(1874–1964). Herbert Hoover became the 31st president of the United States in 1929. When he took office he was considered a humanitarian and a talented administrator because of relief work he had organized in Europe during World War I. After the onset of the Great Depression, however, his image changed because of his inability to relieve economic hardship in his own country. Early years and educationHerbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, in West Branch, Iowa. The Hoovers were Quakers of Swiss origin. Herbert's father, Jesse Clark Hoover, was a blacksmith and farm-implement dealer. His mother, Hulda Minthorn Hoover, was a very religious woman. Both of Herbert's parents died before he was 10 years old. In 1884 Herbert left Iowa for Newberg, Oregon. He grew up there in the home of John and Laura Minthorn, an uncle and aunt. He attended the Quaker academy in which his uncle taught. Later, after the family moved to Salem, he attended night school while working as an office boy in his uncle's business. In 1891 he became one of the first students at New Leland Stanford Jr. University (now Stanford University) in Palo Alto, California. Marriage and engineering careerAfter graduating in 1895 with a degree in geology, Hoover became a mining engineer. He worked on a variety of projects that took him to many countries. In 1899 Hoover married Lou Henry, whom he had met at Stanford. On their wedding day, February 10, the couple sailed for China, where Hoover served as chief engineer for the Chinese Imperial Bureau of Mines. In 1900 the Hoovers were caught in China during the Boxer Rebellion, an uprising aimed at driving all foreigners out of the country. During this period he helped direct relief for trapped foreigners. Hoover became a partner in a British engineering firm in 1902. Six years later he started his own engineering firm with offices in New York City, San Francisco, London, Petrograd (now St. Petersburg), and Paris. He was an outstanding businessman. By 1915 his personal wealth was about 4 million dollars. Public serviceWhen World War I started in 1914, Hoover was in London. He drew on his earlier experience in China to help stranded U.S. tourists return home. For three years he headed the Commission for Relief in Belgium. This organization provided food for some 9 million people in Belgium and northern France, which had been occupied by the German army. When the United States entered the war, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover food administrator. In this role Hoover oversaw the distribution of millions of tons of food to the Allies and to famine-stricken areas of Europe. From 1921 to 1928 Hoover served as secretary of commerce under presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. He greatly expanded the activities of the Department of Commerce. Among other activities, he promoted labor rights and government regulation of such new industries as radio broadcasting and commercial aviation. PresidencyHoover was nominated as the Republican candidate for president in 1928. He easily defeated the Democratic nominee, New York Governor Alfred E. Smith. When Hoover was elected, the United States was very prosperous. He expressed the hope that “we shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this nation.” Soon after he took office, however, the country fell into the deepest economic depression in its history. Hoover quickly took action. He met with business leaders and received assurances that they would not lay off workers or cut wages. He urged the states to create jobs through public works. He encouraged state and local governments to join private charities in caring for the new poor. In 1931 he backed creation of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, a large-scale institution that lent money to banks, loan associations, insurance companies, and railroads. Hoover's efforts failed to revive the economy. As the Depression worsened, the public began to blame the president for their problems. Demands rose for greater government action. Hoover strongly believed in self-sufficiency, however, and therefore he refused direct relief payments to individuals. By the end of his term, an estimated 12 to 13 million people were unemployed. Defeat and retirementHoover was renominated by the Republicans in 1932. Voters who still held him responsible for the Depression elected the Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt by a wide margin. After leaving the presidency, Hoover moved with his wife first to Palo Alto, California, and then to New York City. In books, articles, and speeches he criticized Roosevelt's economic recovery program, the New Deal, as too radical. He also opposed Roosevelt's policies during World War II. Hoover's last major activity was assisting presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower in streamlining the federal government. Hoover died in New York City on October 20, 1964, at the age of 90. He was buried near his birthplace in West Branch. The research-oriented Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University is named in his honor. |