1. Herbert Clark Hoover Our 31 president By: Nate Miller Horizons

2. Table of Contents 1.Major Events While in Office 2.Family 3.Birth and Childhood 4.Career before Presidency 5.Becoming the President 6.Post-Presidential Period 7.Herbert Hoover Quotes 8.Stock Market Crash 9.Start of the Great Depression 10.Hawley-Smoot Tariff 11.Bonus Army March

3. Major Events While in Office: Stock Market Crash (1929) Start of the Great Depression (1929) Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) Bonus Army March (1932) Lame Duck Amendment Ratified (1933)

4. Family Father: Jesse Clark Hoover - Blacksmith and salesman. Mother: Huldah Minthorn Hoover - Quaker minister. Siblings: One brother and one sister. Wife: Lou Henry. Children: Two sons - Herbert Hoover Jr. and Allan Hoover.

5. Birth and childhood Herbert was born Aug. 10, 1874 in West Branch, Iowa. He grew up a Quaker and lived in Oregon at age 10. His father died when he was only 6 years old. His mother died only 2 years after that. He and his siblings were sent off to live with various relatives. He attended a school as a youth, but he never graduated high school. He was then enrolled as part of the first class at Stanford University in California. He graduated with a degree in geology.

6. Career Before presidency He worked as a mining engineer from 1896-1914. During World War 1, lead the American Relief Committee which helped stranded Americans in Europe. He was then head of commission for the relief of Belgium and American relief Administrations which sent out tons of food and supplies to Europe. He served as the food U.S. Administrator (1917- 1918). He was involved in other wars and peace efforts. From 1921-1928 he served as the secretary of Commerce of Presidents Harding and Coolidge.

7. Becoming The President In 1928, Hoover was nominated as the Republican candidate for president on the first ballot with Charles Curtis as his running mate. He ran against Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to be nominated to run for president. His religion was an important part of the campaign against him. Hoover ended up winning with 58% of the vote and 444 out of 531 votes.

8. Post-Presidential Period Hoover ran for reelection in 1932 but was defeated by Franklin Roosevelt. He retired to Palo Alto, California. He opposed the New Deal. He was appointed as the coordinator of the Food Supply for World Famine (1946-47). He was chairman of the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government or Hoover Commission (1947-49) and the Commission on Government Operations (1953-55) which were intended find ways to streamline government. He died on October 20, 1964 of cancer.

9. Herbert Hoover Quotes "The sole function of Government is to bring about a condition of affairs favorable to the beneficial development of private enterprise." "War is a losing business, a financial loss, a loss of life and an economic degeneration." "The course of unbalanced budgets is the road to ruin." "Free speech does not live many hours after free industry and free commerce die." "When there is a lack of honor in government, the morals of the whole people are poisoned.“ "Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die. And it is youth who must inherit the tribulation, the sorrow, and the triumphs that are the aftermath of war." "True Liberalism is found not in striving to spread bureaucracy but in striving to set bounds to it." "It is a paradox that every dictator has climbed to power on the ladder of free speech. Immediately on attaining power each dictator has suppressed all free speech except his own."

10. Stock Market Crash (1929) Historical Importance: The Stock Market Crash of 1929 devastated the economy and was a key factor in beginning the Great Depression. Dates: October 29, 1929 Also Known As: The Great Wall Street Crash of 1929; Black Tuesday

11. Stock Market Crash (1929) The end of World War 1 heralded a new era in the United States. It was an era of enthusiasm, confidence, and optimism. A time when inventions such as the airplane and radio made anything seem possible. A time when 19 th century morals where set aside and flappers became the new model for woman. A time when prohibition renewed confidence in the productivity of the common man. It is such time of optimism that people take there savings out from under there mattresses and out of there banks and invest it. In the 1920s, many invested in the stock market.

12. Stock Market Crash (1929) Although the stock market has the reputation of being a risky investment, it did not appear that way in the 1920s. With the mood of the country exuberant, the stock market seemed an infallible investment in the future. As more people invested in the stock market, stock prices began to rise. This was first noticeable in 1925. Stock prices then bobbed up and down throughout 1925 and 1926, followed by a strong upward trend in 1927. The strong bull market (when prices are rising in the stock market) enticed even more people to invest. And by 1928, a stock market boom had begun.

13. Start of the Great Depression (1929) Historical Importance of the Great Depression: The Great Depression, an immense tragedy that placed millions of Americans out of work, was the beginning of government involvement in the economy and in society as a whole. Dates: 1929 -- early 1940s Overview of the Great Depression: The Stock Market Crash

14. Start of the Great Depression (1929) After nearly a decade of optimism and prosperity, the United States was thrown into despair on Black Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed and the official beginning of the Great Depression. As stock prices plummeted with no hope of recovery, panic struck. Masses and masses of people tried to sell their stock, but no one was buying. The stock market, which had appeared to be the surest way to become rich, quickly became the path to bankruptcy. And yet, the Stock Market Crash was just the beginning. Since many banks had also invested large portions of their clients' savings in the stock market, these banks were forced to close when the stock market crashed. Seeing a few banks close caused another panic across the country. Afraid they would lose their own savings, people rushed to banks that were still open to withdraw their money. This massive withdrawal of cash caused additional banks to close. Since there was no way for a bank's clients to recover any of their savings once the bank had closed, those who didn't reach the bank in time also became bankrupt. Businesses and industry were also affected. Having lost much of their own capital in either the Stock Market Crash or the bank closures, many businesses started cutting back their workers' hours or wages.

15. Start of the Great Depression In turn, consumers began to curb their spending, refraining from purchasing such things as luxury goods. This lack of consumer spending caused additional businesses to cut back wages or, more drastically, to lay off some of their workers. Some businesses couldn't stay open even with these cuts and soon closed their doors, leaving all their workers unemployed. The Dust Bowl In previous depressions, farmers were usually safe from the severe effects of a depression because they could at least feed themselves. Unfortunately, during the Great Depression, the Great Plains were hit hard with both a drought and horrendous dust storms. Years and years of overgrazing combined with the effects of a drought caused the grass to disappear. With just topsoil exposed, high winds picked up the loose dirt and whirled it for miles. The dust storms destroyed everything in their paths, leaving farmers without their crops. Small farmers were hit especially hard. Even before the dust storms hit, the invention of the tractor drastically cut the need for manpower on farms. These small farmers were usually already in debt, borrowing money for seed and paying it back when their crops came in. When the dust storms damaged the crops, not only could the small farmer not feed himself and his family, he could not pay back his debt. Banks would then foreclose on the small farms and the farmer's family would be both homeless and unemployed.

16. Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930) Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, 1930, passed by the U.S. Congress; it brought the U.S. tariff to the highest protective level yet in the history of the United States. President Hoover desired a limited upward revision of tariff rates with general increases on farm products and adjustment of a few industrial rates. A congressional joint committee, however, in compromising the differences between a high Senate tariff bill and a higher House tariff bill, arrived at new high rates by generally adopting the increased rates of the Senate on farm products and those of the House on manufactures. Despite wide protest, the tariff act, called the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act because of its joint sponsorship by Representative Willis C. Hawley and Senator Reed Smoot, both Republicans, was signed (June, 1930) by President Hoover. The act brought retaliatory tariff acts from foreign countries, U.S. foreign trade suffered a sharp decline, and the depression intensified.

17. Bonus Army March (1932) Congress had overridden Herbert Hoover’s veto of a veterans’ compensation act early in 1932, which provided some relief for ex-servicemen, but also fueled sentiment for having payments made in cash. Such requests were swiftly rejected by Republican leaders who believed that such irresponsible action would only deepen the nation’s woes. In late May, a group of veterans numbering around 1,000 came to Washington, D.C. to lobby for their cause. Many of these were unemployed and homeless, and they vowed to remain in the nation’s capital until favorable legislation was passed. As the weeks went by, the so-called Bonus Expeditionary Force (BEF) grew to more than 17,000. Many of these took up residence at a camp outside of the city on the banks of the Anacostia River*; others made homes for themselves in vacant government buildings and even on the lawn of the Capitol. Despite the swelling numbers, the on-going demonstrations remained essentially peaceful. On June 15, the House of Representatives passed the Patman Bonus Bill, a measure authorizing the printing of $2.4 billion in fiat money to be used for cashing out the veterans’ bonus certificates. This relief measure was promptly stopped cold in the Senate. Before adjourning for their summer recess, both houses of Congress offered a meager gesture to the veterans by agreeing to provide them with transportation money for returning to their homes. Most of the veterans were exhausted by their stay in the sweltering capital and accepted the funds; however, about 2,000 determined protestors remained. Metropolitan police were called in to disperse this remnant and violence erupted that resulted in the deaths of two policemen and two veterans.

18. Bonus Army March (1932) Hoover feared that the country was on the verge of descending into mob rule and that an assortment of radicals was in the forefront of the movement. On July 28, the depleted Bonus Army marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, chanting, Mellon pulled the whistle, Hoover rang the bell, Wall Street gave the signal And the country went to hell. Hoover had had enough and summoned federal troops. Army Chief of Staff Douglas MacArthur was in command, assisted by Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton Jr. and others. An assortment of tanks, cavalry, infantry and a machine gun detachment moved in pursuit of the demonstrating veterans, forcing the Bonus Army out of the city. Tear gas was used to break up the assemblage at Anacostia Flats and the shanty town was burned to the ground. In the melee, more than 100 veterans were injured and a three-month-old baby died from tear gas inhalation. The president claimed that the Army had used force far in excess of its orders, but that explanation made little impression on the public. If any remote possibility of Hoover’s reelection remained in mid-1932, it ended on that July day. Most Americans were disgusted by the spectacle of heavily armed troops moving against the Bonus Army, destitute former servicemen who had fought for their country only a few years previously.

19. Lame Duck Amendment Ratified (1933) Senator GEORGE W. NORRIS proposed the amendment on March 2, 1932, as a way to shorten the period of time in election, or even-numbered, years during which members of Congress who had failed to be reelected (the lame ducks) would serve in office until their terms expired. The handicap of a session of Congress with numerous lame ducks was particularly evident in December 1932. During the thirteen weeks of that session of the Seventy-second Congress, 158 defeated members (out of a total of 431) served until the new Congress convened in March 1933. In the meantime the newly elected members, spurred by their recent electoral victories and the problems of a nationwide economic depression, had to wait inactive and unorganized until the term of the old Congress expired. The Norris proposal was ratified by the requisite number of state legislatures on January 23, 1933, and took effect on October 15 of that year. The new amendment stipulated that the terms of all members of Congress begin on January 3. It also required Congress to convene on January 3 each year and for the president and vice president to be inaugurated on January 20 rather than in March. Two sections of the amendment also clarified the problem of presidential succession under certain conditions.

20. Resources www.about.com www.google.com www.americanhistory.com www.whitehouse.gov