Herbert Hoover was born in 1874 and was the 31st president of the United States of America. He was the first president to be born west of the Mississippi River. He served as the United States commerce secretary in the 1920’s under the leadership of Warren Harding. During his tenure as the commerce secretary, he promoted the intervention of the government under the ideology of economic modernization. Hoover greatly believed that public-private cooperation was the only path that could be used to achieve the desired long-term growth.
He thought that the intensive intervention of the government destroyed self-reliance and individuality. However, his ideals and proponents were put to the test by the great depression. He made numerous attempts in dealing with the great depression, but his policies had little effect. The first attempt was the organization of voluntary measures that were to be undertaken by the businesses. The second attempt was the acceleration of the building of the project by the federal government, and the third attempt was the removal of people who were seen as usurpers of jobs that belonged to the Americans, which was termed as forced migration in order to deal with the rampant problem of unemployment during the depression period.
Franklin Roosevelt was born in 1882 and was the thirty-second president of the United States of America. He ascended into power at a time when the world and particularly America, was undergoing a tough economic crisis. In his efforts to deal with the great depression, Roosevelt came up with a new deal that was aimed at relieving the Americans of the problem of unemployment, and reform the banking as well as the economic systems. He initiated programs such as the Tennessee Valley Authority, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the United States Exchange Commission, which were important channels in the nation’s commerce.