Hoover was not known for only his presidency, but also for public service as an engineer, administrator, and humanitarian. During World War I, he served as the head of the Food Administration, and also as a member of the Supreme Economic Council and head of the American Relief Administration. He then went on to serve as the Secretary of Commerce under Harding and Coolidge. Hoover claimed "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land" and his election seemed to ensure prosperity, but then crisis struck. Within months the stock market crashed, and the Nation spiraled downward into depression, and then began what is now known as the Great Depression. In 1931 repercussions from Europe deepened the crisis, just as the President presented to Congress a program asking for creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Hoover became the scapegoat for the Depression and was badly defeated in 1932, but his political career wasn’t over. In 1947 President Truman appointed Hoover to a commission, which elected him chairman, to reorganize the Executive Departments. President Eisenhower appointed him chairman of a similar commission in 1953. Hoover then continued to write books and articles, which he worked on until the day he died in New York City on October 20, 1964.