Napoleon Bonaparte once said: “A leader is a merchant of hope. » Hoover and Roosevelt had very different views on how to deal with the Great Depression. Hoover preferred “rugged individualism” and FDR preferred “helping hand” philosophies. Hoover believed in helping businesses in the hopes that this support would create spinoffs that would lead to investment and more jobs. FDR, on the other hand, wanted to provide people with jobs to increase confidence and correct the failures of certain economic institutions, leading to a bubble scenario. It's ironic that Hoover knew what it felt like to suffer in poverty as a child, but FDR was more successful in reassuring citizens that he was the man who could lead the nation out of its crisis . Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the man to turn to. FDR was the president who gave hope to the citizens of the United States during the Great Depression and gave them a reason to believe that everything would be okay. One of Hoover's big mistakes was the actions he took to "try" to help the United States. Herbert Hoover is known as the president who allowed the United States to continue to sink into the worst depression in its history. Although Hoover took action, it was too little, too late. Hoover did intervene after the stock market crash, but the laws passed by Congress and signed by Hoover were the worst kind of intervention. They made the problem worse. The most infamous of these is known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Raising tariffs at that time was the worst thing they could have done to cure a depression. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff was sure to deepen the Depression and stifle international trade. Other laws passed during the Hoover administration had similar effects, either raising prices or artificially keeping them high when they should have fallen. Additionally, his Agricultural Marketing Act has had little impact on the prospects of American farmers. Hoover clearly handled the Depression the wrong way and actually plunged the country into an even greater crisis. The economic crisis that hit the United States in the late 1920s was global. Having both domestic and international causes and effects, the Great Depression affected almost every part of the American economy. This exposed many serious structural weaknesses that resulted in a high-pressure pump that involved the government pouring huge sums of money into a faltering economy to achieve a bubble scenario. His leadership of the Democratic Party made it a political vehicle for American liberalism. In peacetime and wartime, his impact on the office of president was unprecedented. During Roosevelt's 12 years in office, strong executive leadership became a fundamental part of the United States government. He made the office of president the center of diplomatic initiative and the center of domestic reform. Although Franklin Delano Roosevelt may have made some mistakes, his advantages far outweighed those of Hovoer. The most important fact is that FDR gave people hope during times of economic crisis. After Roosevelt's legacy, there was an unspoken standard for new presidents, following in FDR's footsteps. When we say the name of Roosevelt, we think of him with tenderness and respect. Hoover simply was not able to match Roosevelt's enthusiasm and charisma. Roosevelt was indeed a leader of hope. Bibliography 1) “In Pursuit of Happiness”. Time Magazine October 1939 Time Magazine Archives. 25.