During class, we talked a little bit about Hoover and his involvement in the Great Depression. Though we didn't talk a lot about his direct involvement, we learned that the recession wasn't his fault, but that he didn't do anything to get his country out of its situation. Well, that wasn't really the case.
President Herbert Hoover, in fact, tried too fix the economy through numerous different ways. First, Hoover founded numerous government agencies. In addition, he encouraged labor harmonization, and also supported local aid for public works. According to (https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/new-deal/resources/herbert-hoover-great-depression-and-new-deal-1931%E2%80%931933), Hoover tried to strengthen relations between government and business by stabilizing prices but still struggled to balance the budget. Furthermore, he focused on the private sector and indirect relief as a way of lifting his country out of this whole. One thing Hoover made clear in his attempt to solve this Depression was that he refused to use federal money to fix the problem. He was against forcing fixed prices, controlling businesses, or manipulating the value of currency. In the end, he was trying to avoid hints of socialism.
Personally, I see that Hoover tried to help his country by trying numerous different techniques to avoid a deeper hole. Though he was a little conservative in using federal money in this situation, he stuck to his views and attempted to resolve the problem his own way. Though it didn't help the situation, people shouldn't view his role in the Great Depression as a non- participant. He tried his best but he couldn't succeed.
Great job shining light on a feature of a historical figure that many don't know about. While Hoover is usually painted as an ineffective president, it is important, as you note, to understand that he did indeed try to mitigate the harmful effects of the Depression. More than this, at the time, the Depression was a completely new catastrophe meaning that Hoover did all he thought was needed in order to combat what many saw as just another "panic."
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