Since the 1910s, the USA has been growing into a Great Power, which some say could challenge the British Empire. President Woodrow Wilson realized this, and was also painfully aware of the secret society that has been infiltrating the European powers. He would work to ensure that America would not fall under their influence. In 1929, America suffered a crippling blow during the Wall Street crash, which was exacerbated by Hoover signing the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. Members of the secret society tried to stoke up the business plot to overthrow FDR, which failed.