of office in 1932 and elected a Democratic president Franklin D Roosevelt unlike Hoover was willing to try anything to fix the economy If one approach did not work he tried another While Hoover had worried about what to do Roosevelt proved to be an activist president ready to use the power of his office and the federal government to help the nation The Activist Presidency Roosevelt changed the presidency forever He expanded and strengthened the presidential office during the Great Depression of the 1930s and again in the difficult years of America’s involvement in World War II 1941 1945 6 From Prosperity to War President Herbert Hoover was not as do-nothing as his two predecessors He believed that government should serve as a kind of referee between industries and as a promoter of economic cooperation He did not believe however that government had a more active role to play than that He thought that in the end business should manage its own affairs Crash In October 1929 the Hoover Republican philosophy was put to the test The U S stock market crashed and in the wake of this event the American and consequently the world economy went into a tailspin Within three years unemployment affected nearly 13 million Americans 10 percent of the population and the economy seemed on the brink of collapse At first President Hoover predicted that the economy would correct itself and get back to normal When it failed to do so he reluctantly agreed that the federal government would need to get involved to make recovery happen Hoover however did not have the chance to test his new approach The voters turned him out Words to Know Great Depression GRAYT di-PRESH-uhn The economic collapse that eventually affected the entire world starting in 1929 and lasting through the 1930s World War II WURLD WOR TOO The worldwide conflict fought between 1939 and 1945 The United States became involved against Japan Italy and Germany in 1941 Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivers his inaugural address from the south portico of the White House
From Prosperity to War 7 Black Tuesday During the 1920s the stock market became the symbol of American prosperity About 10 percent of the nation’s households which equated to some 4 million Americans owned stock in 1929 They believed what the financier John J Raskob had written in an article in the Ladies Home Journal Everyone Ought to Be Rich Many people however were buying stock on margin That is stockbrokers were allowing them to borrow money to pay up to 75 percent of the purchase price of stock If prices dropped many investors would not be able to pay their debts But few people seriously considered that possibility As long as the prices kept rising as they did throughout 1928 and 1929 everyone would be a winner Then came Black Tuesday October 29 1929 The stock process had been sliding since early September But on October 29 the bubble burst Investors began to sell their stocks to pay off debts and panic set in Overnight millions of shares were sold and the value of stocks dropped by about 40 percent Many people were wiped out A few even committed suicide The prosperity of the 1920s at least in the stock market had ended Ahead lay the Great Depression a huge economic downturn that would leave millions unemployed and shake the foundations of democratic society Gloom sets in on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange just after the crash of 1929
From Prosperity to War The more WOMEN at work the sooner we WIN Roosevelt wanted the government to get involved in the affairs of business and labor Unlike the Republicans he was suspicious of business He believed in the American economic system but he also thought that business was out for its own good and that the government should be the watchdog that looked out for ordinary people The War Presidency The vast number of government programs created during Roosevelt's first two terms as president in the 1930s increased the size and power of government But the biggest increase in presidential power came as a result of America's role in World War II WOMEN ARE NEEDED ALSO AS UNITED we are strong SEE YOUR LOCAL U S EMPLOYMENT SERVICE A war poster depicts a woman working in an airplane factory During the war the president became the commander of a vast military machine of 16 million men and women A gigantic bureaucracy in both the military and the civilian parts of the government was needed to run this machine By the time the war ended in 1945 a big military had become a permanent part of the structure of U S government As a result of the war the United States was now a major world power with global responsibilities And the American president was now one of the most powerful leaders on Earth UNITED we will win World War II posters such as this one by artist Henry Koerner promoted strength in the unity of the Allied countries
From Prosperity to War 9 The Atomic Age A world-shaking development enhanced the power of the presidency in the early 1940s the invention of nuclear power President Roosevelt had authorized scientists to develop a nuclear bomb as part of America’s defenses during the war In 1945 his successor President Harry Truman decided to use the new discovery against the Japanese to force them to surrender Now the American president had the most powerful weapon in the world at his disposal Presidential power had reached unheard of heights Truman was the first and so far only American president to use nuclear weapons Each president since Truman has had a vast arsenal of nuclear weapons available But since 1945 American presidents have not used their nuclear weapons Potential enemies however remain aware that they exist The Great Depression and war converted the presidency from the office that it was in the 1920s when Calvin Coolidge worked only four hours a day and had time to take naps to what it is today a vast modern institution that presides over the American government and controls the most destructive groups of weapons known in human history Atomic bombs sent huge clouds into the sky as seen in the aerial photograph of this test explosion
