President Herbert Hoover
and the Great Depression

On the right is a small excerpt from the Pathfinder review of Eugene Lyons' book, Our Unknown Ex-President (1948). The author outlined the various measures taken by the Hoover administration during the earliest years of the Great Depression in hopes that the flood waters would subside:

"He fought for banking reform laws, appropriations for public works, home-loan banks to protect farms and residences. He asked for millions for relief to be administered by state and local organizations".

"A Democratic Congress refused to heed his suggestions. An avalanche of misfortunes, including droughts, floods and world economic crises, made his positions even more difficult... In spite of these obstacles, Lyons believes that the country was well on the road to recovery in 1932 and that it was the election of Roosevelt which induced the bank panic and prolonged the Depression until World War II".

President Hoover presents his own defense in this memoir from 1952...

President Hoover rants on about FDR in this magazine article...

CLICK HERE to read about President Hoover and the Bonus Army...

Read about the Great Depression and the U.S. auto industry during the last year of the Hoover presidency...

CLICK HERE to read additional primary source articles about the Great Depression...

Available from Amazon: Our Unknown Ex-President

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