Hoover vs. Roosevelt

The way Herbert Hoover handled World War I relief efforts won him the White House in 1928. The way he handled the Great Depression lost him the White House in 1932. Hoover's enmity toward his successful Democratic opponent, Franklin Roosevelt, festered until the war after the war to end all wars, where it blossomed into opportunity. Wert covers the three main points of conflict between Roosevelt and Hoover: U.S. non-intervention in the war; U.S. relief efforts, particularly for Poland and Finland; and the 1940 presidential election. Wert focuses mainly on the contentious knot of relief priorities. Hoover's attitude toward non-intervention was surprisingly naive for someone with his experience, although given his — or rather Andrew Mellon’s — economic policies, perhaps it's not so surprising. And Hoover's run at the 1940 election shows the importance of setting appropriate goals, and not getting ahead of them.