A recent Hoover blog described Herbert Hoover’s speech upon accepting the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America’s Gold Medal for his contribution in translating and republishing Agricola’s De Re Metallica. Herbert Hoover traced the history of the mining profession, beginning with Vulcan, continuing through Thucydides and Jeremiah, before closing with the observation that German mining … Continue reading Lou Henry Hoover and the Translation of De Re Metallica
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
Traditionally the First Lady of the United States stays above the fray during campaign season, not wanting to sully the office in the mire of hand-to-hand politicking. This year Michelle Obama has ventured into the public sphere, acting as a proxy campaigner for Hillary Clinton. The First Lady has stepped out of her comfort zone … Continue reading First Ladies and Presidential Campaigns
There is a long tradition of proxies stumping for their candidate using whatever tools come to hand. In 1928, Archie Rice, a Stanford classmate of Herbert Hoover, produced a small flyer advocating for Hoover based on summary biographies comparing candidates’ careers. On the front cover, Rice identifies himself as an analyst of news and … Continue reading Comparing Candidates Careers, 1928
by Spencer Howard One of the annoyances of modern life is the variety and volume of shady emails that clog our computers. Phony pharmaceutical ads, Nigerian investment schemes, too-good-to-be-true offers for jobs or relationships, the list goes on. Modern technology makes it much easier for the perpetrators, but all of these scams were tried through … Continue reading Telegram Scam
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
