{"id":1580,"date":"2012-03-15T10:56:22","date_gmt":"2012-03-15T15:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=1580"},"modified":"2015-11-12T08:30:03","modified_gmt":"2015-11-12T14:30:03","slug":"hoover-book-out-to-set-the-record-straight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/hoover-book-out-to-set-the-record-straight\/","title":{"rendered":"Hoover book out to set the record straight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Glen<\/a>
Glen Jeansonne displays his eighth book, a biography of President Herbert Hoover. (Photo by Alan Magayne-Roshak)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1948, Life magazine named the 10 worst U.S. presidents. Time magazine ran a similar list only last year. In each \u2013 and in almost every such ranking in between \u2013 President Herbert Hoover was included, blamed for not doing enough to end the Great Depression.<\/p>\n

But is Hoover\u2019s stained reputation deserved?<\/p>\n

A UWM historian, who has published the first new book on Hoover\u2019s presidency in 25 years, says no. In fact, many of the social programs contained in Franklin D. Roosevelt\u2019s \u201cNew Deal\u201d were actually conceived or launched by the 31st<\/sup> president. Hoover\u2019s presidential campaign of 1928 even coined the term \u201cNew Deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compared to many of today\u2019s Republican politicians, says Professor Glen Jeansonne, Hoover could hardly be labeled \u201ctea party.\u201d Jeansonne\u2019s book, \u201cThe Life of Herbert Hoover, Fighting Quaker, 1928-1933,\u201d was published recently by Palgrave Macmillan. In it, he describes how Hoover grappled with many of the same issues that continue to challenge presidents to this day \u2013 welfare, health care and a weak economy. Hoover\u2019s approach to these issues was progressive, says Jeansonne.<\/p>\n

\n

Additional Resources<\/h4>\n

Jeansonne\u2019s website:<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/historyjeansonne.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Book Signing:<\/strong>
\n\u201cHistory Night\u201d
\nFriday, May 11, 7 p.m.,
\nBoswell Book Company,
\n2559 N Downer Ave.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A supporter of organized labor, Hoover first proposed plans for social security, old-age pensions and medical care in the 1920s. He passed tax hikes for the wealthy and established public works projects, such as the Hoover Dam, during the Depression, but they didn\u2019t last as long as programs during Roosevelt\u2019s administration, says Jeansonne.<\/p>\n

Hoover was cautious of overspending because he felt that habitual deficit spending would evolve into the norm, he says. \u201cOnce a program was inserted into government, he believed it would be impossible to extract. He also saw the addictive nature of welfare, and also how such policies could end up becoming a political plum for votes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoover had never held elective office before winning the presidency in 1928. But he was well-known by the public because of his celebrated work in distributing foodin Europe both during and after World War I. As Secretary of Commerce, Hoover raised the profile of this cabinet position and looked for ways to increasing efficiency in business and industry. \u00a0So recognized was his humanitarian work, Hoover was asked to coordinate disaster relief after devastating floods in the Mississippi Delta in 1927.<\/p>\n

\u201cJeansonne skillfully explains how a man once heralded as the \u2018Master of Emergencies\u2019 was later branded as \u2018President Reject,\u2019\u201d says Timothy Walch, director emeritus of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. \u201cIt\u2019s a cautionary tale of the contradictions between public service and political leadership and Jeansonne tells it well.\u201d<\/p>\n

A contentious relationship between Hoover and Roosevelt didn\u2019t help Hoover\u2019s legacy. Neither did Roosevelt\u2019s friendship with Will Rogers, the favorite celebrity of average America at the time. Both publicly criticized Hoover.<\/p>\n

Jeansonne believes the amount of misinformation about Hoover that spread \u2013 some even permeating textbooks \u2013 resulted from the fact that Hoover\u2019s presidential papers were not made public until 1964, a generation after Roosevelt\u2019s papers were made available.<\/p>\n

\u201cMuch information about Hoover\u2019s presidency was taken from Roosevelt\u2019s library because there wasn\u2019t any other material out there for scholars,\u201d says Jeansonne. \u201cBy the time Hoover\u2019s papers were opened, historians weren\u2019t interested anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Orphaned at nine, Hoover rose to wealth and fame as an international mining engineer, but for most of his years in public service, he took no salary.<\/p>\n

Characteristic of his Quaker upbringing, Hoover did not demonstrate much emotion in public nor did he seek credit for his achievements. Uncomfortable with self-promotion and disinterested in perpetuating himself in office, Hoover\u2019s humility and down-to-business style was misconstrued as being dull and uncaring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Life of Herbert Hoover, Fighting Quaker, 1928-1933\u201d is Jeansonne\u2019s eighth book. He has also written biographies of Barack Obama and Elvis Presley (both with David Luhrssen), Huey P. Long, Leander H. Perez and Gerald L.K. Smith, the last book being a nominee for the Pulitzer Prize in biography in 1988.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hoover\u2019s stained reputation is undeserved, says a UWM historian who has published a book on Hoover\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40008,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[175],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-1580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-research"],"yoast_head":"\nHoover book out to set the record straight<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hoover\u2019s stained reputation is undeserved, says a UWM historian who has published a book on Hoover\u2019s presidency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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