Napolean Bonaparte once stated, "A leader is a merchant of hope." Hoover and Roosevelt had very different views on how to handle the Great Depression. Hoover preferred “rugged individualism” and FDR preferred “helping hand” philosophies. Hoover believed in helping businesses in the hope that this support would create a trickle-down impact that would lead to investment and more jobs. FDR, on the other hand, wanted to provide jobs to people to increase confidence and correct the failures of some economic institutions, leading to a bubble scenario. It is ironic that Hoover knew what it felt like to suffer poverty as a child, yet FDR better handled the task of reassuring citizens that he was the man who could lead the nation out of its crisis. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the man to turn to. FDR is the president who gave hope to the citizens of the United States during the Great Depression and gave them a reason to believe that everything would be okay. One of Hoover's great mistakes was the acts he took in "attempting" to help the United States. Herbert Hoover is known as the president who allowed the United States to continue sliding into the worst depression ever. Although Hoover took some action, it was too little, too late. Hoover intervened after the stock market crash, but the acts passed by Congress and signed by Hoover were the worst kind of intervention. They made the problem worse. The most infamous of these is known as the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Raising tariffs at the time was the worst thing they could have done to cure a depression. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff would surely have worsened the Depression and stifled international trade. Other acts passed during the Hoover administration had similar effects, raising prices or keeping them artificially high when they should have fallen. Furthermore, his Agricultural Marketing Act had little impact on the prospects of American farmers. Hoover obviously handled the Depression the wrong way and, in effect, led the nation into an even greater crisis. The economic crisis that hit the United States in the late 1920s was all-encompassing. Having both domestic and international causes and effects, the Depression affected nearly every part of the American economy. This revealed many serious structural weaknesses which led to the pump hi...... middle of paper ...... g which involved the government dumping a huge amount of money into the faltering economy to achieve a scenario of bubble. His leadership of the Democratic Party transformed it into a political vehicle for American liberalism. In both peacetime and war his impact on the office of president was unprecedented. In Roosevelt's 12-year tenure, strong executive leadership became a critical part of the U.S. government. He made the office of president the center of diplomatic initiative and the fulcrum of internal reform. Although Franklin Delano Roosevelt may have made some mistakes, his advantages far exceeded those of Hovoer. The most important fact is that FDR gave people hope in a time of economic crisis. After Roosevelt's legacy, there was an unspoken standard for incoming presidents, following in FDR's footsteps. When you say Roosevelt's name, you will think of him with affection and a light of respect. Hoover was simply unable to match Roosevelt's enthusiasm and charismatic nature. Roosevelt was, in fact, a leader who distributed hope. Bibliography 1) “Pursuit of happiness”. Time Magazine October 1939 Time Magazine Archives. April 25.