Can the entire story of the worst economic disaster in American history really be told from just eight words in a political party’s platform? In this case, yes. Here are the fateful words that introduced the second section of the Republican Party’s 1932 platform, right after a waffling plank on prohibition: “We believe in the principle of high wages.” This was Herbert Hoover speaking. His most cherished economic belief was that wages could not be allowed to fall, and after the Crash of 1929 he vigorously jawboned business leaders to keep wages up. It was not just a question of … Continue reading These Eight Words