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 into calls for direct federal intervention, establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and signing a major public works bill. Hoover is usually ranked lower than average among U.S. presidents. Hoover held a press conference on his first day in office, promising a 'new phase of press relations'. He asked the group of journalists to elect a committee to recommend improvements to the White House press conference. Hoover declined to use a spokesman, instead asking reporters to directly quote him and giving them handouts with his statements ahead of time.
n/a
n/a