America was already deep into the Great Depression when Herbert Hoover relinquished the presidency in March 1933. As he exited office Hoover famously despaired,''We are at the end of our rope.''The country was in shambles. The banking industry lay in ruins. Stockholders rendered suddenly penniless. Working men and women cut loose by factories that could no longer sell the goods they produced. Shiftless children and the elderly left without proper food, clothing, and health care. British economist Lionel Robbins in his ...