Welcome, deep divers. Today, we're plunging into,
well, one of the most compelling and often, I
think, misunderstood figures in American history.
Definitely complex. We're talking about a man
globally celebrated for saving millions from
starvation, literally millions, a self -made
millionaire engineer, yet his very name, almost
cruelly, became synonymous with national despair,
Hoovervilles. Yeah, it's such a stark contrast,
isn't it? It really is the paradox of Herbert
Hoover. Exactly. Picture this orphan kid, humble
Quaker beginnings in Iowa, rising to international
fame, immense wealth, just through sheer brain
power and drive. And then he's just vilified,
politically shattered, really, during the biggest
economic crisis the country had ever faced. His
story, it just defies any easy labels. It really
does. So our mission today for you is to peel
back those easy labels. We want to dive deep
into the multifaceted man behind them. And get
past the headline. We'll uncover his surprising
triumphs, the deeply held beliefs that really
guided him, and the immense, often just overwhelming
challenges he faced. And we're drawing from a
pretty comprehensive overview of his life and
career here. Right. We're pulling out those crucial
nuggets, those insights that really define his
legacy, hopefully giving you a fuller picture.
So let's unpack this truly fascinating American
story. Let's do it. early life and unexpected
beginnings. Okay, so to really get Hoover, you
almost have to start with his childhood. It's
a story of, well, remarkable hardship, but also
this almost unbelievable resilience. Yeah, it
sets the stage for so much. He was born in West
Branch, Iowa, that's 1874, into a devout Quaker
family. Quakers, right. His father, Jesse Hoover,
was a blacksmith, also had a farm implement business,
you know, modest but stable life. And his mother...
hold a minthorn hoover, she was quite prominent
in their church's prayer life. Known for her
faith, but also apparently quite intellectually
curious. But that stability, it just didn't last.
Tragically short -lived, Herbert, or Bertie as
they called him. He was only six when his father
died suddenly. Heart attack, just 34 years old.
Wow, six. Yeah, and the family struggled, obviously.
Then, just three years later, his muddle gets
typhoid fever and dies too, leaving Herbert and
his two siblings completely Orphaned. I mean,
it's almost impossible to imagine the emotional
weight the practical burden Losing both parents
before your 10. It's profound and this brutal
early experience. It really shaped him it instilled
this deep almost instinctual self -reliance and
An absolutely unwavering work ethic you see that
thread throughout his whole life. That's such
a crucial point because he ends up bouncing between
relatives. Lived for a bit with his uncle Alan
Hoover on a farm back in Iowa, you know, learning
the tough life of farming. Right. And then, age
11, he moves clear across the country. Newburgh,
Oregon. To live with another uncle, John Minthorn,
he was a Quaker physician, also a businessman.
A different kind of environment. Very different
and apparently quite strict. Minthorn ran a tight
ship and young Herbert found himself working
as an office boy. Learned bookkeeping, typing.
this early exposure to both physical labor on
the farm and then the sort of nascent world of
business. It's incredibly formative. You can
just see how a kid facing those challenges, that
kind of loss and upheaval, would develop this
extraordinary capacity to just adapt and overcome.
Absolutely. It really set the stage for a young
man who wasn't going to be defined by, say, academic
brilliance alone. Oh. Which is interesting, because
when he gets to Stanford University in 1891.
Part of the very first class, the pioneer class.
Right, the inaugural class. He famously failed
all his entrance exams except mathematics. Oh,
but math. That's amazing. Yeah. He himself later
said he's a mediocre student. Nah. But that label,
it kind of misses where his real talents were,
I think. And that's where it gets really interesting,
doesn't it? Because maybe he wasn't hitting the
books in the traditional sense, but his energy,
it was channeled into these intensely practical
things and campus leadership. Exactly. He had
all sorts of part -time jobs, like doing laundry
for other students, working as a geological assistant,
just showing that innate drive. Always working.
Always working. And more impressively, he co
-founds the Romero Hall Boarding Club. This was
the university's first student cooperative boarding
house. A co -op, okay. Yeah, and it wasn't just
about saving cash. The stated goal was sociability
and economy. It was a pragmatic solution to student
living costs, but it also shows that early talent
for organizing, for community building. And this
is the supposedly shy kid, right? Yeah, described
as naturally shy. But his organizational skills
just shone through. He becomes a student treasurer,
famously manages both the baseball and the football
teams, even helps organize the very first big
game against Cal. Wow. So these weren't just
fun activities. No, no. They were real opportunities
to hone his leadership, his administrative skills,
often kind of behind the scenes. And then he
gets an internship with the U .S. Geological
Survey that confirms it for him. Mining geology,
that's his path. So the picture forming here
isn't the bookish academic. Not at all. It's
this profoundly practical, driven, resourceful
young guy with this innate knack for organizing,
leading, adapting. These are the exact traits
that are going to define his incredible global
career just a few years later. And those traits,
yeah, they absolutely propelled him onto the
global stage and with astonishing speed, really.
After graduating, it's the panic of 1893. Tough
time to find work. Right, a stark reminder of
economic instability. But he eventually gets
a job, low -paying, with a prominent mining engineer.
Luby Jeanine. Started literally pushing ore carts,
I think. Yeah, basic labor first, then moved
up to a saying, eventually became an assistant.
Real grunt work grounded him in the nuts and
bolts of the industry. But then 1897 comes this
huge opportunity. Light changing, really. He
gets recruited by Buick, Mooring & Co. This was
a top tier London based mining firm. And get
this, he's just 23. They send him to Western
Australia as their chief mining engineer. At
23. 23. With a phenomenal salary for the time.
$5 ,000 a year. That's like, what, nearly $190
,000 today. Incredible, and his job. To basically
revitalize these failing gold mines on the edge
of the Great Victoria Desert. He arrives in this
land he describes so vividly, characterized by
black flies, red dust, and white heat. Sounds
brutal. Oh, incredibly harsh. Isolated conditions
really roughing it. It does sound like something
out of an adventure novel. He's not just an engineer.
He's like an explorer, a problem solver in the
middle of nowhere. Absolutely. And his work in
Australia, it was transformative. He brought
in modern American mining methods, boosted efficiency,
found new ore bodies. The company ended up controlling
something like 50 % of Western Australia's gold
production because of his efforts. 50%. That's
staggering. But you mentioned it wasn't all smooth
sailing. There was controversy. Right. And this
is where it gets really interesting and reveals
some early complexities in his thinking that,
well, they echo later. See, to cut costs and
also push back against the growing labor movement,
Australian miners were organizing, pushing for
better wages, safer conditions. Naturally. Hoover
controversially brought in Italian immigrants.
They'd work for less. Now this decision, economically
driven, sure, but it sparked huge opposition
from the Australian unions. Okay, I see. And
these experiences, managing large scale operations
in these really tough remote places, they kind
of solidified his opposition to what he saw as
restrictive labor protections. Things like minimum
wage, workers comp. He felt the unfairly burden
the owners hindered efficiency. So these hard
knocks, real world experiences directly shaped
his view on that tension between industry and
labor, a tension that would, you know, dominate
the century. Exactly. And from Australia, his
career just keeps rocketing upward. He gets promoted
to junior partner, moves to China, developing
gold mines near Tianjin. China, OK. Another complex
situation. Very. And his perspective there was
also complex. He was genuinely interested in
Chinese history and culture, studied law. language,
collected artifacts. But at the same time, he
publicly warned about what he called the inefficiency
and perceived racial inferiority of Chinese workers.
Ooh, that's difficult to hear today. It is, deeply
problematic views, even for the time. But here's
the contradiction. He held these views, yet he
also tried to improve their terrible working
conditions by ending these exploitative long
-term servitude contracts. So a real contradiction
there. Judgmental, yet reformist in a way. It
speaks to the nuanced and, yeah, sometimes uncomfortable
reality of looking back at historical figures.
His time in China wasn't just complex, it was
dangerous. In 1900, he and his wife, Lou Henry,
they get trapped in Tianjin during the Boxer
Rebellion. Right, the Boxer Rebellion. They're
stuck with other foreigners, endure this harrowing
siege, shelling, starvation. They barely survive
until multinational forces rescue them. This
direct experience of international conflict,
chaos, it must have deepened his understanding
of global politics immensely. Absolutely. First
-hand experience. After that, he becomes an operating
partner in a new Sino -British mining venture.
His job requires constant travel. He's visiting
mines across continents. He really is a global
figure way before politics was even on the radar.
But his time with Buick, mooring? It didn't end
well? No, it ended pretty tumultuously. He left
the company because of mounting legal and financial
problems. There was a particularly nasty scandal
involving a partner who admitted to stock fraud.
But this difficult experience, it kind of propelled
him into his next phase. He strikes out on his
own, sets himself up as an independent mining
consultant and financier based in London, his
specialty. reviving troubled mining operations.
They called him the Doctor of Sick Minds. Doctor
of Sick Minds, I like that. He and his associates,
they really were engineering doctors to sick
concerns. And he built a global network doing
this. Unparalleled network and expertise. He
sets up offices in all the key financial and
mining hubs. San Francisco, London, New York,
Paris, Petrograd, even Mandalay. Wow. And by
1914, through incredibly shrewd investments,
brilliant engineering, he's amassed a personal
fortune of $4 million. $4 million in 1914. That's
over $125 million in today's money. Just astounding
wealth. He co -founded the Zinc Corporation in
Australia, introduced this groundbreaking froth
flotation process for getting minerals out of
ore. Froth flotation? Yeah, revolutionary method.
Vastly improved recovery, especially for complex
ores. He also worked extensively in Burma, in
Russia. significantly boosting mineral production
there, too. So he's not just a manager, he's
an innovator. But beyond the business, you mentioned
he was an intellectual. A serious one. He published
his Principles of Mining in 1909. It becomes
a standard textbook. And what's really surprising
for the time is that the book actually reflects
some progressive ideas. He endorsed things like
the eight -hour work day, recognized the importance
of organized labor. Which seems like a contrast
to some of his earlier actions. It does. It highlights
that complexity again. And then there's this
remarkable scholarly achievement. He and his
wife, Lou Henry, she was a fellow Stanford geology
grad, very accomplished herself. They undertake
this massive project. What was that? Translating
George's Agricola's 16th century Deira Metallica.
It's the classic work on mining and metallurgy
written in Latin. Wow, translating a 16th century
Latin text on mining. Exactly. Their translation,
meticulously annotated, published in 1912, it's
still considered foundational. It really shows
their intellectual partnership. That's incredible.
And personally? Well, despite that Quaker upbringing,
he apparently rarely attended meetings as an
adult. But he and Lou built this life together,
had two sons, a life that was clearly intellectually
vibrant and incredibly globally ambitious. OK,
so you'd think, right? A guy with that kind of
global success, huge wealth, intellectual pursuits.
He'd just settle into private life. Seems logical.
But then World War I happens, and it completely
changes his path, redirects everything. How did
it start? August 1914. War breaks out. There
are something like 100 ,000 Americans stranded
in Europe. Hoover's in London at the time. He
uses his massive network to basically organize
a committee, get them all home safely. Seems
like a practical, helpful thing to do. Exactly.
But it was the catalyst. He actually reflected
on it later, saying, this is a great quote. I
did not realize it at the moment, but on August
3, 1914, my career was over forever. I was on
the slippery road of public life. Wow. Slippery
road. He knew it was a turning point. A dramatic,
irreversible turn. From engineering and finance
to this life of just unparalleled public service
humanitarian work. And he jumped in with that
typical Hoover energy. And his first huge project
was just monumental, right? The Commission for
Relief in Belgium, the CRB. Monumental is the
word. Germany invades Belgium, occupies it, creates
this massive food crisis because under international
law at the time, the occupying power wasn't obligated
to feed the civilians. OK, so the Belgians are
starving. Exactly. But the British have a naval
blockade against Germany. They won't let food
in unless a strictly neutral party supervises
the whole thing. Makes absolutely sure the food
doesn't go to the Germans. Sounds like an impossible
diplomatic nod. Completely impossible. And Hoover
steps right into the middle of it. He essentially
engineers the CRB. It becomes, as someone described
it, a veritable independent republic of relief.
An independent republic. Yeah. With its own flag,
its own navy, factories, mills, railroads. This
organization operated on a scale and with a level
of diplomatic independence, you just didn't see
outside. of actual governments. That's incredible.
How did he manage it? He worked from London,
14 hour days apparently, coordinating this huge
fleet of ships, negotiating supply routes, dealing
directly with the German occupation authorities.
He crossed the North Sea, which was dangerous
during the war, 40 times to negotiate. 30 times.
Administering relief for 9 million war victims.
nine million people. An American diplomat, Walter
Page, recognized just how insane this was. He
said Hoover was probably the only man living
who has privately, i .e. without holding office,
negotiated understandings with the British French,
German, Dutch, and Belgian governments. Privately
negotiated. Yeah. It just shows this unbelievable
skill in diplomacy, logistics, and building trust
between warring sides, all for humanitarian aims.
It's like a master class in global problem solving.
Just stunning. A stunning display of genius,
really. So when the US finally enters the war
in 1917, President Wilson knows exactly who to
call. He sees Hoover's unique abilities and appoints
him to lead the US Food Administration. The food
czar. He quickly earns that nickname, yeah. recruits
hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the
country. His main goal was twofold. Get essential
food to the Allies to keep them fighting, and
stabilize food prices at home to prevent economic
problems. And crucially, he wanted to do it without
resorting to mandatory rationing, which was politically
really difficult. So how did he do it without
rationing? He launched the Hooverizing campaign.
Yeah. Voluntary conservation. It was incredibly
successful. Not just a slogan, it mobilized the
whole country. Right. Meatless Mondays. Meatless
Mondays, Wheatless Wednesdays, and when in doubt,
eat potatoes. Families across America bought
in. These small collective actions had a massive
impact. They shipped 23 million metric tons of
food to the Allies. 23 million tons. It was absolutely
crucial in preventing the Allies from collapsing
and ultimately helped win the war. And this effort
earned Hoover huge national acclaim, especially
among progressives who just admired his expert
administration, his efficiency. So the war ends
November 1918. Armistice. But the crisis isn't
over. Far from it. Europe is devastated. Widespread
starvation looming. Estimates were maybe 400
million people at risk. 400 million. Yeah. So
Hoover just seamlessly transitions the Food Administration
into the American Relief Administration, the
ARA. Another massive undertaking, providing aid
across Central and Eastern Europe, even rebuilding
critical infrastructure, railways, bridges. He's
everywhere. And he becomes a close advisor to
Wilson at the Paris Peace Conference. He's passionately
advocating for the League of Nations for what
he called a good peace, one based on reconciliation,
not just punishment. Even John Maynard Keynes,
who was famously critical of the Versailles Treaty.
Right, Keynes ripped it apart. Exactly. But Keynes
singled out Hoover for praise. He noted Hoover's
realism, knowledge, magnanimity and disinterestedness.
High praise from a tough critic. And this humanitarian
drive, it went beyond just the allies, right?
Absolutely. And this is crucial for understanding
his character, I think. Despite a lot of political
opposition back home, Hoover extends aid. to
defeated Germany, and perhaps even more controversially
to famine -stricken Soviet Russia. Millions were
dying there. Aid to the Bolsheviks. That must
have been unpopular. Hugely unpopular. But who
were famously declared 20 million people are
starving? Whatever their politics, they shall
be fed. That act, driven by those deep Quaker
values of universal compassion, it really makes
you think, doesn't it? It does. How do you balance
humanitarian needs against politics, especially
in crisis? Where does empathy stop? It's a timeless
question. And around the same time, 1919, he
also sets up the Hoover War collection at Stanford.
Now it's the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.
He meticulously saved documents about the war,
the revolutions, recognizing how important preserving
that history was. So all this work, this global
stage, it naturally makes him a potential presidential
candidate in 1920. Completely propelled him into
the national spotlight. And he appealed to progressives.
He was advocating for some pretty forward -thinking
stuff. Higher taxes on wealth. a minimum wage,
a 48 -hour work week, ending child labor. Sounds
almost like a Democrat today. Well, initially
he didn't even declare a party. He kind of hoped
maybe both parties would want him. Eventually
he declared as a Republican. But it didn't work
out. No. His progressive leanings, plus his close
ties to the outgoing Democrat, Wilson, that alienated
conservative farmers and the powerful Republican
old guard. The political climate was just too
polarized for someone who'd operated mostly above
the partisan fray on this global humanitarian
level. His candidacy basically fizzled after
he lost the California primary. So his unique
mix wasn't quite right for the party politics
of the moment. Seems that way. Expert administration
and progressive ideals. Maybe not what the established
parties were looking for right then. OK, so the
1920 presidential run doesn't pan out, but his
reputation still sky high. humanitarian, brilliant
organizer, undeniable. Absolutely. So President
Warren G. Harding wins the election, recognizes
Hoover's talents, offers him a cabinet post,
and Hoover makes a really interesting choice.
What does he pick? The Commerce Department, which
back then was considered kind of a minor post,
small budget, vaguely defined duties, mostly
just Collecting statistics. Not exactly glamorous.
Not at all. But this is Herbert Hoover, right?
He had a radically different vision. He didn't
see it as minor. He saw it as the hub of the
nation's growth and stability. The hub. OK, ambitious.
And he didn't just sit there. He dramatically
expanded its power, its influence. He famously
just seized responsibilities from other departments
if he thought they were dropping the ball or
if a new national need popped up. He just took
them. Pretty much. This proactive, almost audacious
approach quickly earned him that nickname. Secretary
of Commerce and undersecretary of all other departments.
That says it all. It really does. What's fascinating
is how he just redefined the role, showed that
characteristic drive, that belief in expert administration,
efficiency, progress. He wanted to promote efficiency,
cut waste, boost production, conserve resources.
He talked about a third alternative, a path between
unrestrained capitalism and socialism, government
as a facilitator, a data gatherer, promoting
voluntary cooperation. And he dives into new
technologies with that same energy. Boundless
zeal. Take radio. Just think, between 1923 and
1929, the number of families with radios exploded
from like 300 ,000 to over 10 million. It was
chaos on the airwaves. The Wild West of radio.
Totally. Hoover steps in. He organizes these
national conferences, broadcasters, manufacturers,
regulators, all in one room. They lay the groundwork
for the Radio Act of 1927. This allowed the federal
government to step in and regulate stations that
were considered non -useful or just causing interference.
It was groundbreaking stuff, regulating a brand
new mass medium. And aviation, too. Air travel
was just starting. Equally profound impact there.
He saw the potential, but also the risks. He
didn't want it to develop chaotically, so he
actively encouraged private industry, but at
the same time, pushed hard for safety regulations.
Under him, the Commerce Department developed
emergency landing fields across the country.
They mandated lights and radio beams on runways,
established federal power to inspect planes,
license pilots. These were crucial steps, setting
the precedent for federal oversight that eventually
led to the FAA. He saw the future. and move to
make it safer, more efficient. That practical,
organizing mind again, even for everyday things.
Absolutely. The automobile was changing everything,
bringing mobility, but also new dangers in cities.
So he hosts these national conferences on street
and highway safety, experts city leaders. They
come up with the uniform vehicle code and the
model municipal traffic ordinance. Standardizing
traffic laws. Yeah, promoting uniformity across
states and significantly helping prioritize the
car in city planning. It shows that foresight,
again, anticipating the impact of new tech and
trying to bring order to rapid change. Now, despite
all the success, you mentioned he had this, uh,
Britain problem because he'd worked for British
firms. Right. Biographers point this out. There
was this political risk, especially in that nationalistic
era, that he could be painted as too pro -British,
maybe even a British tool. So how did he handle
that? Politically. Strategically. First, he cultivated
that image of the dispassionate scientist, then
the humanitarian during the war relief. And finally,
he used a tactic he called twisting the British
tail. Twisting the British tail. What does that
mean? We saw it clearly during the rubber crisis
of 1925 26 Britain controlled like 75 % of the
world's rubber They set up this scheme to restrict
exports and prices tripled it hammered American
industries, especially cars. Okay Hoover went
on the attack vociferously denounced it as a
monopolistic practice. He basically turned British
economic policy into a nationalist issue for
Americans. It shows how even really capable public
servants have to play the image game, manage
political vulnerabilities to stay viable. Fascinating
political maneuvering. And speaking of navigating
challenges, the great Mississippi flood of 1927,
huge disaster. Immense devastation. Banks, levies
break across seven states. 1 .5 million people
displaced. And even though disaster response
wasn't technically commerce's job. The governors
asked for Hoover specifically. They did. They
asked President Coolidge to put Hoover in charge
of the federal response. Coolidge was reluctant
at first, you know, states' rights, local responsibility,
but the political pressure was intense. So Hoover
takes charge. And with that characteristic energy,
sets up over 110 cities, deploys a fleet of over
600 boats for rescue and supply. personally raises
$17 million for relief. This rapid, effective
leadership just boosted his national profile
even more. By 1928, you could argue he was almost
overshadowing Coolidge, the indispensable problem
solver. But there was a darker side to that flood
response. There was. A deeply troubling, often
overlooked part. Hoover apparently ordered the
suppression of reports about the widespread mistreatment
of African Americans in the refugee camps. They
faced forced labor, segregation. terrible conditions.
He suppressed the reports. Why? Seems it was
done with the cooperation of a prominent black
leader, Robert Russell Moten. The understanding,
apparently, was that Moten would get influence
and consideration once Hoover became president.
That's a really stark example of how even humanitarian
efforts can get tangled up with political calculations
and expose those deep racial injustices of the
time. That's very disturbing. Beyond these huge
events, what else was he doing at Commerce? He
turned the department into this powerhouse of
economic information, recruited top academics
to publish reports, giving businesses and policymakers
vital data. He pushed hard for industrial standardization,
getting industries to agree on uniform sizes
for everything from car tires to, believe it
or not, baby bottle nipples. Baby bottle nipples?
Seriously? Seriously. All about eliminating waste,
boosting efficiency. He also strongly supported
the Own Your Own Home campaign, worked with bankers
to promote long -term mortgages, which really
helped fuel housing construction in the middle
class. Secured U .S. Steel's agreement to an
eight -hour workday played a key role in the
Colorado River Compact sorting out water rights
in the West. He was incredibly active. Tireless.
And all this success, this high visibility, plus
the booming Roaring Twenties economy It made
him the obvious choice for the 1928 Republican
presidential nomination, secured it on the first
ballot. And the election. Landslide victory over
Democrat Al Smith. Won 58 % of the popular vote,
444 electoral votes. People credited his reputation
as the efficient expert, the prosperity, and
also deep splits in the Democratic Party over
things like religion. Smith was Catholic and
Prohibition. Now, there was an interesting detail
about the census. Yeah, it's often overlooked.
The 1920 census results were never actually used
to reapportion Congress. So the Electoral College
in 28 was based on outdated population figures
from 1910. Could it have changed the outcome?
Hard to say definitively, but it's a factor.
And his strategy in the South, the Lily White
strategy? That was hugely significant and damaging
in the long run. He deliberately removed black
Republicans from leadership positions in the
South, trying to appeal to white Southern voters.
deeply alienated African -American leaders. And
this contributed to the shift. Many historians
see it as a key reason why black voters who had
traditionally supported the Republican Party,
the party of Lincoln, started moving towards
the Democratic Party in the following decades.
A major political realignment was beginning.
So Herbert Hoover walks into the White House,
March 1929, immense goodwill, this amazing reputation,
great engineer, great humanitarian, and just
boundless optimism. Oh, the optimism was palpable.
He famously declared, given the chance to go
forward with the policies of the last eight years,
we shall soon, with the help of God, be in sight
of the day when poverty will be banished from
this nation. Banished from the nation, wow. And
people believed it. It reflected that buoyant
spirit of the roaring twenties. But beneath that
shiny surface, some really dangerous economic
problems were festering, largely ignored or at
least downplayed. Like what? What were the warning
signs? Well, you had the ongoing farm crisis.
Agricultural prices had tanked after WWI and
never really recovered. Consumer goods, especially
cars, appliances, they were hitting market saturation.
Demand was slowing down. Crucially, income inequality
was massive and growing. Wealth was concentrated
at the top, which limited purchasing power for
most people. And the stock market. Yeah, the
big one. Excessive speculation had driven stock
prices way, way beyond their actual value. A
classic bubble. Some regulators, some conscious
bankers, they actually warned Coolidge and then
President -elect Hoover urged them to curb speculation.
But they didn't act. Both were reluctant. Limited
government intervention was their philosophy.
They didn't want to interfere directly with the
Federal Reserve System's operations. And then?
Then, just months into his term, October 1929,
stock market crashes. Black Tuesday. It signals
the brutal start of the Great Depression. And
this just completely redefined his presidency.
Completely transformed his image from savior
to, well, perceived failure. His view of the
problem was key. He didn't see it as a fundamental
flaw in capitalism. He saw it primarily as a
lack of confidence in the financial system. A
confidence problem. Yeah. His philosophy, rooted
in that Quaker background, his self -made story,
it favored bolstering businesses, banks. He thought
that was the way to restore stability. He strongly
opposed direct federal relief to individuals.
He feared creating a dole, something that would
weaken self -reliance, initiative, the nation's
moral fiber. He truly believed local governments,
private charities should handle individual needs.
So his initial response reflected that philosophy.
Exactly. Volunteerism. Indirect action. Right
after the crash, he calls in top business and
labor leaders, urges them, don't cut wages, don't
have strikes, keep things going voluntarily.
He convinced railroads, utilities to spend more
on infrastructure, hoping for private stimulus,
urged the Fed to cut interest rates, secured
more money for the federal farm board to help
agriculture. All aimed at stimulus preventing
deflation. Right. But all while sticking to his
guns. No direct federal relief for the unemployed.
State and local responsibility. That was his
mantra. But then came a major misstep. The Smoot
-Hawley Tariff. Huge controversial misstep. June
1930. Hoover initially just wanted higher tariffs
on agricultural goods to help farmers. But it
got tangled up in Congress. The final bill jacked
up tariffs on hundreds of imported goods across
the board. Did he support that broader bill?
He wasn't directly involved in the congressional
wrangling, but over a thousand economists warned
against it. Still, he felt he had to sign it.
It was the main legislative achievement of the
Republican Congress, and he feared a political
backlash if he vetoed it. And the consequence?
Severe. Immediate. Canada. France. dozens of
other countries retaliated instantly with their
own tariffs on American goods. It sparked this
vicious global trade war. International trade
just collapsed. It made the economic crisis catastrophically
worse everywhere. So it backfired badly. Horribly.
Historians often cite it as a major factor that
deepened the Depression. It wrecked his political
standing, worsened the economy, isolated the
U .S. It was a critical turning point, really.
And the situation kept getting worse. Yeah. End
of 1930, unemployment hits 11 .9 percent. worrying.
But people still didn't grasp how deep this is
going to be. Then, 1931, a wave of catastrophic
bank failures wiped out savings, paralyzed credit,
just escalated the collapse dramatically. And
Hoover's position on the gold standard? He refused
to abandon it, tied the dollar's value to gold.
He saw any alternative as irresponsible, called
it collectivism, thought leaving gold would cause
runaway inflation, destroy financial stability
completely. He also blamed Europe partly, right?
Deeply convinced the weak European economy. tangled
in war debts was dragging America down. Germany
was near collapse in 31, so he initiated the
Hoover moratorium, a one -year halt on all European
war debt and reparations payments, hoped it would
give them breathing room. Did it work? Well -intentioned,
but ultimately, no. It didn't stop further defaults,
didn't stop the cascading financial crisis in
Europe, and tragically, that deepened economic
distress, especially in Germany. It directly
fueled the rise of extremist movements. Figures
like Hitler capitalized on that despair. So by
mid -1931, things are really bad. Unemployment
soaring. 15 % by mid -31. Painfully clear this
was way worse than any previous downturn. And
Hoover himself. He was naturally reserved, hated
public speaking, political showmanship. He struggled
badly with his public image. And his opponents
seized on that. Oh, effectively and often cruelly.
Democrats painted him as cold, incompetent, reactionary,
just out of touch. Those awful terms sprung up.
Hoovervilles for the shanty towns, Hoover leather
for cardboard shoes, Hoover blanket for newspapers.
They became these pervasive symbols of his perceived
failure. It really makes you wonder, doesn't
it, how much did his personality, his communication
style, maybe his aversion to public performance,
how much did that affect his ability to lead,
even with his experience and intentions? It's
a huge question. It highlights just how crucial,
effective public communication showing empathy
really is during a national crisis. Regardless
of underlying competence. Okay, so early 1932,
unemployment is nearing, what, 23 %? Just catastrophic
numbers. The pressure on Hoover is immense. Unbearable.
Faced with just undeniable suffering across the
nation, the total failure of his voluntary approach,
he finally, finally agrees to more direct federal
action. This was a huge shift for him given his
core beliefs. What was the big move? The Reconstruction
Finance Corporation. The RFC established January
1932. This is a powerful new federal agency designed
to give government -backed loans to struggling
banks, railroads, local governments. So the government's
stepping in to prop up institutions. Exactly.
An unprecedented expansion of federal power in
peacetime. Now, it did save a lot of banks and
businesses from failing completely, prevented
an even deeper collapse. But... It didn't really
stimulate lending or kick -start the economy
like Hoover hoped. Why not? Partly because it
was run by pretty conservative bankers. They
were maybe understandably hesitant to make risky
loans in that climate. And it was definitely
trickle -down aid, help the big institutions,
hope it eventually reaches individuals, rather
than direct relief. What else did he do around
them? He signed the Federal Home Loan Bank Act,
created a system like the Fed, but... for housing,
to try and stabilize that market. Help pass the
Glass -Steagall Act of 1932 that was emergency
banking law to expand credit, stop gold hoarding.
And then July 32, another concession, the Emergency
Relief and Construction Act, a $2 billion public
works bill to create jobs. These all sound like
pretty major federal actions for a fiscal conservative.
Extraordinary moves for him, completely against
his instincts in many ways. But the budget was
still a massive problem. Huge problem. After
a decade of surpluses, the government had a crippling
deficit in 31. Hoover, deeply believing in balanced
budgets for stability and confidence, proposed
a drastic 30 % tax increase. Increased taxes
during a depression? Yeah. Led directly to the
Revenue Act of 1932. Increased taxes across the
board, individual income, corporate taxes. The
top income tax rate soared to 63 % highest since
the early 1920s. Did it balance the budget? Nope.
Despite those huge tax hikes, the government
still ran a significant deficit. It just shows
the overwhelming scale of the Depression. Even
massive tax increases couldn't keep up with the
collapsing economy, the unemployment, the urgent
need for spending. He was trapped. Raise taxes
and depress the economy more, or run deficits
which he thought would destroy national credit.
Let's shift gears a bit. Civil rights and this
Mexican repatriation policy, that sounds concerning.
It's a really difficult and complex part of his
presidency. Hoover rarely spoke publicly about
civil rights. He believed minorities should progress
through education, hard work, individual effort,
not federal intervention. Now, his supporters
point out, he did appoint more African Americans
to federal jobs than Harding or Coolidge combined.
But he faced huge condemnation from civil rights
leaders for refusing to back a federal anti -lynching
law. Many saw that as a basic matter of justice.
And the Lily White strategy continued? Yes. That
calculated political move in the South, removing
black Republicans to court white voters. It continued,
deeply alienating African -American leaders and,
as we said, pushed them towards the Democrats.
His nomination of Judge John Jay Parker to the
Supreme Court, a conservative Southerner with
an anti -labor, anti -black record, just fueled
that fire. The NAACP and organized labor joined
forces to defeat that nomination in the Senate.
And the Mexican repatriation. What exactly was
that? It's truly disturbing. In a desperate,
misguided attempt to reduce unemployment, Hoover
wanted to slash immigration. An executive order
in 1930 required migrants to have proof of employment
before coming. Then his administration actively
supported and organized these coercive campaigns
to prosecute and deport illegal immigrants, mainly
targeting Mexican -Americans in California and
the Southwest. So, coercive campaigns targeting
Mexican -Americans. Yes. Between 300 ,000 and
maybe even 2 million Mexicans and Mexican -Americans
were repatriated, deported, or basically expelled
during the 1930s, the vast majority during Hoover's
term. And here's the shocking part. Estimates
are 40 to 60 percent of them were U .S. citizens
by birth. American citizens were deported? Yes.
It's an incredibly dark chapter. Some scholars
argue it meets modern definitions of ethnic cleansing
because it targeted a specific group, often regardless
of citizenship. It's a tough aspect of his legacy
to confront. Absolutely. On a slightly different
note, what about Native Americans? There, he
did take some positive steps. He reorganized
the Bureau of Indian Affairs to try and limit
the exploitation of Native Americans, improve
their condition somewhat. Okay. What about prohibition?
Still the law of the land? Very much so. Hoover
took office, urging everyone to obey the 18th
Amendment and the Volstead Act. He set up the
Wickersham Commission to study how effective
Prohibition was, probably hoping they'd give
it a thumbs up. But they didn't. No, the report
was damning. Criticized the failed enforcement,
noted the massive public opposition, the rise
of organized crime. But Hoover, worried about
losing support from Prohibition advocates, refused
to endorse any changes. He stuck with it, even
though public opinion was clearly shifting. He
did. But the tide had turned. People saw it as
a failure. It bred crime, disrespect for the
law. By January 33, Congress approved the repeal
amendment. It was ratified as the 21st Amendment
by December 33. The Noll experiment was over.
His administration just had to ride out that
powerful wave of public sentiment. And foreign
relations. The world was getting increasingly
tense. Yeah, historian William Lichtenberg said
Hoover was the last American president to take
office with no conspicuous need to pay attention
to the rest of the world. Ironically, he presided
over the unraveling of the post -WWI order. How
so? In Latin America? He actually moved towards
non -interventionism there, which was a positive
shift. Released the Clark memorandum in 1930,
rejecting the old Roosevelt corollary that justified
U .S. intervention, he ended the occupation of
Nicaragua. nearly ended the one in Haiti. And
disarmament, was that a priority? A big priority.
He genuinely wanted to cut military spending,
foster peace. He got the 1930 London Naval Treaty
signed, which capped certain types of warships,
a real achievement. But his bigger proposals
of the 1932 World Disarmament Conference, like
outlawing tanks, bombers, chemical warfare, they
went nowhere. Tensions were just too high globally.
What about Japan's invasion of Manchuria in 31?
That was a major crisis. Huge crisis. Japan's
sense of a puppet state violates treaties. The
Hoover administration deplored it, but they were
cautious. Didn't want to antagonize Japan too
much. They feared weakening moderate elements
in Japan and maybe alienating a potential counterweight
to the Soviet Union, which Hoover saw as the
bigger ideological threat. So what did they do?
Their main response was the Stimson Doctrine,
named after a secretary of state. It basically
said the US wouldn't recognize any territory
taken by force. A moral statement, but it had
no real military or economic bite. All these
immense pressures, domestic crisis, global instability,
and then came the bonus army. Yeah, the bonus
army incident. June 1932, probably the single
most damaging event for his image. Thousands
of WWI veterans, desperate, broke. March on Washington.
Demanding their war bonuses early. Exactly. Bonus
is not due until 1945. They set up these camps,
these Hoovervilles, right near the Capitol. After
offers of money to leave didn't work for everyone,
local police tried to evict the remaining veterans.
It turned violent. Two protesters were killed.
And Hoover called in the Army. He made that fateful
decision. Sent in U .S. Army troops under General
Douglas MacArthur. And MacArthur, well, he went
way beyond his orders. Believing he was fighting
some kind of communist revolution, he aggressively
cleared the camps, used cavalry, tanks, tear
gas, burned the shantytowns down. Tanks against
veterans. Which is horrific. Now, Hoover hadn't
specifically ordered that level of force, but
crucially, he endorsed MacArthur's actions afterward.
It just cemented that public image. Cold, unsympathetic,
willing to use the military on his own citizens.
A PR nightmare. So heading into the 1932 election.
Things look bleak. Bleak is an understatement.
Crisis raging, bonus arnie fresh in everyone's
minds. Nobody really expected him to win. He
didn't even face serious opposition for the Republican
nomination, which tells you something. And FDR.
Franklin D. Roosevelt campaigned on bold government
action, a new deal. He attacked Hoover, relentlessly
blamed him for the Depression, painted him as
indifferent to suffering. Hoover, he broke tradition,
actually went out and gave nine major radio addresses
defending his administration, his philosophy.
How did that happen? go, but poorly. His delivery
was described as monotone, awkward, serious demeanor,
just couldn't compete with Roosevelt's charismatic
fireside chats. And the crowds he faced. Historians
say perhaps the most hostile crowds ever seen
by a sitting president. His motorcade got pelted
with eggs, rotten fruit. There were even assassination
threats. His attempts to defend his record just
didn't land. The hardship was too overwhelming.
And the result? Crushing defeat, lost decisively.
carried only six states. His popular vote dropped
by almost 19 percentage points from his 28 landslide.
Just a humiliating end, cementing that image
of the president who couldn't solve the depression.
So after that devastating loss, Hoover leaves
Washington. A bitter man, you said. Understandably
bitter. And he begins this incredibly long post
presidency. Yeah. 31 years. From 1933 until 1953,
he was the only living former president, a record
only broken by Jimmy Carter much later. Imagine
carrying that weight. through decades of huge
change. And he became a major critic of FDR.
Oh, a constant vocal critic. He grew increasingly
conservative, became the foil to FDR in the New
Deal, wrote several books laying out his arguments.
The challenge to liberty in 1934 is probably
the most famous. What did he say? He attacked
Roosevelt's policies fiercely, called the NRA,
the National Recovery Administration, fascistic,
called the 1933 Banking Act gigantic socialism.
He genuinely believed the New Deal was undermining
core American values, individualism, self -reliance,
limited government, feared it was leading towards
totalitarianism. Be sure to run again? He did.
Despite being deeply unpopular, he actually hoped
for another shot, sought the Republican nomination
in 36 and 40, but the party passed him over both
sides. Interestingly, he was the last president
to actually seek public office after leaving
the White House until Donald Trump did in 2022.
Wow. Now, during the lead up to World War II,
his views were controversial. Very much so. He
remained staunchly isolationist. In 1938, he
actually traveled to Europe and met with Adolf
Hitler. He met Hitler. Yeah. He apparently expressed
dismay about the persecution of Jews, but he
came away believing Hitler wasn't a direct threat
to the U .S. He saw FDR's foreign policy as provocative,
thought it was stopping Europe from reaching
some kind of accommodation with Germany, which
he felt was smarter. So he opposed U .S. involvement
in the war. Vigorously. Opposed Lindley's. Became
a prominent member of the isolationist America
First Committee. Now his humanitarian side still
flickered. He rejected FDR's offers for official
wartime relief roles, but he did help set up
the Commission for Polish Relief, aided Belgian
civilians again in 1940. But he was against allying
with the Soviets. Strongly against it. After
the Nazis invaded the USSR, he publicly disparaged
any tacit alliance with Stalin. He said, war
alongside Stalin to impose freedom is more than
a travesty, it is a tragedy. His unpopularity
meant FDR didn't call on him for any wartime
service, which apparently frustrated him personally,
given his relief experience. And in 45, not knowing
about the atomic bomb, he advised Truman against
demanding unconditional surrender from Japan,
worried about allied casualties in an invasion,
still focused on saving lives, even in war. It's
amazing how those political views and his humanitarian
side seem to coexist, sometimes uneasily. But
after the war, his image started to change. Slowly,
unexpectedly, yeah. A rehabilitation began. And
surprisingly, he struck up a friendship with
President Harry S. Truman. Despite huge ideological
differences, Truman actually valued Hoover's
expertise, rows above the partisan history. Truman
used Hoover's expertise. In 46, Truman sent Hoover
to Germany and Italy, a fest, the post -war food
situation. Hoover's reports were sharp, critical
of U .S. occupation policy. But his work directly
led to launching a school meals program that
fed 3 .5 million kids in the American and British
zones. Still the humanitarian. And the Hoover
Commission? Right, 1947. Truman appoints him
to lead the Commission on Organization of In
a Scab Executive Branch, tasked with finding
ways to eliminate waste, streamline government,
strengthen White House control. Here's the irony.
The guy who slammed FDR for concentrating power
now believed a stronger presidency was needed
for the atomic age. That is ironic. How was his
relationship with later presidents? He supported
Dewey against Truman in 48, but they stayed friendly.
He apparently disliked Eisenhower, thought Ike
didn't do enough to roll back the New Deal, but
Ike still appointed him to another commission.
His public standing really did improve in these
later years. Partly his service, partly his self
-deprecating humor, that famous line. Or one
about the depression. Yeah. I am the only person
of distinction who's ever had a depression named
after him. I kind of broke the ice, let people
see him differently. Did he take the presidential
pension when it was offered? He did. Congress
passed the former President's Act in 58, offered
$25 ,000 a year. Hoover was wealthy, didn't need
it. But he apparently accepted it so as not to
embarrass Truman, who supposedly did need the
money and whose situation helped get the law
passed. Interesting. And his relationship with
JFK. He declined offers for roles from Kennedy.
But surprisingly, he defended the Kennedy administration
after the Bay of Pigs disaster and during the
Cuban Missile Crisis. And he was reportedly genuinely
distraught by Kennedy's assassination. This whole
post -presidency shows him finding his way back
into public life, not through politics, but through
service, writing, and this gradual public acceptance.
He kept writing too. Prolifically. Wrote that
biography, The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson. which
maybe reflected his own understanding of facing
huge global challenges as president. His magnum
opus, though, was Freedom Betrayed, published
after his death. A massive critique of FDR's
foreign policy, especially allying with the Soviets,
reflected his lifelong anti -communism. And his
very last written words were to Truman. Yeah,
just six days before he died. Truman had slipped
in the bathtub. Hoover wrote him of this charmingly
characteristic note. Bath tubs are a menace to
ex -presidents for, as you may recall, a bathtub
rose up and fractured my vertebrae when I was
in Venezuela on your world famine mission in
1946. My warmest sympathy and best wishes for
your recovery. That's quite a closing line. It
is. poignant, a little humorous, he lived to
be 90, died in New York City October 20, 1964,
received a state funeral, buried back in West
Branch, Iowa next to Lou Henry, held that record
for the longest retirement until Carter, a life
that spanned just immense change, profound personal
transformation. So after tracing this incredible
complex life, what is Herbert Hoover's legacy?
He left office incredibly unpopular, reviled
even. Extremely unpopular. His reputation really
didn't start to recover until the 1970s, maybe
even later. Historians today generally give him
credit for his, quote, genuine belief in volunteerism
and cooperation. and for the innovation of some
of his programs, especially those later, unprecedented
federal interventions during the Depression.
But the criticisms remain. Oh, definitely. They
note his perceived political ineptitude, his
stiffness, and crucially, his failure to really
grasp the severity, the unprecedented nature
of the Depression in those critical early stages.
There's that quote from Nicholas Lemon. Right.
Lemon captures that common perception well. Hoover
remembered, as the man who was too rigidly conservative,
the hapless foil to the great Franklin Roosevelt,
the politician who managed to turn a Republican
country into a Democratic one. Polls of historians
consistently rank him in the bottom third of
presidents, 36th in that 2017 C -SPAN poll, for
instance. It's fascinating how his presidency,
specifically the Depression, just overshadows
everything else. It really does. That period
of immense struggle became so intertwined with
the historical narrative that it tragically eclipsed
decades of extraordinary humanitarian work, incredible
administrative achievements. That's the paradox
we started with. Yet despite all the criticism
of his presidency, there's still widespread praise
for his humanitarian work. Consistent, widespread
praise for that. And for his dedication to public
service, both before and after the White House.
Richard Pipes, the historian, put it starkly,
Herbert Hoover has the rare distinction of having
saved millions. For many, that remains the core
of his character, even if the presidential years
cloud it. Now, the legacy in race is complicated.
Very complicated, very difficult. Racist remarks
were common then, sadly. Contemporaries noted
Hoover reportedly never indulged in them while
president. But privately, his views reflected
the prejudices of the era. He considered white
people inherently superior, viewed mixture of
bloods disadvantageous. That's hard to reconcile.
It is. Yet despite these deeply problematic personal
beliefs, he did support education and work for
black progress, like his support for Tuskegee
Institute and his wife. Lou Henry Hoover made
that brave move, inviting Jessie DePriest, wife
of the first black congressman in decades, to
a White House tea. Broke the color bar. A symbolic
act, but significant. But leaders like W .E .B.
Dubois were critical. Very critical. Dubois called
him an undemocratic racist. And that lily white
strategy in the South? Many historians see it
as a pivotal reason for black voters leaving
the Republican Party. His early experiences in
China also seemed to shape his views on Asians,
wrongly believing they lacked mechanical instincts.
Some think this influenced his restrictive immigration
policies. It just reminds you, historical figures
are rarely simple heroes or villains. They're
products of their time with both admirable qualities
and deeply flawed views. His name is still attached
to a lot of places, though. His legacy is physically
present. Oh, absolutely. etched into the landscape.
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
in West Branch, Iowa. The Hoover Minthorn House
in Oregon, where he grew up. His Rapidan Fishing
Camp in Virginia, now a historic landmark. The
Lou Henry and Herbert Hoover House at Stanford,
now the university president's home. And of course,
the Hoover Institution at Stanford, that major
think tank. And the big one, Hoover Dam. Hoover
Dam, iconic feat of engineering. numerous schools,
even two minor planets, 932 Huveria and 3063
Herberta. There's a square name for him in Warsaw,
Poland, for his relief work there. And that quirky
medicine ball game, Hoover Ball, his doctor invented
to keep him fit. Hoover Ball. Hoover Ball. And
reflecting that early career, he's in the National
Mining Hall of Fame, along with Lou Henry and
the Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of
Fame, too. His impact on global mining was lasting.
So wrapping this up, this deep dive really shows
Hoover as this man of just immense. talent, relentless
drive, deep humanitarian conviction, his early
career, unprecedented success, engineer, relief
organizer, literally saving millions. It was
astonishing pre -presidency. But then the presidency
itself, tragically hitting right at the start
of the Great Depression, cements this totally
different image. Perceived in action, political
misjudgment. We've seen how his core beliefs,
individualism, limited government, even shaped
by some early progressive ideas, just clashed
violently with the demands of this unimaginable
economic crisis. It's a powerful, profoundly
complex story. Hoover's life, especially everything
before and after the presidency, stands in such
stark contrast to that presidential legacy. It
really raises a provocative question for you,
the listener. What's that? Can a lifetime of
extraordinary service, a person's fundamental
character, be truly eclipsed, totally redefined,
by one period of immense challenge in how the
public perceived it, especially when they're
caught in a storm, maybe bigger than any one
leader could fully control? And what does that
tell us about how history remembers its leaders,
about our own ability to see the nuances? That
is a truly thought -provoking question to leave
you with. We definitely encourage you to explore
further. Maybe visit one of those memorials,
dig into the Hoover Institution archives. Form
your own nuanced understanding of this complex,
pivotal figure in American history. Thank you
for joining us on this deep dive.