How important were the economic policies of Hoover in bringing about the boom?

How important were the economic policies of Hoover in bringing about the boom?

 

Intro:

Define boom

 

Period of prosperity, in this essay I will discuss how important Hoovers role with his economic policies played in bringing about this period of prosperity, the 1920s boom.

 

 

Middle:

 

Yes, policies of Hoover as secretary pf commerce ,were very important.

 

WHYYY? What were his policies?

–         Hoovers policies can be summed up as laissez faire. Up to 1920, the main economic philosophy was laissez faire, means minimum gov intervention a let it happen approach

–         During this period of time he was secretary of commerce from 1921-28 under presidents haring and Coolidge

–         Historian Robert Sobel described “a doctrinaire laissez faire ideologue”.

–         Economic policies of Hoover associated with this rejection of interventionism as When Wilson had been president the country rejected his idealistic interventionism and so Hoover was more isolationist

–         Such as protectionist policies which taxed imports

–         1921 emergency tariff act stop gap act n then immediately went to 1922 act

–         1922 Fordney mc cumber tariff , inhibits foreign trade and encourages home trade and so in the short term contributory to the boom as money was bein injected into usa economy and not any world trade  BUT THIS ALSO CONTRIBUTED TO DEPRESSION

–         “return to normalcy” Harding 1921

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOWEVER

 

No, weren’t very important as his policies were limited

 

HOW?

 

What historians disagreed?

 

ALSO

 

Hoover not very important coz there were other more significant factors that bought boom

 

LIKE?

 

Conclude

 

Say the extent to which Hoovers economic policies were important in bringing the boom

 

 

 

 

 Laissez-faire was, roughly, the traditional policy in American depressions before 1929. The laissez-faire precedent was set in America’s first great depression, 1819, when the federal government’s only act was to ease terms of payment for its own land debtors. President Van Buren also set a staunch laissez-faire course, in the Panic of 1837. Subsequent federal governments followed a similar path, the chief sinners being state governments which periodically permitted insolvent banks to continue in operation without paying their obligations. In the 1920-1921 depression, government intervened to a greater extent, but wage rates were permitted to fall, and government expenditures and taxes were reduced. And this depression was over in one year-in what Dr. Benjamin M. Anderson has called “our last natural recovery to full employment.”