Herbert Hoover

Contributions

  • Founded the American Relief Administration and overseas hunger relief. His relief efforts in Belgium and post-war Europe are said to have saved more lives than Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin together had put to death.
  • Presided over the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression
  • Promoted public works efforts such as the Hoover Dam
  • Advocated strong labor regulation laws, including the enactment of the Bacon-Davis Act requiring a maximum eight-hour day on construction of public buildings and the payment of at least the “prevailing wage” in the locality
  • Expanded civil service coverage of Federal positions
  • Canceled private oil leases on government lands
  • Instructed the Justice Department and the Internal Revenue Service to pursue gangsters for tax evasion
  • Signed the Norris–La Guardia Act to limit judicial intervention in labor disputes
  • Required air mail carriers to adopt stricter safety measures and improve service
  • Issued the Hoover-Stimson doctrine refusing to recognize the Japanese conquest of Manchuria