Herbert Hoover was the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 as a Republican. He had previously served as Secretary of Commerce and helped save Belgium during World War 1. Hoover believed that the Great Depression could be solved through volunteerism and created programs like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, but the stock market crash of 1929 and increasing unemployment overwhelmed his efforts. His presidency was defined by the beginning of the Great Depression.