Franklin D. Roosevelt's landslide victory in the 1932 presidential race can be credited to Herbert Hoover's ineffective policies during the Great Depression. After the Stock Market Crash in October of 1929, the American economy took a turn for the worst. The unemployment rate skyrocketed to over 20% and people lost their entire life savings because of their investment in the stock market. When these hard economic times hit, the people looked to President Herbert Hoover to help America out of the Great Depression.
To help, Hoover implemented a few federal works projects, like creating the famous Hoover Dam. However, he did not want to give direct financial assistance to the citizens. His strong belief in a laissez faire economic system, one in which the government gets involved with the economy as little as possible, prevented him from giving citizens direct help. This was received poorly by American citizens, as his few federal works projects and calling on private organizations to help Americans did little to help with a full recovery for the US. Due to his unpopular views and lack of direct help, Hoover lost the election of 1932 to Franklin D. Roosevelt.
