by Lynn Smith March 26, 1931 started as a lovely 60 degree spring day on the eastern plains of Colorado between the small farming communities of Towner and Holly. Twenty local children, dressed for spring, set out for Pleasant Hill School near the Kansas border in a makeshift bus fashioned from a 1929 truck with … Continue reading Boy Hero Visits Hoover White House and Leaves a Family Friend
On April 29, 1931 several precedents were set at a State Dinner at the White House. The Hoovers hosted King Prajadhipok and Queen Rambai, monarchs of Siam. This was the first State Dinner where an ‘Oriental monarch’ met with the President. It was also the first time that the ruling monarch sat at the … Continue reading State Dinner at the Hoover White House for the King and Queen of Siam
Part 1 By Thomas F. Schwartz One of the under researched aspects of Herbert Hoover is his vast network of associates that provided him with vital information as well as served as valuable agents in his many humanitarian efforts. Louis Chevrillon is unknown to most Americans, but he was one of the driving forces in … Continue reading A Mother’s Day Gift: The Friendship of Louis Chevrillon and Herbert Hoover
National Proposal Day! What will they think of next? I know from personal experience that my memory of proposing to my wife does not align with her memory of the event. No matter, we're still happily married 30+ years on. The Hoovers have similarly unaligned stories regarding Herbert's proposal to Lou Henry. Doubtless memory is … Continue reading National Proposal Day! What Next?
by Spencer Howard In any discussion of President Hoover’s economic policies, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff often takes center stage. What's typically omitted, however, is the context in which the bill emerged. From the earliest days of the republic, a protective tariff was one of the bedrock principles of U.S. economic policy. In the late 19th and … Continue reading The Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930
By Thomas F. Schwartz It is easy to overlook the significance of Herbert Hoover’s food relief efforts by looking merely at numbers. The precise number of people Hoover saved from starvation remains murky but most scholars agree it is in the hundreds of millions. Ironically, one of the most brutal leaders of modern times, Joseph … Continue reading Preventing Tragedy and Statistics
by Spencer Howard In 1928, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover took action for the civil rights of African Americans that was both momentous and ultimately trivial – he desegregated the Commerce Department. As his assistant, George Akerson pointed out, the official policy of the Coolidge Administration was that segregation was prohibited in Federal employment. In … Continue reading Desegregating the Commerce Department
Like many men [thousands? millions?], I approach Valentine’s Day with a measure of trepidation. The weight of choosing the appropriate card grows heavier each year. Perhaps I’m losing strength to carry on the tradition. Despite the thousands [millions?] of commercially available options, I struggle to find the card with the words that have the right … Continue reading Valentine’s Day Cards
History serves as a reminder that all political times are tempestuous. Ardent advocates champion their side of the cause no matter the year or the context. The President’s recent State of the Union message ballyhooed the accomplishments of the first year of his administration—emphasizing successes and downplaying disappointments. This is par for the course, drawn … Continue reading Assessing Presidents at One Year
Herbert Hoover's lifelong passion for fishing is well-known. For no other President has a biographer written a 350-page book subtitled, The Fishing President, as Hal Elliott Wert has done for Hoover. In this book, Wert describes Hoover's fishing exploits and expeditions from age 8 to age 88. Young Bert Hoover pulled a ‘record’ twelve inch … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and Fishing
