Presidency of Herbert Hoover

Presidency of Herbert Hoover March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933
Cabinet	See list
Party	Republican
Election	1928
Seat	White House
← Calvin Coolidge Franklin D. Roosevelt →
Seal of the president (1894–1945)
Library website

This article is part of a series about Herbert Hoover
Early life Electoral history Legacy Bibliography Secretary of Commerce Career as Secretary 31st President of the United States Presidency timeline Transition Inauguration Executive actions Great Depression in the United States Wall Street Crash of 1929 Federal Farm Board Hoover Dam Hoover Moratorium Roosevelt transition Appointments Cabinet Judiciary Supreme Court candidates Presidential campaigns 1920 primaries convention 1928 primaries convention 1932 primaries convention 1936 Convention 1940 Convention Post-presidency Presidential library Death
v t e

Herbert Hoover's tenure as the 31st president of the United States began on his inauguration on March 4, 1929, and ended on March 4, 1933. Hoover, a Republican, took office after a landslide victory in the 1928 presidential election over Democrat Al Smith of New York. His presidency ended following his defeat in the 1932 presidential election by Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Hoover was the third straight Republican president, and he retained many of the previous administration's policies and personnel, including Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Mellon. Hoover favored policies in which government, business, and labor worked together to achieve economic prosperity, but he generally opposed a direct role for the federal government in the economy. Seeking to address an ongoing farm crisis, Hoover signed the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929. Despite growing public resistance to Prohibition, Hoover increased federal enforcement of Prohibition. In foreign affairs, Hoover favored non-interventionism in Latin America and pursued disarmament policies with the London Naval Treaty.

When the Wall Street Crash of 1929 struck less than eight months after he took office, Hoover tried to combat the ensuing Great Depression by reassuring public confidence and working with business leaders and local government. He also approved the Smoot–Hawley Tariff of 1930, which raised tariff rates and reduced international trade. As the depression worsened in 1931 and 1932, Hoover reluctantly gave in to calls for direct federal intervention, establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and signing a major public works bill. At the same time, he signed the Revenue Act of 1932, which sought to maintain a balanced budget by raising taxes. However, the economy did not recover, and as a result, Hoover suffered an overwhelming defeat in the 1932 election. Hoover is usually ranked lower than average among U.S. presidents.