Herbert Hoover Rejected Keynesianism

And he tells us explicitly that he did so in a speech in October 1936, when describing his time as president, recently cited by Daniel Kuehn in a really excellent post here.

I cite the full quotation below:

“During my four years powerful groups thundered at the White House with these same ideas [i.e., the ideas of Roosevelt’s New Deal – LK]. Some were honest, some promising votes, most of them threatening reprisals, and all of them yelling ‘reactionary’ at us.

I rejected the notion of great trade monopolies and price-fixing through codes. That could only stifle the little businessman by regimenting him under the big brother. That idea was born of certain American Big Business and grew up to be the NRA [National Recovery Act].

I rejected the scheme of ‘economic planning’ to regiment and coerce the farmer. That was born of a Roman despot fourteen hundred years ago and grew up into the AAA [Agricultural Adjustment Act].

I refused national plans to put the government into business in competition with its citizens. That was born of Karl Marx. I vetoed the idea of recovery through stupendous spending to prime the pump. That was born of a British professor. I threw out attempts to centralize relief in Washington for politics and social experimentation.

I defeated other plans to invade State rights, to centralize power in Washington. Those ideas were born of American radicals.

I stopped attempts at currency inflation and repudiation of government obligation. That was robbery of insurance-policy holders, savings-banks depositors and wage earners. That was born of the early Brain Trusters.” (Hofstadter 1968: 259–260).
http://newdeal.feri.org/court/hoover02.htm

So there you have it.

Even though Hoover in his autobiography said that he had rejected the “hard liquidationism” of Andrew Mellon, he was also adamant that he “vetoed the idea of recovery through stupendous spending to prime the pump.”

And he was not lying as I have demonstrated again and again:

“Herbert Hoover’s Budget Deficits: A Drop in the Ocean,” May 24, 2011.

“What Hoover Should have Done in 1931,” January 26, 2012.

“Steven Horwitz on Herbert Hoover: Mostly Misleading,” February 20, 2012.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hofstadter, Richard. 1968. Ten Major Issues in American Politics. Oxford University Press, New York.