiers and made scrapbooks for hospitals.