The presidency of Herbert Hoover began on March 4, 1929, when Herbert Hoover was inaugurated as President of the United States, 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. Hoover, the 31st United States president, was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. 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 into calls for direct federal intervention, establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and signing a major public works bill.