Hoover was ambivalent about Prohibition, referring to it as a “great social and economic experiment,” but failing to back it wholeheartedly.
Hoover won the election in a landslide against his Democratic opponent in 1928.
Once in office, Hoover sought to reform the nation’s regulatory system. He was not an advocate of a laissez-faire economy, but instead encouraged the voluntary cooperation of the federal government and big business. At Hoover’s direction, the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department prosecuted gangsters, including Al Capone, for tax evasion. Hoover considered himself a progressive, and this was reflected in some of his administration’s policies, including the reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the organization of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the closing of tax loopholes for the wealthiest Americans, the expansion of national park lands, and the strengthening of protections for labor.
