Herbert Hoover: Statement on Public vs. Private Financing of Relief Efforts

President Hoover addressed the nation from a White House news conference on February 3, 1931, regarding concerns the Senate had about how the economic crisis of the Great Depression (1929–1939) could be solved. President Hoover did not agree with some of the sentiments from the Senate. Hoover did not believe that public funds, meaning money collected as taxes by the U.S. government, should be used to help those devastated during the Depression. He outlined how previous presidents, such as Grover Cleveland, faced similar economic downturns by turning to the compassion of unaffected Americans for assistance. He stated that in previous financial difficulties, the charitable nature of American citizens could be relied upon to help those in need. Hoover identified two main problems: drought in some parts of the country and widespread unemployment in the urban centers. President Hoover argued that private groups, such as the American Red Cross, or local governments at the county and state level were better suited to providing the required assistance. He pointed out that Americans had provided ample assistance to suffering people in other nations and that they could be counted on to do the same for their fellow Americans. Hoover believed that large-scale federal programs appropriated by Congress would stifle the “initiative, the courage, the stamina and kindliness of spirit” that marked American society.