The two presidents during the Great Depression were Herbert Hoover, the 31st president of the United States, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected right after Hoover.
In 1928, Hoover was elected president, but eight months later the stock market crash of 1929 occurred, ushering in the Great Depression. Hoover’s policies could not overcome the economic destruction and despair that resulted, and he lost his reelection bid in 1932.
Hoover was elected president in 1928, and just eight months later the stock market crash occurred, resulting in what we know as the Great Depression. Hoover is known to have not done much to better the situation as he could not overcome the economic destruction and despair. He "cowered" under the huge responsibility" that was thrown onto his shoulders, just eight months after becoming president. Because of this, he lost his re-election bid in 1932.
He tried his best, however. Hoover's plan to tackle the Great Depression was to keep money in people's pockets by keeping them working. He didn't want to cause more problems than there were already. He contacted many business leaders and urged them not to cut the wages of their workers or kick them out. Hoover wanted to make sure the unemployment rate didn't go down significantly, even in such difficult times. In 1932, he backed the establishment of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a lending company intended to help banks and other industries in their way of recovery. Unfortunately, none of these ideas worked in practice and Hoover had to watch helplessly as businesses closed their doors and Americans sank into poverty. The most critical mistake, however, was signing the Smoot-Hawley Act. This raised taxes on imports and imports and prompted foreign nations to turn their backs on American-made goods when the country desperately needed sales. This made people hate Hoover even more.
Following the stock market crash of 1929, Roosevelt sensed an opportunity and begun his run for presidency to relieve the country of its poverty. Being an upbeat, positive and charming man, helped him defeat Herbert Hoover in November 1932, who was on a mission to be re-elected into presidency.
Roosevelt's positive approach and personality were just what the people needed during the Great Depression. They were glad to be led by such a person. As president, he created the New Deal. It was not a "blueprint of action" as he once said himself. It was a method they would try - and if it didn't work out they would try something else and admit to the mistake. Honesty is always the way to go in such serious matters.
On March 12, 1933, Roosevelt delivered the first of his radio “fireside chats.” He spoke about the banking crisis and the actions he and the Congress had taken to address it. During his time as president, Roosevelt delivered 30 of these radio chats. All of these were done in reassuring tones and plain-spoken language, as not to scare anyone or make them think it wasn't possible.
The Emergency Banking Act of 1933, passed through Congress on March 9, 1933, three days after FDR declared a national bank holiday, mixed with the Federal Reserve's commitment to delivering unlimited quantities of currency to reopened banks, created 100 percent deposit insurance. This helped the bank institutions and the people deal with the Great Depression and economic destruction.
