Apush Dbq 1984

816 Words4 Pages
Despite starting on opposite sides of the political spectrum, the proposed statement that President Herbert Hoover was a conservative and President Franklin D Roosevelt was a liberal is largely accurate; evident in their policies toward dealing with the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover won the presidential election in 1928, right before the beginning of the Great Depression. Contrary to the conservative policies Hoover enforced during his presidency; Hoover’s campaign was largely focused on his more liberal ideologies, such as avoiding a laissez faire economic system and regulating business (Doc A). Hoover’s initial liberal agenda appealed to the public and helped him win in 1928. However, when the stock market crashed in 1929, President Hoover was faced with the challenges of helping the United States recover from a severe economic depression. The Great Depression served as a turning point in Hoover’s presidency because his policies are what made him infamous. Hoover was a believer that the federal government should not provide direct relief to citizens in order to avoid people relying of government money to get by. As a result, Hoover stated in a statement to the press that private, state and local government are responsible for providing relief to the public (Doc C). Hoover’s assertions accurately portray the conservative ideals of the federal government adopting a laissez faire policy towards the economy. In addition to encouraging a laissez faire attitude, Hoover hesitate din passing legislation to bring about reform and relief to the economy and citizens who lived in squalor. Again, President Hoover emphasizes that it is the responsibility of private, state and local government to pass legislation pertaining to helping individual citizens (Doc B). Furthermore, Hoover sympathized with businesses rather than the common man, a commonplace in the right
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