Herbert Hoover was the thirty first president of the United States. His term was from 1929 to 1933. He was the first president born west of the Mississippi river. He was a self made man who rose from humble beginnings. He became a millionaire through his mining career. He was a humanitarian who helped people in Europe after World War I. through his success in government being the head of the food administration and secretary of commerce he was able to win the the presidential election.
Soon after he took office the great depression started and he became unpopular because people thought he was not doing enough to help get America out of it (History). Herbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. His parents were named Hulda and Jesse Hoover. His father was a quaker and worked as a blacksmith. Jesse also worked as a farm equipment salesmen. His mother was a seamstress who eventually adopted Quakerism (Biography). When Hoover was six years old his father died of a heart attack. Then, three years later when he was nine his mother past away of pneumonia.
This felt him an orphan at the age of nine. He was raised by his maternal aunt and uncle. Their names were John and Laura Minthorn. John was a well known doctor in Oregon. They raised Hoover in the state of Oregon. At the age of 14 he left school. He began to work as a clerk at his uncle’s business (Archives). Herbert Hoover was a member of the first graduating class at Stanford University. He graduated in the year 1895 as a mining engineer with a Geology degree (History). His first job was pushing ore carts in California. Later, he got a real job in the mining industry in San Fransisco.
He evaluated mines to see if hey were a good purchase. When he was twenty seven he partnered with an English mining company and began to travel the world. He traveled the world five times in five years. He moved to Australia and China and worked there as a mining engineer until 1902. In 1908 he opened his own mining consulting business (USHistory). His wife, Lou Henry, followed him everywhere he went. They met in at Stanford University. They got married on February tenth of 1899. They traveled many times and ended up in China during the Boxer Rebellion. He worked there as an engineer and Lou worked at a hospital (Whitehouse).
Some years later Herbert Jr. was born on the fourth of August in 1903. Then in 1907 Allen Hoover was born on July seventeenth. Herbert Jr. became a successful businessman and politician. He passed away in 1969. Allen became a miner, financier and rancher. Allen passed away in 1993 (History). In 1914 Hoover organized the Commission of Relief for Belgium. This commission provided food for many people in Belgium and France. In 1917, President Wilson made him the food administrator. Shortly after he became the food administrator, he founded the American Relief Administration (History).
This program feed many people in twenty one different countries. Hoover got the reputation of a Humanitarian because of all this programs he started to help feed civilians in countries who were affected by war (Biography). In the years of 1865 to 1923 he Hoover served as secretary of commerce under president Harding. He continued this position under president Coolidge through the years of 1872 to 1933 (History). Then, he became the Republican nominee for the 1928 election. He promised to continue to bring peace and prosperity to the nation.
He won forty states and defeated the Democratic nominee, Alfred E. Smith. In his speech he says he does not have fear for this country and the future is bright (Whitehousehistory). The stock market crash occurred a year after Hoover took office. This began the Great Depression (Biography). It got worse throughout his presidency. Businesses began to fail across the nation. The unemployment rate went form three percent to twenty three percent in 1932. Many people lost everything. People began to live in Hoovervilles, which were shack like houses. He designed many plans to help the economy during the depression. Some of these later became components of relief services later on.
Hoover’s response to this crisis was limited because of him beliefs. He believed that if the government got to involved it would be a threat to capitalism. He thought that it should be handled locally and with volunteers. He also vetoed many bills that would provide direct relief to Americans who were struggling (History). In Hoover’s later years of presidency, he made the Star Spangle Banner the national Anthem of the United States in 1931 (Biography). By the time of the 1932 election Hoover had become greatly unpopular. Winning only six states, he was defeated by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Roosevelt was the governor of New York. He promised to create economic relief programs known as the New Deal (History). After his presidency, he returned to public service by helping Truman and later Eisenhower with increasing government efficiency. Truman appointed him to a commission, which elected him chairman to reorganize the Executive Departments in 1947 (Museum). This came to be known as the Hoover Commission. He also donated the Herbert Hoover presidential library in West Branch, lowa. He wrote over forty books in his life time. He also wrote articles criticizing Roosevelt’s New Deal Program.
He talked about how investing too much power into the federal government could be dangerous. He also went all of the world helping the poor and homeless. Hoover died on October 20th, 1964 in New York City at the age of ninety. He was buried in him home town, West Branch lowa. Herbert Hoover had many accomplishments throughout his life. He helped not only his own country, but others as well. Even after he left the white house the depression still went one for eight more years. So, after his death people grew more favorable of him and his presidency.
