An Essential Question is a no-one-right-answer question. It is the question you will support from your reading and research. The question to ponder for the current unit is:
Read Hoover's quote at the bottom of the blog. Was he correct? Or, did President Franklin Roosevelt effectively address the Great Depression with the New Deal programs? Click on Comments and post your response below.
9 comments:
This type of Darwin like "survival of the fittest" technique that Hoover wanted to use was effective only to a point. It was true that some businesses would much rather handle their own responsibilities rather than have to deal with government interference. In the end, the businesses, no matter how much they said they wanted to be independent of the government, relied on the government for help. Hoover's "hands off" approach to handling businesses failed. The laissez-faire method failed because not all industries will produce a single business that has a monopoly, thus the balance is thrown off, it seems. I also believe that FDR was only correct to a point. His New Deal programs were effective for a while, but they failed after a while, too. FDR at least had the right idea in his head. He wanted to help America to get back on its feet, but he didn't go about it the right way. I'm no expert when it comes to politics, so I can't give a nice plan that the President SHOULD have followed, but I can say this: Neither FDR nor Hoover were completely correct in his actions or words.
"Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement." Herbert Hoover said this during the greatest economic downfall in history. The country was falling apart and he decided to have a "hands off" approach to handling business. He pretty much just sat there while the country was in a depression and to me that was wrong. For the first hundred days of FDR's presidency he worked hard to try to get this country out of that depression. Even though his New Deal wasn't the greatest, but unlike Hoover, he was trying. Eventually entering WWII was the answer to ending the depression.
Heather is correct in stating that neither president was completely in the right. Hoover did not believe that he should get into the business aspect of the economy. His take on the nation was every man for himself. By keeping his hands out of others' problems, he did not drag the country into debt, he was indeed the cause of Hoovervilles, Hoover flags, and Hoover blankets though. Roosevelt on the other hand, wanted to save the nation. He spent money on things like the New Deal, to uplift the nation. In turn he just made the U.S. fall deep into a national debt. For the people FDR's plans worked but for the nation's future he did not think ahead.
Colleen
Hoover's quote was a very wrong one, people do need the government to lead them down the right path. If people were to govern themselves, then only some businesses would flourish and others would wither away, and the banks would have no money; that is exactly what happened to start the Great Depression, and if Hoover would have stepped in and take action, then I believe that the Great Depression would not have happened at all.
I also think that FDR made an effort to get Americans working and spending again, but he only helped to a certain point like Heather said neither President was correct in his actions, only FDR made them a little better, making him a whole lot better than Hoover, and advancing America towards a better way of living.
- Just Hannah
Economic depression cannot be cured by legislative action or executive pronouncement. Economic wounds must be healed by the action of the cells of the economic body.This is true, but without the help of the government, we would have never escaped the Great Depression. President Roosevelt's actions during the Great Depression were very successful in a certain aspect. Roosevelt did as much as he possibly could do to help American citizens duing this hard time. Not everyone was helped, but they received some relief. By creating the WPA(works progress administration), Roosevelt put millions of people who were previously unemployed, back to work. By closing all of the banks for a week, Roosevelt stabalized the financial security of people's money, and many of the other agencies helped improve America's stability during the Geat Depression. With President Hoover, there was little government involvement. He spent lots of money on costly projects that could have waited to be built later. I will give him credit for helping businesses and banks, but in the end, none of his strategies worked and they put Americans in a worse situation. So, it is right to say that economic wounds can only be healed by the cells of the economic body, but the government cannnot stand around and watch either. They must help support ther country.
- Brent
Herbert Hoovers Lassiez-faire outlook on the depression showed his lazy lacsidasical side. It further proves that he was an added sore to the depression. Instead of Hoover trying to help his country out of depression he thought the businesses and the people should get themsleves out. His statement, "Economic depression cannot be cured by legaslative action or executive pronouncement." was wrong! When FDR was voted into office the first move he made was a new deal for the american people. Helping the people and suffered businesses. Creating the alaphabet soup, relief recovery, and reform programs to get the american people out of the depression. That was the key to the end of the depression, if Hoover had a more positive outlook for helping the people the depression wouldn't have lasted as long.
-Lauren
Franklin D. Roosevelt was a great President but only in theory. His efforts to pull the citizens out of the depression changed the way America has been governed ever since his New Deal Policy. He led over the creation of more unconstitutional domestic actions by the federal government than any President before him. His plans to employee citizens worked but only for a short period. The programs like; the Civil Works Administrations, Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Works Progress Administrations helped to employee Americans but there were still millions of people who were not being effected by the governments help. His programs could not reach everybody to pull him or her out of the depression completely. The way he changed America, was by his long-term plans that were heading straight to socialism. Social Security and Welfare, Roosevelt two main long-term programs, made American people depend on the Government for the first time. Because of his programs, he put America in debt and we have stayed in debt ever since. Social Security that was supposed to last will not even do that on in the future. Roosevelt’s efforts alone did not bring American out of the depression; it was Adolph Hitler who brought about World War II that created jobs for the Americans, which pulled the people of the depression. This is why he did not effectively address the Great Depression with the New Deal programs and why he is a hero of modern day socialism.
Ken
Brent is right by saying that the people during the Great Depression would never have survived the harsh times if it had not been for the works of President Roosevelt.
Hoover believed too much in laissez-faire and he really didnt intervene at all when it came to the nation's economic problems. He prefered to lay back and watch the country struggle and try to get up on its two feet again without him moving a finger. Roosevelt actually set up many types of programs to help unemployed people get jobs by creating the C.C.C. (Civilian Conservation Corps) and the W.P.A. (Works Progress Admin.) that created many jobs constructing public buildings and services. Hoover believed that if the consumers spent more, this would fix the financial problems that the country was having. Theoretically, this sounds right, but how many years would it have taken for that to occur? Roosevelt had a plan that took place immediately, and this did bring relief to all of the homeless and unemployed, unlike Hoover's point of view.
~Andrea
President Hoover was not correct in his quote. He believed that the people would get themselves out of the depression, and that they didn't need aid from the government. Although, in some ways, the people did get themselves into debt, the government is there to help the people. Roosevelt did effectively address the Depression with his New Deal programs. With these programs he was able to help get many people jobs so they could feed their families. His programs didn't completely solve the problem of the Depression, but it set the path for recovery.
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