Question

how did president hoovers approach toward the economy compare with calvin coolidges approach? both devoted time and money to public assistance programs, both believed businesses should be responsible for american prosperity, hoover unlike coolidge saw labor unions as a way to improve workers living standards, hoover unlike coolidge believed in government programs to assist businesses

Answer 1

Short answer: They were both pro‑business, but Hoover was more willing to use government as a coordinator and backstop for the economy; Coolidge favored a hands‑off, laissez‑faire federal role.

Here are your four statements with corrections/explanations:

1. "Both devoted time and money to public assistance programs." — False.
- Coolidge kept federal spending low and resisted broad federal welfare programs.
- Hoover did take more public action than Coolidge (public works like Boulder/Hoover Dam planning, and late in his term federal loans and relief efforts), but he generally preferred voluntary, local, and indirect aid and opposed large-scale direct federal cash welfare.

2. "Both believed businesses should be responsible for American prosperity." — True.
- Both men were pro‑business and believed private enterprise was the engine of prosperity. Coolidge famously embraced laissez‑faire; Hoover believed in "associationalism" — encouraging business cooperation and voluntary private action to promote prosperity.

3. "Hoover unlike Coolidge saw labor unions as a way to improve workers living standards." — Largely true (with nuance).
- Coolidge was strongly pro‑order and skeptical of strikes and powerful unions (as governor he broke the Boston police strike).
- Hoover was more willing than Coolidge to incorporate labor into voluntary industrial cooperation and recognized a role for collective bargaining in improving standards, though he was not a full‑throated champion of unions and often favored mediation and stability over confrontational labor action.

4. "Hoover unlike Coolidge believed in government programs to assist businesses." — True.
- Coolidge preferred minimal federal intervention in business.
- Hoover accepted and implemented government programs to assist and stabilize business (e.g., Hoover’s use of federal loans, public‑works projects and, in 1932, measures like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to lend to banks and businesses).

If you want, I can turn this into a short comparison paragraph for an essay or provide primary quotes (Coolidge’s and Hoover’s) to cite.