We all know that many immigrants came to America because of the “American Dream.” Part of this dream included ownership of a house. Many obstacles made this aspect difficult to achieve for many immigrants. However, the government eventually stepped in to increase housing during Hoover’s period. President Hoover believed housing was “the foundation of a sound economic and social system.” (193) In other words, due to poor housing in the country, the United States would collapse and to prevent the country’s downfall the government must step in and aid people in housing. At first I thought that it was ridiculous for the whole country’s development to depend on housing, but thinking about it again Hoover’s words are plausible.

Although the government began to financially become involved in housing during President Hoover’s reign, the first significant government involvement was during World War I. The government established two programs that aimed to provide ‘housing for heads of households moving to industrial areas to produce weapons for the war.’ (192) In a way, I am reminded about the American Revolution when people had to house soldiers in their homes. however in this case, people were provided their own houses. This is the first I have heard that the government provided houses for people to live in while they worked to produce weapons for the war, and I had expected a lot of houses to have been built for this reason. However, Jackson states that not many houses were built; “less than 25,000 units were built in the entire nation.” (192) Many people worked in the factories to produce weapons during the war, so it would seem as if many houses would be built as a result. Surprisingly, it was the exact opposite. It sort of seems that the government was reluctant to establish too many homes, which would make the government appear too involved with housing as Jackson seemed to have hinted at. Although the government was able to step out of housing at this time, the eventually had to take matters into their own hands.

During Hoover’s presidency, the United States was entering the Great Depression, and people turned to the government for help. This became the first actual involvement from the government, which resulted in failure in Hoover’s presidency. Legislation made, such as the Federal Loan Home Bank Act, did not do what they were created to do because of restrictions that prevented many people who needed the help from receiving aid. In an attempt to help, but not provide too much help, the government failed to quickly and efficiently restore the country to stability. President Hoover’s quote appeared to want to fix the housing in the country, but it seems the government did not want to become too involved and had failed as a result. This may have possibly influenced the decisions of a past event.

Not too long ago, there was a financial crisis that was believed to have occurred because of mortgage applications. From what I know, many mortgage applications were accepted when they should not have been when real estate was affordable. As a result of too many mortgages accepted and not enough people qualified to pay it off, many homes were foreclosed and real estate increased. At the same time, the economy was dropping and entering a recession. From this event, Hoover’s words prove to be true that housing is the foundation of the nation’s system.

Had the country not gone through a recession because of the leniency to accept mortgages, I would be arguing that it is too much for the nation’s economic and social system to be so strongly influenced by housing. After all, the country’s gross domestic product contains many different aspects that affect it. But from these two events, it seems that housing is extremely influential.