By Thomas F. Schwartz In his memoir, The Making of a Public Relations Man, John W. Hill, founder of the public relations firm Hill and Knowlton, Inc., devoted a chapter, “Hoover and Kennedy—A Study in Contrasts.” Hill was a friend of Herbert Hoover so much of his assessment was not based upon hearsay from others … Continue reading John W. Hill on Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy
by Craig Wright Construction began on a permanent home for the Supreme Court, and Herbert Hoover’s three appointees to the Court facilitated the transition of the Court from judicial activism to judicial restraint in economic issues. The Hughes Era Begins In early 1930, Chief Justice William Howard Taft resigned because of ill health. Herbert Hoover … Continue reading HERBERT HOOVER AND THE SUPREME COURT
While working on another social media project I chanced upon an article Herbert Hoover wrote for This Week magazine in the midst of the grim years of World War II. Hoover had been devoting much time and energy to co-authoring a book Towards a Lasting Peace with Hugh Gibson. While his pen was hot, he … Continue reading Enchanted World
Part 2 -- The Great Humanitarian Stumbles [For Part 1, see https://hoover.blogs.archives.gov/2020/09/16/herbert-hoover-and-the-1930-drought/ ] At first, Hoover’s drought relief plan was widely praised; it seemed that he had come up with a perfect combination of Federal leadership and local control. The state and local committees went to work with enthusiasm. But as summer turned to fall … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and the 1930 Drought, continued
Part 1 -- The Forgotten Crisis For many Americans, 1930 was a year of struggle as the national economy sank into what became the Great Depression. In the history books, the stock market and urban unemployment often take center stage, leaving aside the hardships of rural America. Already reeling from a decade of depressed prices … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and the 1930 Drought
The Case of the Missing Middle Name. By Thomas F. Schwartz Look in any encyclopedia entry or biography and it indicates that Herbert Clark Hoover was born on August 10 or August 11, 1874. A previous blog post cleared up the mystery of the birthday confirming it was August 10 but another more interesting story … Continue reading Herbert Clark Hoover or Herbert Hoover?
In 1928, campaign songs were not like the borrowed pop tunes or professional advertising jingles of today. In fact, campaign advertising in all its forms was very different than today. There was little centralized control, no focus group tested messaging, and certainly no requirement for candidates to “approve” anything. Most campaign songs were not commissioned … Continue reading Hoover Campaign Songs, 1928
Eighty-five years after its completion, Hoover Dam is still considered an engineering marvel. Like many public works it is named in honor of a public official -- the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover -- but Hoover’s connection to the dam was much more than the name. Hoover played a crucial role in … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and Hoover Dam
On August 11, 1928, Herbert Hoover formally launched his campaign for the Presidency. That’s not a typo -- yes, the campaign kicked off less than three months before Election Day. At that time, Presidential candidates were expected to modestly pretend they weren’t running until after the party conventions, though of course their “friends” were working … Continue reading Kicking off a Presidential Campaign — Herbert Hoover’s 1928 Acceptance Speech
By Spencer Howard On June 30, 1932, President Herbert Hoover signed into law the "Economy Act of 1932" to reduce government salaries, which was intended to help balance the Federal budget that was badly in the red due to the Great Depression. At the time almost all economists and politicians believed that a balanced budget … Continue reading The Economy Act of 1932
