The Great Depression (1929-1939) was perhaps the greatest worldwide economic collapse in history. Today, we think of the Great Depression as being triggered by a stock market crash in the U.S. The crash of the stock market; however, was a symptom, but not the cause of the Great Depression. So, what caused the Great Depression?
There are many theories about what caused the Great Depression. Some of these theories were simply expressions of a political point of view. There is consensus among economists that government interventions were needed to expand bank liquidity, reduce taxes, and increase spending.
Herbert Hoover was the President at the onset of the Great Depression. He had been a very successful mining engineer. Prior to his election as President, he was mostly known for his humanitarian efforts in providing post-World War I relief in Europe.
When the stock market crashed and the Great Depression began, President Hoover chose to scapegoat Mexican Americans. His theory was that Mexican Americans were taking jobs from Americans.
Between 1929-1939 some 700,000-2,000,000 were expelled from the U.S. Most were legal citizens of the U.S. and the largest majority were children. Many other Mexican Americans left on their own. The Mexican government promised them land. Stricter immigration policies were also enacted.
Of course, the deportation of Mexican Americans and tougher immigration policies did nothing to ease the effects of the Depression. It was simply a populist action that made Americans feel like something was being done.
Leadership is about accepting responsibility rather than assigning blame. It’s about making tough choices that may not be popular. It’s about taking actions that are long-term in their results and foregoing short-term populist actions.
Just imagine the challenges of leadership today when it has become so easy to drum up support for populist positions that are designed to scapegoat rather than resolve complex issues. Real leadership is not built on a cult following. Real leadership asks all of us to support tough choices. Is real leadership still possible?
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“I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.”—Herbert Hoover