Herbert Hoover in Poland, 1946. Science fiction depicts certain aliens and robots as possessing no emotion and basing their actions entirely on logic. The popular television series Star Trek introduced Vulcans who evolved replacing emotions with logic. Herbert Hoover was neither a Vulcan nor a robot, but writers have often depicted him as lacking any … Continue reading Modern Hoover Myths: Part 2
The Nobel Peace Prize medal. Herbert Hoover was known as “The Great Humanitarian” for the many food relief programs he led during and after both World Wars. The precise number of people Hoover saved from starvation remains a matter of debate, but most scholars agree it is in the hundreds of millions. Despite his achievements, … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s Nobel Peace Prize nominations
By Thomas F. Schwartz Herbert Hoover relied on accurate reporting from a variety of sources on the impact famine and food shortages were affecting area in Russia from 1921-23. As Secretary of Commerce for President Harding, Hoover could not travel abroad to see for himself the tragedy already gripping many parts of the Russian empire. … Continue reading James Putnam Goodrich: Witness to the Famine
When Herbert Hoover became President in 1929, one of his early initiatives was to call for a national conference on child health. Hoping to build on the work of the non-profit American Child Health Association, an organization he had founded in 1923, President Hoover announced that the purpose of his proposed conference was “to study … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s vision for healthy children – Part 2: The Children’s Charter
This image is from the Commerce Years gallery at the Hoover Presidential Museum. Of the many charitable organizations that Herbert Hoover led, one of the most important was the American Child Health Association. In its almost 13 years of existence, from its founding by Herbert Hoover in 1923 to its liquidation in 1935, the ACHA … Continue reading Herbert Hoover’s vision for healthy children – Part 1: The Child’s Bill of Rights
By Thomas F. Schwartz A recent opinion piece advocated for the return of meatless Monday as a way of addressing climate change. Certain animals release methane, a greenhouse-gas that adversely impacts the ozone. Foregoing meat on Monday, according to the editorial board, would help the environment. This view is hardly new. A website was launched … Continue reading The Original Meatless Monday
Part 2 By Thomas F. Schwartz Though the original ten reel production never was released for general viewing, the existing scripts give a sense of its contents. Because it was a silent film, the subtitles clearly describe the film footage that preceded it. It begins by stating: “This is not a picture of actors … Continue reading The Lost Documentary Film of the Commission for Relief in Belgium
Continuing Coningsby Dawson's tour of post-World War I Vienna, his writings sought to convey the absolute desperation of the people – primarily children – who were dependent on the American Relief Administration. In this dispatch, he describes his visit to one of the child-feeding stations: Today I visited one of the strategic points where the battle … Continue reading Christmas in Vienna, 1920 – Part 3: Caring for the children
In December 1920, as Coningsby Dawson toured Central Europe writing articles to promote the American Relief Administration fund drive, he sought to inform his readers about not only the immediate work of the ARA, but also to offer a wider view of the newly independent nations that were struggling to recover from the war. In this … Continue reading Christmas in Vienna, 1920 – Part 2: The Dorotheum
The year 2018 marked the 100th anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I. As far as most Americans were concerned, that was the end of the war – the fighting stopped, the doughboys soon came home, and the Versailles Peace Conference concluded an acceptable peace. In much of Europe, the Armistice brought no … Continue reading Christmas in Vienna, 1920 — Part 1: A visit from Santa
