by Spencer Howard In January 1929, President-Elect Herbert Hoover returned from his seven-week trip to Latin America and began preparing for the Inauguration. (At that time Inauguration Day was March 4, so he had an extra six weeks to work with.) After a couple of weeks in Washington DC during which he chose most of … Continue reading Herbert Hoover, President-Elect – a Florida vacation
“May you have the happiest new year imaginable.” By Thomas F. Schwartz The recent film Jackie (2016) by Pablo Larrain offers an artistic interpretation of a life based on a 1963 Life magazine interview by Theodore H. White with the recently widowed Jacqueline Kennedy. One typically would not connect Herbert Hoover with this fashionable First … Continue reading The Hoover/Kennedy Letters.
by Matthew Schaefer For some the end of the year is a time of reflection—a time to assess what has happened, what may yet come, and where they fit in the grand scheme of things. Herbert Hoover gave voice to such reflections in the late Decembers between 1913 and 1918. Hoover later titled these notes … Continue reading It’s the End of the Year as we Know it…
By Matthew Schaefer Christmas is a holiday laden with memories--family, fun, food, and faith form the warp and woof of these memories. This held true for Herbert Hoover. Late in his life, Hoover began to collect his Christmas reminiscences to share with family and friends. One set of such memories is found in Hoover’s Post-Presidential … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s Many Facets of Christmas
Thanksgiving as a national holiday dates back to George Washington’s proclamation in 1789, which named the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving. The tradition wavered in the 19th century until Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation in 1863 declaring the last Thursday in November be regularly commemorated as Thanksgiving. It has been … Continue reading Thanksgiving in the White House
by Thomas Schwartz In a recent CBS 60 Minutes interview, president-elect Donald Trump told Lesley Stahl, “I’m not going to take the salary. I’m not taking it.” The annual salary of the President of the United States is currently $400,000 plus other provisions for expenses such as entertaining and travel. President-elect Trump will not be … Continue reading “I’ve never accepted compensation…for federal service…”
Once upon a time in America, elections, even the most bitterly contested elections, included high flying rhetoric and deeply held principles to counter balance the general mud-slinging. One such election was held in the fall of 1932. Incumbent President Herbert Hoover engaged in a heated campaign against challenger Franklin Roosevelt, Governor of New York. There … Continue reading Once upon a time in America
In the wake of the recent Presidential debate, Republican candidate Donald Trump pointed to a malfunctioning microphone and spotty sound system as one of the reasons his voice was not heard. This Hoover archivist was reminded of a previous episode of microphone malfeasance and its impact on a Presidential hopeful. The year was 1940. World … Continue reading Microphone Malfunctions and Campaigns
As the calendar turns from September to October, baseball fans’ thoughts turn to the World Series. Fans in Boston, Washington, Cleveland and on the north side of Chicago, cross their fingers and hope that this will be their year. Long-suffering fans of the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs, although their teams have clinched playoff berths, … Continue reading Boys of Summer and the Fall Classic
Cartoon from 1921 by William Morris by Spencer Howard When President Harding was inaugurated in 1921, a sharp recession was underway that had begun the year before. By mid-1921, some five million people were out of work - perhaps 12% of the workforce. Concerns arose about the possibility of widespread hardship through the coming winter, … Continue reading The President’s Conference on Unemployment – 1921
