Liberal Franklin D. Roosevelt vs. Conservative Herbert C. Hoover

In the first two decades of the twentieth century the national political scene reflected a growing American belief in the ideas of the Progressive movement. This movement was concerned with fundamental social and economic reforms and gained in popularity under two presidents. Yet Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson espoused two different approaches to progressive reform. And each one was able to prevail upon congress to pass legislation in keeping with his own version of the progressive dream. These two people, although they had different principles in mind, had one goal: to make changes to the nation for the better of the people and the country. Setting out to reach this goal, Roosevelt came to be a president of the common man while

People’s views on a wide range of issues are influenced or determined by the kind of foundational belief systems they hold. Therefore, the difference in the nature of opinions among individuals or groups of people alludes to the existence of distinct belief systems. In the course of history, the distinction between Liberalism and Conservatism has become more vivid particularly in the political arena where various players have expressed opposing points of view regarding the nation’s future. It is indeed undisputable that the foundational beliefs of Liberalism are diametrically opposed to those of Conservatism. This essay will give a definition of each term and describe how the two oppose each other.

Taking place in the United States between the 1890s and the 1920s, the Progressive Era was a period characterized by political reform and social activism. Due to the popularity of the Progressive ideals during this time period, American citizens elected for president candidates, such as Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, who subscribed to these ideals. Of the three Progressive presidents, Wilson was the most effective when it came to addressing the major issues of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as many reforms were enacted during his presidency, including reforms related to his “New Freedom” program, despite the controversy surrounding the majority of these reforms.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the thirty-second president of the United States, was a central figure for the United States in the 20th Century. While leading his country out of The Great Depression, he also led the nation through World War II. Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first President, led the country during the Great Depression and his policies enforced at that time eventually led to his downfall because of their inability to end the downward economic spiral. Both of these Presidents greatly contributed to the nation by using different policies and tactics that classified them as either liberal or conservative. Although there are some exceptions because of the acts passed by Hoover, the characterizations of President D.

The Great Depression quickly altered America's view of liberalism and therefore, Roosevelt can be considered a liberal and Hoover a conservative, despite the fact that they did occasionally support very similar policies. The United States experienced political shifts during the Great Depression, which are described by Arthur Schlesinger’s analysis of eras in which public objectives were placed before personal concerns. It seems that the public view of what constitutes as liberal beliefs versus what is thought to be conservative beliefs shifts in a similar way.

Following World War I, Americans were left with scarce amounts of job openings and a poor economy. Several were left fearing the communists, who the Americans believed were going to overthrow the government. This caused Americans to resent those who were not accepting to return to the “traditional” American values. With the 1920’s, there came both a rise in conservatism and liberalism, but only one was revolutionary, described by Merriam-Webster.com as,”Constituting or bringing about a major or fundamental change.” Furthermore, different presidents advocated for different political stances. Republican Presidents, Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, advocated America to have a conservative government and return to normalcy, while Republican

Compare and contrast Hoover and Roosevelt’s actions in the aftermath of the Crash of 1929. How did both administrations attempt to deal with the economic stagnation, social hardship and psychological impact of the depression? What needed to be fixed and which approach proved more successful? In your essay you should address not only the underlying economic and social problems that both administrations had to deal with and the various corrective measures they adopted, but also the underlying philosophical approaches of Hoover and Roosevelt and their supporters.

Thesis: Because the Great Depression quickly changed America's view of liberalism, Roosevelt can be considered a liberal and Hoover a conservative, despite occasionally supporting similar policies.

When Mark Twain first published The Gilded Age, there seemed to be no real discords between the Republicans and the Democrats. Both parties represented Corporate America—or a certain portion of it—although lines could be drawn between the Protestants and the Catholics, North and South, protectionists and people who believed in (or benefited from) free trade. As American politics gradually shifted from a game of the elites to ordinary people’s democracy, both parties took in more demographic groups under their wings. While it seems difficult to pinpoint when exactly the two parties evolve into what they represent today, it is generally agreed that Republicans are more conservative, Democrats are more liberal, whereas most people belong somewhere in between.

The former presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover had similar views on how the government should be, that differed from Franklin D. Roosevelt. How the presidents decided to manage the economy with their power, shows how they thought the government should be ran. President Coolidge and President Hoover had many ineffective ideas throughout their presidency, while President Roosevelt managed to change the economy. Calvin Coolidge was a republican president that believed that the government should stay away from controlling the people. He was known for not doing much to better our country; he thought it would happen naturally, so he didn’t feel the need to pressure the congress into passing legislation, and didn’t create any plans of action to benefit our country.

Contrarily before the Depression, there were signs that pointed to President Herbert Hoover becoming more conservative. Document A suggests that Herbert Hoover didn't want' do be considered strictly laissez-faire. Document A proposes that Herbert Hoover wanted to liberalism to be found not " in striving to spread bureaucracy but striving to set its bounds, " but also wanted The United States to know that, " he doesn't want to be misinterpreted as believing that the Untied States ins a free for all, or system of laissez-faire." Hoover appeared as if he was less determined to preserve the capitalistic society of the 1920's seeing that he argued that capitalism also has social obligations. However, the success of the American economy under presidents Hading and Coolidge who believed in private interest beliefs required him to make sure that the lack of intervention in the economy would be maintained. Also Hoover began to sense of the public disapproval and transformation of the working masses and public views. The public mass began to start looking favorably on restriction of unfair business practices. This transformation of the public opinion gave president Hoover trouble since he wasn't completely dedicated to the private interest or public purpose.

Roosevelt felt President Taft was too conservative and pro-business (Robinson, 2003). In reaction to that, he met with Progressive leaders after returning from Africa and began plotting a political comeback (Robinson, 2003).

Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt were both presidents during one of the most difficult times in American history, the Great Depression. To try and ease the hardships that many Americans were facing, each President developed many different programs. The different actions that each took to lessen the blow of the depression classified them as either a liberal or conservative. If their actions focused on helping the economy, they would be considered a conservative. If they were more focused on helping the lives of the American people, they would be classified as a liberal. Neither President can be labeled as strictly one. Although Franklin Roosevelt was

President Franklin D. Roosevelt and President William Clinton had similar and contrasting viewpoints on domestic policy. Both presidents took office which there was an economic struggle and unemployment was low. Also, the unemployment rate was declining, business’s were going bankrupt and an international crisis they had to deal with to maintain free trade. President Roosevelt had the more severe circumstances with the Great Depression that occurred because of the Stock Market crash in 1929, and fighting a two front in World War II. When President Roosevelt took office, the unemployment rate was 25 %, which is historically the worst depression in history.

In the 19th century, liberalism and conservatism were two very different political parties fighting for their version of what South America should become. These two parties had many different views that would ultimately shape the nations into what they are in the modern day. In this triumphant battle between the two parties, South America was at a turning point. Many countries were on the forefront of independence and this meant a chance to make a change in the government these countries had. Conservatives and Liberal beliefs appealed to different types of groups such as classes, races, industries and even gender. Although Conservatives and Liberals had many different views, both parties were fighting for what they thought was the better future for the nations of South America. These parties were very important to the advancement of South America and the stride towards independence.