When one thinks of liberals and conservatives it tends to be a comparison of entirely different views concerning every issue. Conservative thinking is regularly associated with the Republican Party while liberal thinking is regularly associated with the Democratic Party. Two such figures that come to mind whose views tend to put them on opposite sides of the political spectrum are presidents Herbert C. Hoover and Harry S. Truman. For example, Hoover's failure to intervene in the private sector of the economy during the infant stages of the Great Depression agrees with the conservative idea of a free market economy. In contrast, Truman continued Roosevelt's liberally supported reform measures.
             One important factor that influences a political figure's decision making is his/her morals and beliefs. Conservatives usually have great influence from traditional institutions such as church. As a child, Hoover was raised in a rural Quaker community with a strict belief in the church and the traditional family. This led to his conservative beliefs and actions. During his presidency, Hoover promised to uphold the prohibition amendment, since drinking was seen as an evil in the Quakers (Encarta). Furthermore, he promised to enforce national laws. This went about with the conservative that that authority is needed to make man resistant to evil. Hoover became a millionaire by the time he was forty with great effort. His conservatism and respect for authority earned him that position. On the other hand, liberalism preached that belief that man has a natural ability to reason out right and wrong. Truman did not introduce any major crime legislation, nor did he believe that much authority was needed for man to reason out right and wrong (Bernstein 93).
             Concerning the views on the nature of man, Truman and Hoover developed their views in their early years. Truman being a farmer at heart never let go the hardships o...