Traveling to Germany at President Eisenhower’s behest, Hoover gave three speeches in three days to German audiences. Hoover was eighty years old at the time, yet he did not hesitate. When his President called, Hoover answered. He wrote three major policy speeches, edited them en route to Germany, and delivered them to three distinct audiences. … Continue reading Herbert Hoover: Elder Statesman on the Move, November 1954
In presenting Bud Wilkinson the 1949 Football Coach of the Year award in January 1950, Hoover said: ‘Sports have become an integral part of our American civilization. And we may be grateful that so far the advance in social concepts has left them out of governmental regimentation. Sports are still a free enterprise, and because … Continue reading College Football, and Mythicism, 1890s, 1950, 2020
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/ ] by Spencer Howard 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 … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and the 1930 Drought, continued
Part 1 -- The Forgotten Crisis by Spencer Howard 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 … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and the 1930 Drought
by Spencer Howard In 1930, First Lady Lou Henry Hoover asked one of her secretaries, Dare Stark McMullin, to compile some information about the historic furnishings in the White House. What began as a simple list grew into a massive project to document the history of the White House itself and the art and furnishings … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover’s White House History
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?
by Spencer Howard 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 … Continue reading Hoover Campaign Songs, 1928
