In 1932 Roosevelt won the election with the biggest victory ever recorded in an American presidential election up until that time. By 1932 the American economy was in a terrible state and the effects were widespread. In America unemployment rose rapidly, by 1933 nearly 14 million people were unemployed. Business fell in demand and had to lay off workers or reduce wages due to the depression. Car production fell by 80%. People lost their jobs and could not afford to pay debts on their property and were left homeless. These people made shantytowns in the cities called 'Hoovervilles' named after Herbert Hoover. Companies were in debt and went bankrupt due to the depression. The depression in America had a huge effect, mainly on farmers. Farmers found they could not sell their produce because of the unemployment and the poverty. Prices were so low that they could not even harvest their crops, wheat and fruit were allowed to rot and farm animals were killed instead of being taken to the market as it was cheaper. Many Americans blamed Hoover for these problems and thought that he had not done enough to help America to recover from the economic slump. Hoover and his government were accused of doing nothing due to their belief in rugged individualism. This meant that people would achieve success through their own effort and hard work, like how he became a multimillionaire. This gave the impression that he was uncaring and cold. He believed that relief should be given by private charities and local governments, not the government; he thought that too much help would damage the self-reliance spirit that made America great. Farmers held a banner which said 'in Hoover we trusted and now we are busted'. He also believed that business would bring about the end to the depression and it was the government's job not to interfere. Therefore the government were accused of not doing anything due to their belief of rugged individualism.