Naturalization Ceremony

Naturalization ceremony at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum will host a naturalization ceremony on Friday, September 20 at 2 p.m.  Seventy candidates from thirty countries will take the oath of allegiance to the United States of America renouncing and abjuring all allegiance and fidelity to any … Continue reading Naturalization Ceremony

Seasons Change, but Football Remains

1940 official rule book - American Football for Boys A Safe Game. Official Rules If it is autumn, Americans’ attention turn to football.  The cool crisp autumnal air is the perfect vector to carry the satisfying sound of leather meeting leather on the gridiron.  The satisfaction of a well-executed tackle was held just as dear … Continue reading Seasons Change, but Football Remains

Tangible and Intangible Uses of Historical Knowledge

Lou Henry Hoover sitting at the "Monroe Desk" which was reproduced for the White House collection. ca 1931 By Thomas F. Schwartz Another of Lou Henry Hoover’s undeveloped musings addresses the problem of people who only mine the past for practical applications in the present.  A deeper understanding of the context that gave rise to … Continue reading Tangible and Intangible Uses of Historical Knowledge

Parodies of the New Deal

By Thomas F. Schwartz New York Stock Exchange, ca. 1929                 Much of the negativity connecting Herbert Hoover to the Great Depression was a relentless effort on the part of Charles Michelson a publicist hired by the Democratic National Committee in 1930 to attack Hoover’s policies and person.  It was Michelson who created a series … Continue reading Parodies of the New Deal

Comparing Earnings of Presidents and Baseball Players.

08/13/1960 Former President Hoover throws out the first ball at the Old Timers game, Yankee Stadium. Red Rutting, Bob Feller and Joe DiMaggio. In exploring the Hoover-Ruth salary story, I indulged myself to compare salaries of other baseball players in light of the annual salary of the President.  Given that the POTUS’s salary changed only … Continue reading Comparing Earnings of Presidents and Baseball Players.

Herbert Hoover and Babe Ruth

Herbert Hoover and Babe Ruth before the Stanford vs. University of Southern CA. football game. 11/11/1933 Summer is here and it is time to recall some trivial links between baseball, America’s national pastime, and the Presidency, America’s highest public position.  Although they met only once, at a Stanford-USC football game in November 1933, there are … Continue reading Herbert Hoover and Babe Ruth

When Typewriter Rentals Were Banned

This Royal typewriter is on display at the Hoover Museum, it is typical of what Herbert Hoover would have used while living in the Waldorf-Astoria. By Thomas F. Schwartz As the manuscript collections clearly document, Herbert Hoover was a compulsive writer.   Typically, drafts were typed, edited, amended, and retyped ad nauseam before Hoover was … Continue reading When Typewriter Rentals Were Banned

On Human Nature: Lou Henry Hoover’s Musings

Lou Henry Hoover, ca. 1932 By Thomas F. Schwartz                 Lou Henry Hoover liked to capture kernels of ideas on papers for further elaboration at some later date.  Often, the ideas never were revisited and remain unpolished thoughts containing interesting potential.  One of these describes the problem of human nature.  Lou writes: “It is a … Continue reading On Human Nature: Lou Henry Hoover’s Musings