- NEW!
by Scott D - ex-QnA on September 5th, 2008
From what sort of revisional history textbook did you get that notion?
Those were Mellon's ideas, not Hoover's.
The general consensus among historians is that Hoover's defeat in the 1932 election was caused primarily by failure to end the Depression, compounded by opposition to Prohibition. The accelerant was the insanity of increasing taxes at a time when taxes should have been reduced. The ensuing conflagration spread across the globe. Smooth-Hawley and the ensuing trade wars only complicated matters.
Hoover's other electoral liabilities were his overpowering lack of charisma and his incredibly poor political skills. He was his own worst enemy.
Then along came FDR and his collectivist plans which actually PROLONGED the Great Depression. World War II was actually FDR's saving grace, in a matter of speaking.
Learn more here ...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Hoover#Great_Depression
What name was given to the Great Plains farmlands stripped of topsoil by drought& wind?
by Answerbag Staff on June 9th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
How wealthy are the Rothschilds?
by ToLo on December 6th, 2010
| 1 person likes this
If another "Great Depression" were to occur during your lifetime, how would your life change from the way it is today?
by Chicago Lady on May 11th, 2011
| 4 people like this
i scored 837 for 1200...which is a total waste...ifeel so useless now this is my final school year exam and?
by jakalot on May 8th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
How could Obama really believe New-Deal type spending and regulation would not make a New-Deal type prolonged depression?
by More2Be on July 10th, 2011
| 1 person likes this
You're reading Would the Herbert Hoover Administration's laissez-faire policies have ended the Great Depression without war, if given a chance? In shorter time?
Your favorite Q&A site is on Facebook! Become a fan to connect with the ever-growing community of Answerbaggers, share your thoughts and find out what Answerbag's up to next!
Comments
Lose the attitude, Scott.
It's a neutral enough question. I asked about "Hoover's Administration" for a reason. I'm well aware of Hoover's history. And Mellon the banker. It was the Wikipedia article that you've cited that prompted me to ask the question in the first place. I just wanted to see if there were any die-hard trickle-down Reaganites still out there that believe a laissez-faire government would be effective in a depression economy if given a chance. In your last two lines you finally gave me an opinion. Thank you.
by Friendo on September 5th, 2008
I cop an attitude because of the incredible volume of revisional textbooks that pass for "knowledge" for much of the past half century.
Free markets MUST be allowed to correct themselves -- by themselves. The fact remains that we cannot legislate our way out of a economic recession, financial panic, or depression. Government manipulation of markets has ALWAYS led us into greater dependence on more government, which leads to only more grief and oppression.
If America fails to learn from the colossal failures of FDR's New Deal, then we truly deserve an even more horrific outcome than a mere ten year depression and yet another World War. We may not be as fortunate ... this time.
Less government intervention and lower taxation would have dramatically foreshortened the Great Depression, although nothing would have avoided our involvement in WWII.
Oh, and please thank the cowardly drive-by down-rater for me, would ya? ;-)
by Scott D - ex-QnA on October 5th, 2008