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'''Herbert Clark Hoover'''<ref>http://home.comcast.net/~sharonday7/Presidents/AP060301.htm</ref> was the 31st [[President of the United States of America]] 1929-33, a "big-government Republican"<ref>[http://www.thefreemanonline.org/book-reviews/the-politically-incorrect-guide-to-the-great-depression-and-the-new-deal/ The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal | reviewed in ''The Freeman'']</ref> whose economic policies accelerated the collapse of the U.S. economy into the [[Great Depression]]. He was defeated for reelection by [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] in a major realignment that marked the beginning of the [[New Deal]] and the [[Fifth Party System]]. Hoover lived another three decades, leading the isolationists in foreign policy and working with his friend President [[Harry S. Truman]] to reform the federal bureaucracy. He was a bitterly reviled target of liberal and Democratic hatreds, while hailed by conservatives as a great, albeit tragic, American hero.

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Hoover, building a world reputation as a humanitarian for his successful efforts to prevent starvation in Europe in the wake of [[World War I]], and his remarkable leadership of the business community as Secretary of Commerce (~~1921-28~~), was the major political leader of the [[Progressive Era]] in the 1920s. His name was a byword for devotion to duty, efficiency, and humanitarian public service. His reputation fell when he was unable to reverse the [[Great Depression]], and he became the object of attacks by Democrats for the next four decades. He was a hero to most conservatives, including senators [[Robert Taft]] and [[Barry Goldwater]].

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Hoover, building a world reputation as a humanitarian for his successful efforts to prevent starvation in Europe in the wake of [[World War I]], and his remarkable leadership of the business community as Secretary of Commerce (1921–28), was the major political leader of the [[Progressive Era]] in the 1920s. His name was a byword for devotion to duty, efficiency, and humanitarian public service. His reputation fell when he was unable to reverse the [[Great Depression]], and he became the object of attacks by Democrats for the next four decades. He was a hero to most conservatives, including senators [[Robert Taft]] and [[Barry Goldwater]].

Hoover turned the 1929 stock market crash into an international economic disaster.

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==Early ~~Life~~==

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==Early life==

===Family background===

Hoover came from an old Swiss family named Huber. He was born in the Quaker stronghold of West Branch, Iowa. He was the first President to be born west of the Mississippi River. Both of his parents died when Hoover was young. His father, Jesse Hoover died in 1880, and his mother, Hulda Minthorn, died in 1883. He was raised as a Quaker and remained faithful all his life.

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==Commerce Secretary==

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By 1920 both parties considered Hoover for president. He announced he was a Republican and following the convention supported [[Warren Harding]]. Harding appointed him as Secretary of Commerce, until then a minor job. Hoover, already one of the most famous people in the world (and far more famous than harding or Coolidge) transformed it the most visible, imaginative and path-breaking agency of government.<ref> After Hoover left Commerce relapsed into obscurity again.</ref>

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By 1920 both parties considered Hoover for president. He announced he was a Republican and following the convention supported [[Warren Harding]]. Harding appointed him as Secretary of Commerce, until then a minor job. Hoover, already one of the most famous people in the world (and far more famous than harding or Coolidge) transformed it the most visible, imaginative and path-breaking agency of government.<ref>After Hoover left Commerce relapsed into obscurity again.</ref>

As secretary (and later as President), Hoover revolutionized the relations between business and government. Rejecting the adversarial anti-business stance of [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[William Howard Taft]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]], he sought to make the Commerce Department a powerful service organization, empowered to forge cooperative voluntary partnerships between government and business. This philosophy is often called "associationalism."

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Many of Hoover's efforts as Commerce Secretary centered on the elimination of waste and the increase of efficiency in business and industry. It was the climax of the [[Efficiency Movement]]~~--always~~ a centerpiece of the [[Progressive Era]] and now its central feature. Efficiency meant reducing labor losses from trade disputes and seasonal fluctuations, reducing industrial losses from accident and injury, and reducing the amount of crude oil spilled during extraction and shipping. One major achievement was to promote progressive ideals in the areas of standardization products and designs. He energetically promoted international trade by opening offices overseas that gave advice and practical help to businessmen. He was especially eager to promote [[Hollywood]] films overseas. <ref>David M. Hart, "Herbert Hoover's Last Laugh: the Enduring Significance of the 'Associative State' in the United States." ''Journal of Policy History'' 1998</ref>

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Many of Hoover's efforts as Commerce Secretary centered on the elimination of waste and the increase of efficiency in business and industry. It was the climax of the [[Efficiency Movement]]—always a centerpiece of the [[Progressive Era]] and now its central feature. Efficiency meant reducing labor losses from trade disputes and seasonal fluctuations, reducing industrial losses from accident and injury, and reducing the amount of crude oil spilled during extraction and shipping. One major achievement was to promote progressive ideals in the areas of standardization products and designs. He energetically promoted international trade by opening offices overseas that gave advice and practical help to businessmen. He was especially eager to promote [[Hollywood]] films overseas.<ref>David M. Hart, "Herbert Hoover's Last Laugh: the Enduring Significance of the 'Associative State' in the United States." ''Journal of Policy History'' 1998</ref>

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Hoover's "Own Your Own Home" campaign was a collaboration with organizations working to promote ownership of single-family dwellings, including the Better Houses in America movement, the Architects' Small House Service Bureau, and the Home Modernizing Bureau. He worked with bankers and the savings and loan industry to promote the new long term home mortgage, which dramatically stimulated home construction. <ref>Janet Hutchison, "Building for Babbitt: the State and the Suburban Home Ideal" ''Journal of Policy History'' 1997</ref>

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Hoover's "Own Your Own Home" campaign was a collaboration with organizations working to promote ownership of single-family dwellings, including the Better Houses in America movement, the Architects' Small House Service Bureau, and the Home Modernizing Bureau. He worked with bankers and the savings and loan industry to promote the new long term home mortgage, which dramatically stimulated home construction.<ref>Janet Hutchison, "Building for Babbitt: the State and the Suburban Home Ideal" ''Journal of Policy History'' 1997</ref>

Among Hoover's other successes were the [[radio]] conferences, which played a key role in the early organization, development and regulation of radio broadcasting. Hoover played a key role in major projects for navigation, irrigation of dry lands, electrical power, and flood control.

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Hoover won by a smashing landslide, carrying the more urban middle class areas of the South and nearly the entire North, apart from Catholic strongholds like New York City and Boston.

==Presidency: Great Depression==

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Hoover later came under sustained and intense attack that he did nothing to reverse the depression. He tried any number of ~~approached--but~~ none worked and the economy continued to spiral downward. His basic assumption, from 1929 to 1931, was that it was a temporary short cycle, and like all previous downturns would end shortly. Meanwhile his job was to maintain public optimism, because pessimism would make people cut back further and prolong the downturn. Hoover was using the best available economic knowledge.

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Hoover later came under sustained and intense attack that he did nothing to reverse the depression. He tried any number of approached—but none worked and the economy continued to spiral downward. His basic assumption, from 1929 to 1931, was that it was a temporary short cycle, and like all previous downturns would end shortly. Meanwhile his job was to maintain public optimism, because pessimism would make people cut back further and prolong the downturn. Hoover was using the best available economic knowledge.

===Expanding public works===

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Hoover in late 1930 created The President's Emergency Committee on Employment (PECE), as unemployment reached 11%.<ref> Estimates of unemployment were only roughly approximate before 1933.</ref> PECE tried to mobilize private charity and encouraged states, cities and Congress to increase public works spending as a stimulus. They did so, and soon the states and cities were nearly bankrupt on their own. In August 1931, finally realizing this was not a normal cycle, Hoover replaced PECE with the President's Organization on Unemployment Relief (POUR), headed by Walter S. Gifford, president of American Telephone and Telegraph, the nation's largest private company. POUR expanded, coordinated, and improved local and state relief efforts; but the economy relentlessly went lower.

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Hoover in late 1930 created The President's Emergency Committee on Employment (PECE), as unemployment reached 11%.<ref>Estimates of unemployment were only roughly approximate before 1933.</ref> PECE tried to mobilize private charity and encouraged states, cities and Congress to increase public works spending as a stimulus. They did so, and soon the states and cities were nearly bankrupt on their own. In August 1931, finally realizing this was not a normal cycle, Hoover replaced PECE with the President's Organization on Unemployment Relief (POUR), headed by Walter S. Gifford, president of American Telephone and Telegraph, the nation's largest private company. POUR expanded, coordinated, and improved local and state relief efforts; but the economy relentlessly went lower.

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In early 1931 Hoover signed the Wagner-Graham Stabilization Act, which set up the Federal Stabilization Board to initiate public works such as dams and highways. Public works did increase throughout the decade after 1929, but not enough to cover the downturn in private construction, let alone all the other negative sectors. In 1931 the mood in ~~Congress --equally~~ divided after the GOP lost seats in ~~1930--remained~~ strongly opposed to federal relief; even the National Council of Social Workers refused to endorse relief as a principle at their convention in May. New urban ~~slums--shantytowns~~ derisively called Hoovervilles by the ~~Democrats--were~~ rising in the nation's largest cities.

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In early 1931 Hoover signed the Wagner-Graham Stabilization Act, which set up the Federal Stabilization Board to initiate public works such as dams and highways. Public works did increase throughout the decade after 1929, but not enough to cover the downturn in private construction, let alone all the other negative sectors. In 1931 the mood in Congress—equally divided after the GOP lost seats in 1930—remained strongly opposed to federal relief; even the National Council of Social Workers refused to endorse relief as a principle at their convention in May. New urban slums—shantytowns derisively called Hoovervilles by the Democrats—were rising in the nation's largest cities.

===Mortgages===

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Hoover had played a major role in creating the long-term (20-year) mortgage in the 1920s. In times of prosperity mortgages accelerated national growth, as houses were built and lived in before people had saved enough to pay cash for one. But in a downturn mortgages debt hurt the economy. people sacrificed current consumption to pay the mortgage so they would not lose the house and all the money they put in it. To pay the mortgage they gave up luxuries (like a telephone or new car), made do with old clothes, canceled vacations. The foreclosure rate pushed up and construction of new houses ceased. It was much like 2008-09. Like President Obama, Hoover moved to resolve the mortgage crisis. He called for the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (passed in July 1932), that created a system of federal home loan banks to discount home mortgages. The Federal Home Loan Banks received $125 million in capital (comparable to $32 billion in 2009) to fund the home mortgages held by financial concerns.<ref> The "comparable" figures here are calculating by taking the same % of the GDP in 2009 as the sum was a % of GDP in 1930, 1931 or 1932. This can be found by using these multipliers: to compare spending in 1929 versus 2009, multiply by 146; use 167 in 1930; 197 in 1931; 259 in 1932, and 268 in 1933.</ref> Hoover believed that the ability of private lending institutions to secure new sources of capital would encourage them to make more construction loans and revive the industry. But it had little effect.

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Hoover had played a major role in creating the long-term (20-year) mortgage in the 1920s. In times of prosperity mortgages accelerated national growth, as houses were built and lived in before people had saved enough to pay cash for one. But in a downturn mortgages debt hurt the economy. people sacrificed current consumption to pay the mortgage so they would not lose the house and all the money they put in it. To pay the mortgage they gave up luxuries (like a telephone or new car), made do with old clothes, canceled vacations. The foreclosure rate pushed up and construction of new houses ceased. It was much like 2008-09. Like President Obama, Hoover moved to resolve the mortgage crisis. He called for the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (passed in July 1932), that created a system of federal home loan banks to discount home mortgages. The Federal Home Loan Banks received $125 million in capital (comparable to $32 billion in 2009) to fund the home mortgages held by financial concerns.<ref>The "comparable" figures here are calculating by taking the same % of the GDP in 2009 as the sum was a % of GDP in 1930, 1931 or 1932. This can be found by using these multipliers: to compare spending in 1929 versus 2009, multiply by 146; use 167 in 1930; 197 in 1931; 259 in 1932, and 268 in 1933.</ref> Hoover believed that the ability of private lending institutions to secure new sources of capital would encourage them to make more construction loans and revive the industry. But it had little effect.

===RFC===

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The most successful Hoover ~~program--one~~ that continued under ~~FDR--was~~ the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]], proposed by Hoover and created by Congress in early 1932. The collapse in the value of assets combined with demands from panicky depositors to get their money out meant that many banks that were otherwise solvent, hoarded their money and refused to make loans. It was much like the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]]. The RFC could make loans to banks, insurance companies and railroads. The Emergency Relief and Construction Act of July 21, 1932, enlarged its power to allow for loans to state government and to farm agencies. The immediate aim was to restore confidence in financial institutions generally and encourage them to start lending again, prevent ruinous bankruptcies that would further destabilize the shaky economy, ~~and--hopefully-- revive~~ the economy through the restoration of credit. The RFC was capitalized at $500 million (comparable in size to $130 billion in 2009), provided by the federal government, and it was empowered to sell $3.3 billion (comparable to $850 billion in 2009) of debentures. Through the end of the Hoover administration $2.2 billion was actually loaned to authorized borrowers (comparable to $590 billion). The RFC saved many railroads, banks, and insurance companies. Democrats limited its effectiveness by overly stringent security requirements for loans and by the decision of Congress to require public disclosure of borrowers, which virtually forced a bank to admit publicly it was in trouble.

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The most successful Hoover program—one that continued under FDR—was the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]], proposed by Hoover and created by Congress in early 1932. The collapse in the value of assets combined with demands from panicky depositors to get their money out meant that many banks that were otherwise solvent, hoarded their money and refused to make loans. It was much like the [[Financial Crisis of 2008]]. The RFC could make loans to banks, insurance companies and railroads. The Emergency Relief and Construction Act of July 21, 1932, enlarged its power to allow for loans to state government and to farm agencies. The immediate aim was to restore confidence in financial institutions generally and encourage them to start lending again, prevent ruinous bankruptcies that would further destabilize the shaky economy, and—hopefully—revive the economy through the restoration of credit. The RFC was capitalized at $500 million (comparable in size to $130 billion in 2009), provided by the federal government, and it was empowered to sell $3.3 billion (comparable to $850 billion in 2009) of debentures. Through the end of the Hoover administration $2.2 billion was actually loaned to authorized borrowers (comparable to $590 billion). The RFC saved many railroads, banks, and insurance companies. Democrats limited its effectiveness by overly stringent security requirements for loans and by the decision of Congress to require public disclosure of borrowers, which virtually forced a bank to admit publicly it was in trouble.

==Presidency: Other actions==

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Hoover organized the [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]], reorganized the [[Bureau of Indian Affairs]], proposed a federal [[United States Department of Education|Department of Education]], advocated fifty-dollar-per-month [[pension]]s for Americans over 65, chaired [[White House]] conferences on child health, protection, homebuilding and homeownership, and signed the [[Norris-La Guardia Act]] that limited judicial intervention in labor disputes.

===Indians===

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Hoover's Quaker upbringing influenced his views that Native Americans needed to achieve economic self-sufficiency. He chose Senator [[Charles Curtis]], an ~~Indian--as~~ his Vice President. (Curtis was the first and last Indian to hold high national office, but he was a figurehead, not a policy maker.) Hoover appointed Charles J. Rhoads as commissioner of Indian affairs. He supported Rhoads' efforts to achieve Indian assimilation and sought to reduce the federal role in Indian affairs to the minimum. He wanted to have Indians acting as individuals instead of as tribes, and assuming the responsibilities of citizenship which had been granted pursuant to [[Indian Citizenship Act of 1924]].<ref>Thomas A. Britten, "Hoover and the Indians: the Case for Continuity in Federal Indian Policy, 1900-1933" Historian 1999 61(3): 518-538. Issn: 0018-2370 </ref>

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Hoover's Quaker upbringing influenced his views that Native Americans needed to achieve economic self-sufficiency. He chose Senator [[Charles Curtis]], an Indian—as his Vice President. (Curtis was the first and last Indian to hold high national office, but he was a figurehead, not a policy maker.) Hoover appointed Charles J. Rhoads as commissioner of Indian affairs. He supported Rhoads' efforts to achieve Indian assimilation and sought to reduce the federal role in Indian affairs to the minimum. He wanted to have Indians acting as individuals instead of as tribes, and assuming the responsibilities of citizenship which had been granted pursuant to [[Indian Citizenship Act of 1924]].<ref>Thomas A. Britten, "Hoover and the Indians: the Case for Continuity in Federal Indian Policy, 1900-1933" Historian 1999 61(3): 518-538. Issn: 0018-2370</ref>

===Foreign Policy===

Regarding to foreign policy, Hoover originated what Roosevelt later called the "[[Good Neighbor Policy]]" by withdrawing American troops from [[Nicaragua]] and [[Haiti]]. He proposed an arms embargo on [[Latin America]] and a one-third reduction in the world's naval, which was called the [[Hoover Plan]]. The [[Roosevelt Corollary]] was dropped as a part of U.S. foreign policy. He and his powerful Secretary of State [[Henry Stimson]] formulated the [[Stimson Doctrine]] that said the United States would not recognize territories gained by force. This meant the U.S. refused to recognize Japan's seizure of Manchuria.

==Hoover's popularity takes a hit==

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Many people lost their jobs during the Great Depression and were forced to move into "shantytowns" that became known as "Hoovervilles", a mocking tribute to the President whom they blamed for their financial woes. <ref>http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/depress/hoovers.html</ref> (This link contains pictures of several "Hoovervilles".) Hoover's popularity took a further hit when a group of veterans from [[World War I]] known as the [[Bonus Army]] marched on [[Washington, D.C.]] to demand their cash bonuses that they were to receive in 1945 for their military service. <ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bonusarmy.htm</ref> Hoover deployed the Army to drive out these marchers, of whom there were up to 10,000, which was a further public relations nightmare. Hoover lost the [[United States presidential election of 1932]] election by a landslide to [[Democrat]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], winning only 59 electoral votes. <ref>http://www.statemaster.com/graph/pre_1932_ele_vot_for_her_hoo-1932-electoral-votes-herbert-hoover</ref>

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Many people lost their jobs during the Great Depression and were forced to move into "shantytowns" that became known as "Hoovervilles", a mocking tribute to the President whom they blamed for their financial woes.<ref>http://memory.loc.gov/learn/features/timeline/depwwii/depress/hoovers.html</ref> (This link contains pictures of several "Hoovervilles".) Hoover's popularity took a further hit when a group of veterans from [[World War I]] known as the [[Bonus Army]] marched on [[Washington, D.C.]] to demand their cash bonuses that they were to receive in 1945 for their military service.<ref>http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/bonusarmy.htm</ref> Hoover deployed the Army to drive out these marchers, of whom there were up to 10,000, which was a further public relations nightmare. Hoover lost the [[United States presidential election of 1932]] election by a landslide to [[Democrat]] [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], winning only 59 electoral votes.<ref>http://www.statemaster.com/graph/pre_1932_ele_vot_for_her_hoo-1932-electoral-votes-herbert-hoover</ref>

==Miscellaneous==

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The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located in West Branch, Iowa. <ref>http://hoover.archives.gov/</ref>

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The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located in West Branch, Iowa.<ref>http://hoover.archives.gov/</ref>

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Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, served as the president of the Girl Scouts. <ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/lh31.html</ref>

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Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, served as the president of the Girl Scouts.<ref>http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/lh31.html</ref>

Hoover was against the U. S.'s entry into World War II. In a radio address to the nation from Chicago on September 16, 1941, he said, "...And what happens to the millions of enslaved people of Russia and to all Europe and to our own freedoms if we shall send our sons to win this war for Communism?" Ref: ''Freedom Betrayed'', Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, California, by Herbert Hoover, page 259, published 2011.

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===Basic readings===

* Best, Gary Dean. ''The Politics of American Individualism: Herbert Hoover in Transition, 1918-1921'' (1975) [http://www.questia.com/read/15384473 online edition], by a conservative scholar

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* Bornet, Vaughn Davis, ''An Uncommon President.'' In: Herbert Hoover Reassessed. (1981), pp. ~~71-88~~, by conservative scholar

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* Bornet, Vaughn Davis, ''An Uncommon President.'' In: Herbert Hoover Reassessed. (1981), pp. 71–88, by conservative scholar

* Burner, David. ''Herbert Hoover: A Public Life''. (1979). good one-volume biography by a liberal historian

* Fausold, Martin L. ''The Presidency of Herbert C. Hoover.'' (1985) standard scholarly overview.

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* Barry, John M. ''Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America'' (1998), Hoover played a major role.

* Best, Gary Dean. ''The Politics of American Individualism: Herbert Hoover in Transition, 1918-1921'' (1975) [http://www.questia.com/read/15384473 online edition]

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* Bornet, Vaughn Davis, ''An Uncommon President.'' In: Herbert Hoover Reassessed. (1981), pp. ~~71-88~~.

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* Bornet, Vaughn Davis, ''An Uncommon President.'' In: Herbert Hoover Reassessed. (1981), pp. 71–88.

*Britten, Thomas A. "Hoover and the Indians: the Case for Continuity in Federal Indian Policy, 1900-1933" ''Historian'' 1999 61(3): 518-538. Issn: 0018-2370

* Burner, David. ''Herbert Hoover: A Public Life''. (1979). good one-volume biography.

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* DeConde, Alexander. ''Herbert Hoover's Latin American Policy.'' (1951).

* Dodge, Mark M., ed. ''Herbert Hoover and the Historians.'' (1989).

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* Doenecke, Justus D. "Anti-Interventionism of Herbert Hoover" Journal of Libertarian Studies, Summer 1987, 8(2), pp. ~~311-340~~. [http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/8_2/8_2_10.pdf online version]

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* Doenecke, Justus D. "Anti-Interventionism of Herbert Hoover" Journal of Libertarian Studies, Summer 1987, 8(2), pp. 311–340. [http://www.mises.org/journals/jls/8_2/8_2_10.pdf online version]

* Fausold, Martin L. ''The Presidency of Herbert C. Hoover.'' (1985) standard scholarly overview.

* Fausold Martin L. and George Mazuzan, eds. ''The Hoover Presidency: A Reappraisal'' (1974).

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* Houck, Davis W. "Rhetoric as Currency: Herbert Hoover and the 1929 Stock Market Crash" ''Rhetoric & Public Affairs'' 2000 3(2): 155-181. Issn: 1094-8392

* Hutchison, Janet. "Building for Babbitt: the State and the Suburban Home Ideal" ''Journal of Policy History'' 1997 9(2): 184-210

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* Lee, David D. "Herbert Hoover and the Development of Commercial Aviation, 1921-1926," ''Business History Review'', Vol. 58, No. 1, Transportation (Spring, 1984), pp. ~~78-102~~ [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3114529 in JSTOR]

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* Lee, David D. "Herbert Hoover and the Development of Commercial Aviation, 1921-1926," ''Business History Review'', Vol. 58, No. 1, Transportation (Spring, 1984), pp. 78–102 [http://www.jstor.org/stable/3114529 in JSTOR]

* Lichtman, Allan J. ''Prejudice and the Old Politics: The Presidential Election of 1928'' (1979), statistical analysis of voting patterns

* Liebovich, Louis W. ''Bylines in Despair: Herbert Hoover, the Great Depression, and the U.S. News Media'' (1994) [http://www.amazon.com/Bylines-Despair-Herbert-Hoover-Depression/dp/0275948439/ref=sr_1_35/103-4827826-5463040?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1193933525&sr=1-35 excerpt and text search]

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