Herbert Hoover

1874 – 1964

Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933 across the onset and deepening of the Great Depression. His insistence that federal relief would erode self-reliance left millions of Americans without aid as unemployment rose past 25 percent, and his signing of the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act helped trigger a global trade collapse. In July 1932 he ordered the U.S. Army under General Douglas MacArthur to clear with cavalry, infantry, tanks, and tear gas the Bonus Army of Great War veterans encamped on the National Mall demanding promised pensions.

Last checked: May 10, 2026, 1:06 PM