Hoover had completely underestimated the length and the severity of the Great Depression. It wasn’t the normal cycle of ‘boom and bust’, but instead a complete collapse in the economy.

Timing was not in his favor, however. Seven months later, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression took hold. Hoover's various attempts to reassure a panicked public, by policy and ...

Seven months later the nation was rocked by the onset of the Great Depression. As the Depression proved to be more than a temporary economic downturn, Hoover resisted pressure to take a more ...