When the Great Depression hit after the stock market crash in 1929, there was a general feeling of helplessness as much of America bore the burden of unemployment and newfound poverty. These unrest caused Americans to take action as they became distrustful of the government under President Hoover's leadership and eager for reform. These effects of the Depression changed the relationship between the people and the federal government, as the population embraced mass movements as a way to achieve reform and developed new expectations politically and economically. At the beginning of the Great Depression, it was Herbert Hoover who presided over the country. Hoover maintained his belief that the nation's people should be self-sufficient, so when the first effects of the Depression became apparent he was reluctant to provide direct aid to the people. Instead, he believed in the “trickle down” effect where he would finance businesses so they could stimulate the economy. Farmers in areas of the Midwest were deeply in debt due to farm foreclosures and overproduction and were experiencing a drought that put them in immediate need. Hoover gave minimal support to the Red Cross to help farmers, but only allowed them to provide them with seeds to grow crops, which was not possible due to the drought. While Hoover downplayed the effects of the Depression in newspapers, people in the Midwest began to clash with banks that foreclosed on their farms when they couldn't afford to repay. The depression brought out some criminals and people began to lose faith in banks and the government. Figures like Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd began a string of bank robberies to give back to the community. Throughout the area...... middle of paper...... after and have continued to have an effect today. Social Security was the first of many federal welfare programs to be created, followed by many other programs in subsequent years, including Medicare, Medicaid, and other welfare programs. Workers continued to organize into unions, which was permitted by the Wagner Act. The establishment of the minimum wage put an end to most of the problems related to low wages and also continued to apply as a general beginning for workers' compensation. After the Great Depression and Roosevelt's New Deal, Americans began to expect the government to continue to be involved and provide the aid they had requested. had provided. Protest had also become an important tool and the government was now under democratic rule for the next decade, paving the way for democratic reform to come into force and the creation of two distinct parties of liberalism and conservatism..