Herbert Hoover is a true American success story. Orphaned at a young age in Iowa, Herbert was sent to live with family in Oregon. Young Herbert dropped out of school at the age of 13 and never attended high school. His only formal education came in the form of tutoring in the evening. However, his true education came working as a clerk in his uncle's real estate office. Eventually, Hoover was accepted into Stanford University where he studied Geology. After college he traveled the world, from Australia to China working in mining operations. By the early 1900s, Hoover had founded his own successful mining business and become a multimillionaire. The poor orphan kid from Iowa, was now an international capitalist. When World War I began, Hoover helped to organize the a relief effort to send food to war-torn Belgium. Given the scale of the suffering in Europe during WWI, it would not be an overstatement to say that Herbert Hoover's efforts help to save the lives of thousands, if not millions, of innocent civilians. His efforts did not go unnoticed. Upon America's entrance into the war, Hoover was quickly selected by President Woodrow Wilson to oversee the U.S. Food Administration. The organization oversaw the process of feeding our troops overseas, while still meeting he needs of families at home. After the war, Hoover made sure that desperate Europeans, including America's former enemies, received food. In this role, Hoover, yet again, excelled. During both the Harding and Coolidge administrations, Hoover served as Secretary of Commerce; far from the most prestigious cabinet post. However, Hoover, reluctant to enter public service, approached the job with the same Quaker work ethic that had served him so well in business. As Commerce Secretary Hoover was known for his administrative skills and efficiency. A true big business conservative, Herbert Hoover seemed an obvious choice for the GOP nomination in 1928. Hoover was not a dynamic speaker. He was a man lacking charisma with none of the polish of a professional politician. After all, he'd never been elected to any office before in his life. However, he did have a reputation for hard work, integrity, and administrative skill. These qualities, coupled with a booming economy, the appearance of peace in the world, and a hopelessly divided Democratic Party, Herbert Hoover was easily elected President of the United States. During the 1928 campaign, Herbert Hoover proclaimed "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land." Despite these claims, within months of his inauguration, the stock market crashed and the economy fell into the depths of the Great Depression. As the months passed the economy suffered in ways that few Americans alive today could ever imagine. Banks were closing at a staggering place causing the loss of millions of dollars of savings and freezing the flow of credit. Without access to credit, thousands of businesses failed causing millions to lose their jobs. The staggering unemployment rate (25% at its highest point), and the evaporation of income caused a domino effect that led once healthy small businesses to fail due to a lack of customers. Without any semblance of a social safety net, desperate people turned to any form of assistance that was available. Within months, churches and private charities were overwhelmed. To their credit, I suppose, gangsters like Al Capone offered temporary relief to the desperate masses in the form of soup kitchens. Where was the government? Where was the President? To many Americans, it appeared that Hoover wasn't willing to do anything to help. After all, this was a man who once claimed that government assistance, of any kind, would destroy work ethic, the "rugged individualism" that had made America great. Thousands of Americans simply wandered from town to town looking for any kind of work. None was to be found. In the meantime, Hoover's name became a pseudonym for economic misery. The unemployed who had lost their homes would often times construct a "Hoover Hotel": a cardboard shack. An entire community of shacks was known as a "Hooverville." Fair or unfair, President Hoover became the symbol of the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover does not deserve blame for causing the Great Depression. No president could have caused such a catastrophe even if they tried. It is not the Depression itself that lands Hoover so far down on my list, it is his reaction to the crisis. One of Hoover's ideas was a scheme known as "Voluntarism." Hoover asked business owners and leaders of industry to voluntary keep wages high and resist laying off employees. To Hoover it seemed like a logical idea. As a businessman himself, Hoover believed in treating people with respect and valuing employees. Perhaps, if he were still in the private sector, he would have done the sort of voluntary sacrifice he was asking of the business community. However, industry leaders had to deal with the economic realities of the day and were not about to jeopardize their already suffering businesses anymore than was necessary for the sake of the nation's economic health. Voluntarism didn't work. Hoover did propose some government spending to try to stimulate the economy. In fact, the iconic Hoover Dam which bares his name was an example of such an infrastructure project that paid dividends economically in the years to come. That be said, Hoover, ever the cautious businessman avoided aggressive government action for fear that the budget might be negatively impacted. Government spending under Hoover, no matter how effective, always fell woefully short of what was necessary to have any real impact on the economy. In 1932, after some debate, the Republicans renominated Hoover for another term as President. Hoover's chances of being reelected in the middle of the Depression were already dismal before he made the greatest mistake of his presidency. An army of unemployed WWI veterans descended on Washington in the summer of 1932. The "Bonus Army" was in Washington to lobby Congress for advance payment of a bonus that was due veterans in 1945. Given the scale of the economic downturn, it is understandable why desperate people would try to get immediate access to cash that was owed them, even if it was 13 years early. After all, when there is a chance to help veterans and their families, the politically wise (not to mention moral) thing to do is listen. Hoover disagreed. When a bill to help the Bonus Marchers was defeated in Congress. The marchers, who had set up a camp of shacks, a "Hooverville", just outside of town, refused to leave. After police intervention failed to remove the marchers, Hoover ordered Gen. Douglas MacArthur to remove the veterans, the trespassers, with federal troops. MacArthur no doubt exceeded his orders when he had soldiers charge at the veterans with bayonets fixed. The troops threw tear gas into the encampment. As the marchers and their families fled, many were injured, others arrested, and their camp burned to the ground. Hoover's days in office were numbered. Hoover's failed presidency, on the surface, doesn't seem like it ever should have happened. The biggest challenge of the day was the economy. Who better to solve economic problems than a successful businessman? As it turns out, success in business, is far from a guarantee of success in politics. Leadership is more than head knowledge and the American people are more than numbers on a spreadsheet. Herbert Hoover, for all of his business acumen and work ethic, lacked perhaps the greatest quality needed in a President: the ability to inspire hope. Herbert Hoover is a great American. A true success story that proves what is possible through hard work, intelligence, and a self-determination. He should be honored for his many successes, service to his country, and indeed the people of Europe. However, his presidency was a victim of the times. The only way to be a truly great President is to be faced with a crisis and successfully lead the nation through. Very few individuals possess such abilities. Sadly, Herbert Hoover did not.
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Derek Trent AshcraftA place to discuss, among other things, politics, culture, food, faith, and nonsense. Archives
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