Why did depression-era president Herbert Hoover, formerly a highly successful business executive, lose so heavily to rival Franklin D. Roosevelt?

His conservative approach towards the economic policy during the stock market crash.

Explanation:

Hoover was the 31st president of the United States when the Great Depression burst out in 1929, and as a result, he appeared to be blamed for America's worst economic recession. Nonetheless, only seven months after Hoover 's presidency, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 characterized the beginning of a long economic meltdown that had led to the Great Depression. He claimed that government interference would make things worse after the stock market crash. He claimed that if banks and companies showed faith and avoided to panic, the market would of course bounce back. These decisions cost him dearly in the election against Franklin D. Roosevelt.