HERBERT_HOOVER
O2O1O3
When Herbert Hoover won the presidential election of
1928, he defeated the Democratic candidate Alfred E.
Smith by the largest majority of votes received up to that
point. Four years later he lost the 1932 election to Franklin
D. Roosevelt by an even larger margin. The cause was the
Great Depression which began only seven months after he
took office. Hoover had entered the White House during prosperous times, and when the
crash came, the people only naturally blamed him. Little did they realize that the nation had
been on a reckless collision course with itself for a long time and that regardless of who had
been President, the Great Depression would have occurred.
Hoover was born in 1874 in West Branch, Iowa, the first President to be born west of the
Mississippi River. His father, a Quaker blacksmith, died when Herbert was only six, and his
mother died when he was nine. He was raised by relatives, spending most of his childhood
with an uncle. After getting his secondary school education, he become interested in
engineering and enrolled at Stanford University as a geology student. There he met Lou
Henry, the daughter of a wealthy banker. The two were later married and had two sons.
Herbert Hoover began his career as a mining engineer in San Francisco. Shortly thereafter, he
moved on to a job in Australia, and then ten years later accepted a position with the Chinese
government as an engineering consultant. From there he went to London, where he started
as a partner in a mining firm; then he established his own company. He became a millionaire
and developed a reputation as an honest, yet successful businessman. When World War I
broke out, Hoover volUnteered to help stranded Americans get home. He also organized a
relief program for Belguim. When the United States entered the war, Hoover was appointed
by President Wilson to head the Food Administration. He helped enact a voluntary program
to cut down on the intake of food by Americans to help feed the starving millions in Europe.
From that point, Hoover served as Secretary of Commerce under both the Harding and
Coolidge administrations.
When Calvin Coolidge chose not to run for President in 1928, the nomination fell upon the
shoulders of Herbert Hoover. After his landslide win, Hoover joyously entered the White
House expecting prosperity to continue. When the depression first hit, most people thought
it was only a temporary thing and didn’t seem too concerned. Hoover continued to convince
them their problems would be short-lived, and he personally was reluctant to use his ex
ecutive powers to interfere. But by 1932, he realized the full impact of the problems and
began to call for help from Congress in passing laws that would aid the distressed economy.
By election time in November of that year, it became clear that the Republicans had little
chance of winning, and the Democratic candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt won by a landslide.
After retiring, Hoover spent much of his time traveling, lecturing and writing books. He died
in 1964 at the age of 90.
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UERBERT llOVE
Name
Presidential Trivia
1. What was Herbert Hoover’s major field of study at the university level?
2. Herbert Hoover was the first President to be born west of the Mississippi—the place was
the
small
community
in
Iowa
3. It was at this famous California university that Herbert Hoover met and fell in love with
Lou Henry, who would later become his wife after they both graduated.
4. The term used to describe the voluntary economizing food cutbacks by Americans to
feed the starving people of Europe was_________________________________________
5. The term used to describe the make-shift, tar-paper shacks that were commonplace dur
ing the Great Depression
6. The post served by Herbert Hoover during the administrations of both Warren G. Har
ding and Calvin Coolidge
7. The massive Hoover Dam on the Colorado River was once called____________________
8. Although she had no daughters of her own, Lou Hoover was interested in this associa
tion for girls, and not only contributed heavily towards its success but also served as its
president.
9. Herbert Hoover defeated this man in the election of 1928 in the greatest landslide of
votes up to that point in history.
10. The ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol (as provided by the Eighteenth Amend
ment) was called____________________________
11. The “bonus army” that marched on Washington in 1932 was made up of
12. The Washington custom of cabinet members’ wives receiving callers one day each week
was called___________________________ and was abandoned by Lou Hoover during
her husband’s administration.
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UEflBERT UOVE
Name
•
For Thinking and Discussing
1929
1.
What were the causes of the Great Depression of
2.
What was the difference between the terms “Hooverize” and “Hooverville,” both
famously associated with the administration?
3.
How
did
and the years that followed?
the Reconstruction Finance Corporation try to help business during the Great
Depression?
4.
How was Herbert Hoover able to restore his good name to the public after he left the
White House?
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