Presidential Biographies: Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover, like John Quincy Adams and James Buchanan, is someone whose election to the Presidency portended great things to come, but whose terms in office ended in disappointment. Hoover was someone that many thought of as the smartest man in America, often referred to as a "whiz kid." Raised by an uncle and aunt in Oregon after the death of his parents (his father by suicide and his mother from typhoid), Hoover was an early graduate of Stanford University. He became rich from a career as a mining engineer that took him to different places in the world including London and China at the time of the Boxer Rebellion.
Hoover was tapped by President Woodrow Wilson to lead the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium during the first world war. When Warren Harding became president, he offered Hoover any position in his cabinet other than state or treasury, Hoover surprised many when he close to serve as secretary of commerce, though his being something of a busy body led to his being considered as "Under-Secretary of all other departments." As Commerce secretary he was influential in the development of air travel and radio and he led the federal response to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Hoover won the Republican nomination in the 1928 presidential election and defeated Democratic candidate Al Smith in a landslide. Smith accused Hoover's campaign of playing dirty pool by appealing to southern prejudice against Catholics (Smith was the first Roman Catholic to be the presidential nominee of a major political party. Hoover's term began during a period of economic prosperity, but things soon turned sour. In October of 1929, the stock market crashed, and soon the Great Depression was on. The stench of the Depression stuck to Hoover. His name became associated with the poverty of the era. For example shanty towns were called Hoovervilles. Rightly or wrongly, Hoover's response to the depression was seen as lackluster. Things got worse when a large group of first world war veterans known as the Bonus Army marched into Washington DC demanding early payment of bonuses that were scheduled for years later. Instead they were met with force ordered by General Douglas MacArthur. It was a public relations disaster for Hoover.
Hoover was decisively defeated by Democratic nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. His retirement lasted over 31 years long, one of the longest presidential retirements. He authored numerous works and became increasingly conservative in retirement, and was very critical of Roosevelt. His public image later improved as he took on various humanitarian assignments for presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
There have been a number of recent biographies of Hoover in the past decade, perhaps because with a rise in conservatism, admiration or at least a reconsideration of Hoover's economic philosophy has come about. The best of these, in my opinion, is Kenneth Whyte's 2017 biography entitled Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times. Another very good one is Glen Jeansomme's 2016 book Herbert Hoover: A Life. I also enjoyed Charles Rappleye's 2016 book Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency, although the focus of this book is on Hoover's presidency, as opposed to his entire life. Earlier biographies of Hoover include the 2005 Signature Series volume written by David Burner called Herbert Hoover: A Public Life, and Herbert Hoover: A Biography written by Eugene Lyons and published in 1964.
Hoover himself wrote his memoirs in three volumes. Volume 1 is entitled 1874-1920: Years of Adventure; volume 2 is called 1920-1933: The Cabinet and the Presidency; and volume 3 is 1929-1941: The Great Depression. A fourth volume was published in 2013, edited by George Nash, entitled The Crusade Years, 1933-1955: Herbert Hoover's Lost Memoir of the New Deal Era and Its Aftermath. He also wrote a number of other books including a collection of his letters to young people called On Growing Up (published in 1962), one called American Individualism (first published in 1922) and a book about his favorite pastime, Fishing for Fun and to Wash Your Soul (published in 1963).
Hoover's 1932 battle with Roosevelt is the subject of a number of books, including Eric Rauchway's 2018 book Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Clash Over the New Deal. There is also Scott Martelle's recent (2023) book 1932: FDR, Hoover and the Dawn of a New America.
The University of Kansas Press's American Presidency Series volume on Hoover's presidency was published in 1985 and was written by Martin Fausold, and is called The Presidency of Herbert Hoover
In recent times, there has been a reconsideration of how much responsibility Hoover should bear for the Great Depression and whether he was unfairly branded as too laissez-faire once it hit. It is just one more aspect of a fascinating life that presents those interested in American history with much to ponder.
Hoover was tapped by President Woodrow Wilson to lead the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium during the first world war. When Warren Harding became president, he offered Hoover any position in his cabinet other than state or treasury, Hoover surprised many when he close to serve as secretary of commerce, though his being something of a busy body led to his being considered as "Under-Secretary of all other departments." As Commerce secretary he was influential in the development of air travel and radio and he led the federal response to the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
Hoover won the Republican nomination in the 1928 presidential election and defeated Democratic candidate Al Smith in a landslide. Smith accused Hoover's campaign of playing dirty pool by appealing to southern prejudice against Catholics (Smith was the first Roman Catholic to be the presidential nominee of a major political party. Hoover's term began during a period of economic prosperity, but things soon turned sour. In October of 1929, the stock market crashed, and soon the Great Depression was on. The stench of the Depression stuck to Hoover. His name became associated with the poverty of the era. For example shanty towns were called Hoovervilles. Rightly or wrongly, Hoover's response to the depression was seen as lackluster. Things got worse when a large group of first world war veterans known as the Bonus Army marched into Washington DC demanding early payment of bonuses that were scheduled for years later. Instead they were met with force ordered by General Douglas MacArthur. It was a public relations disaster for Hoover.
Hoover was decisively defeated by Democratic nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election. His retirement lasted over 31 years long, one of the longest presidential retirements. He authored numerous works and became increasingly conservative in retirement, and was very critical of Roosevelt. His public image later improved as he took on various humanitarian assignments for presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
There have been a number of recent biographies of Hoover in the past decade, perhaps because with a rise in conservatism, admiration or at least a reconsideration of Hoover's economic philosophy has come about. The best of these, in my opinion, is Kenneth Whyte's 2017 biography entitled Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times. Another very good one is Glen Jeansomme's 2016 book Herbert Hoover: A Life. I also enjoyed Charles Rappleye's 2016 book Herbert Hoover in the White House: The Ordeal of the Presidency, although the focus of this book is on Hoover's presidency, as opposed to his entire life. Earlier biographies of Hoover include the 2005 Signature Series volume written by David Burner called Herbert Hoover: A Public Life, and Herbert Hoover: A Biography written by Eugene Lyons and published in 1964.
Hoover himself wrote his memoirs in three volumes. Volume 1 is entitled 1874-1920: Years of Adventure; volume 2 is called 1920-1933: The Cabinet and the Presidency; and volume 3 is 1929-1941: The Great Depression. A fourth volume was published in 2013, edited by George Nash, entitled The Crusade Years, 1933-1955: Herbert Hoover's Lost Memoir of the New Deal Era and Its Aftermath. He also wrote a number of other books including a collection of his letters to young people called On Growing Up (published in 1962), one called American Individualism (first published in 1922) and a book about his favorite pastime, Fishing for Fun and to Wash Your Soul (published in 1963).
Hoover's 1932 battle with Roosevelt is the subject of a number of books, including Eric Rauchway's 2018 book Winter War: Hoover, Roosevelt, and the First Clash Over the New Deal. There is also Scott Martelle's recent (2023) book 1932: FDR, Hoover and the Dawn of a New America.
The University of Kansas Press's American Presidency Series volume on Hoover's presidency was published in 1985 and was written by Martin Fausold, and is called The Presidency of Herbert Hoover
In recent times, there has been a reconsideration of how much responsibility Hoover should bear for the Great Depression and whether he was unfairly branded as too laissez-faire once it hit. It is just one more aspect of a fascinating life that presents those interested in American history with much to ponder.