As a kid, I grew up with the impression that one of the worst president's in the history of the US was Herbert Hoover. I guess I just accepted it with the facts that the US was in the Great Depression and all of the poverty that is accompanied with it and such, but now...
Now, I'm not quite as firm on that belief, if at all. In my HOTA class (History of the Americas for IB), my teacher told me that Hoover had a lot of misdirected hate at him for stuff that was almost completely out of his control. I've been told of him and his staff working almost twenty-four hours a day in an attempt to correct the country. I've read stories of him at speeches, and having someone nearby with a chair in case he collapsed from exhaustion. So, now I want to know what you think/know.
Also, I know that he advocated in keeping the government out of the economy, and didn't attempt a Keynesian approach to the depression either, so I'm split with my opinions. Thanks in advance.
I'm currently writing an essay about the switch of black voters from the Republican party to the Democratic party so I've had to do a fair bit of research on one aspect of this subject.
This is only one piece of the puzzle, but for the 1928 election, the majority of black Americans voted for Hoover (the Republican candidate). However, by the 1932 election, the majority of black Americans voted for Franklin Roosevelt (a Democrat). Prior to the 1932 election, the majority of black Americans had always voted for the Republican party, which was attributed to the legacy of Lincoln.
During Hoover's presidency, he enacted a strategic policy, sometimes called the "Lily White movement," which aimed at securing southern support for the Republican party. Basically, Hoover implemented this policy by getting rid of all the black people who held leadership positions within the Republican party in the South, and filling the positions with white people. (Note: He was not the first Republican to use the Lily-White movement.) This led to a lot of dissatisfaction for black voters who were used to voting Republican, because they felt that Hoover had let them down. (Of course, as I mentioned, this is only one piece of the puzzle, because the majority of voters were still white and many of them couldn't have cared less about Hoover's policies regarding African Americans.)
In addition, Hoover led the country into the Great Depression, causing doubt among Americans for whether or not Hoover (and the Republican Party) were the best party to run the country especially since, as you mentioned, he advocated for keeping the government out of the economy and didn't take a Keynesian approach. FDR would later go on to create the New Deal which helped many Americans during the Great Depression. He would also go on to win 4 elections, showing the distrust that Americans held for the Republican party.
Sources: Garcia, George F. - Black Disaffection From the Republican Party During the Presidency of Herbert Hoover, 1928-1932
Topping, Simon. Lincoln’s Lost Legacy - The Republican Party and the African American Vote 1928-1952.