Herbert Hoover took office in 1929 with great optimism and the promise of a "new day" for his American people. In his inaugural address, he boasted, "In no nation are the fruits of achievement more sure" and asserted, "Not only can anyone be rich, but should be." » The American economy had flourished like never before as Americans had become accustomed to leading healthy, comfortable lives through wealth distribution, stock buying, and installment buying. Americans of many social classes now had the opportunity to live the “American Dream.” However, these benefits, which improved the lifestyle, caused Americans to live beyond their means and produced an unstable economy. And so on October 29, 1929, the worst economic downturn in American history occurred, known as the Great Depression. the development of the nation, everything that Herbert Hoover did to bring opulence, has been swept away and plunged into an abyss of misery. Thus, through attempts to fortify the American economy, the benefits put in place have actually destabilized the economy. paving the way for the Great Depression. The distribution of wealth paved the way for a decline in manufacturing production. The 1920s represented a time of rapid urbanization, increasing wealth, and improving standards of living. Industrialization, which took place after World War I, opened many doors. People were "attracted by the availability of jobs, the excitement of city life, and advances in transportation; nearly 15 million people were added to the number of American city dwellers between 1929 and 1930." The increase in jobs improved the GDP of the average American. by 5.9 percent. While the GDP... middle of paper ......ess, has created a vulnerable American economy leading to what no American would ever want to experience. Works Cited Christina D. Romer, "The Great Crash and the Onset of the Great Depression", The Quarterly Journal of Economics, February 1999, 322 Martha L. Olney, "Avoiding Default: the role of Credit in the Consumption Collapse of 1930", The Quarterly Journal of EconomicsThomas E. Hall and David Ferguson, An international catastrophe of perverse economic policies, 1998, University of Michigan Press, 29Gary M. Walton and Hugh Rockoff, History of the American Economy, 10th edition, 2005, South-Western, 446Matthews Layth, What Caused the Great Depression of the 1930's, 2002Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States Washington, DC: USGPO: for sale by Supt. Docs., USGPO, 1989;, 2001.