Researched for class project.
Research:
- Hoover was a strong believer in laissez-faire and is criticized a lot for it during the Depression.
- Hoover didn't do anything for the people during the Depression. Feared that too much intervention by the government would destroy individuality and self-reliance, which he considered to be important American values.
- Blamed for most of the Depression.
- In his memoirs, he claims that he rejected Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon's suggested "leave-it-alone" approach, and called many business leaders to Washington to urge them not to lay off workers or cut wages, but others contradict that saying he accounted for the 2/3 drop in domestic product over the 2 years that followed.
- Some say if he had acted more, the Great Depression could've simply been a bad recession.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover#Great_Depression
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