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First Great Depression:

Harding (R) 1921-1923
Coolidge (R) 1923-1929
Hoover (R) 1929-1933x


Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1929
Scope and Purpose: Enacted during the onset of the Great Depression, the Smoot-Hawley Act raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods, primarily targeting agriculture and manufacturing, with the goal of protecting American businesses and farmers from foreign competition.
Strategy: It represented a broadly protectionist stance, aimed at restricting imports across a wide range of products.
Economic Impact: Widely regarded by economists as a detrimental policy, it triggered retaliatory tariffs from other countries, leading to a collapse in global trade and exacerbating the Great Depression. Its immediate effect was to make imports too expensive for most Americans and significantly decrease exports. The U.S. stock market plummeted nearly 89% between 1929 and 1932, requiring 25 years to recover.