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all'introduzione di "Gone with the Wind"President Hoover's policy.
Herbert Clark Hoover (1874 – 1964), Republican, was the 31st President of the US from 1929 to 1933 until F. D. Roosevelt’s first election. As President he had to face with the long-term problems of the Depression. He believed that the Depression was caused by various kinds of problems than the U.S. economy, and that these problems were beyond U.S. control. He also believed that the key to recovery was confidence in the economy. Factories and businesses tried to maintain confidence, and even as they shut down, Hoover continued to insist that recovery was on its way. Besides he believed that keeping high and steady wages for workers would bring recovery. He called together many business leaders and got their promise on keeping workers wages reasonable and steady. They actually kept their promise for a few months, but they soon started to drop wages. Many Americans blamed Hoover’s passive attitude for the Great Depression.
Feeling the pressure, Hoover finally began to act. The government, in an effort to create more jobs, built new public buildings, roads, parks, and dams. A Federal Emergency Committee on Employment advised local relief programs. The Hawley-Smoot tariff was passed by Congress in 1930 to protect domestic industries from foreign competitors. However, these tariffs backfired European nations which countered the tariffs by increasing their own on American goods. In 1932, Hoover set up the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which gave government credit to banks so that they could extend loans to clients. Many people felt that this measure did more to bring prosperity to the bankers rather than to the ordinary citizens.
Hoover’s efforts were not effective enough. He wanted the state and local governments to handle recovery, but unfortunately, their programmes never had enough money. Hoover believed that direct federal intervention would create a large bureaucracy. After much disapproval from the American public opinon, Hoover finally budged. He allowed state funds to provide relief for the unemployed, but this effort came too late.