Presidents at Peace: Herbert Hoover, Humanitarian
For many people, their first thought about President Herbert Hoover is that he was the President when the great depression did its worst to the United States. He was portrayed by his enemies as an uncaring capitalist. This impression is not factually correct, though it is true that the depression began and the stock market crashed on Hoover's watch. It was also during his presidency that the Bonus Marchers, who participated in a protest in Washington D.C., were callously dealt with by US troops commanded by one Douglas MacArthur, and Hoover has had to wear that outrage, even though MacArthur disobeyed Hoover's orders and attacked the marchers. But in his time, Hoover was also known as a great humanitarian, both prior to and after his presidency. He was someone who worked hard to feed the starving at home and abroad.
Hoover's most significant humanitarian efforts surrounded the two world wars of the 20th century. When World War I began in August 1914, before the United States was a participant in the war, Hoover helped to organize the return of around 120,000 Americans from Europe. He organized about 500 volunteers in distributing food, clothing, steamship tickets and cash to his countrymen who were stuck in the war zone, unable to return home without help. But he didn't restrict his activities to just Americans.
When Belgium faced a food crisis after being invaded by Germany in 1914, Hoover commended a relief effort by starting the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB). As chairman of the CRB, Hoover worked with Belgian political leader Émile Francqui to provide food for the entire nation for the duration of the war. The CRB obtained and imported millions of tons of foodstuffs for Francqui's organization to distribute, and supervised food distribution to make sure the German army didn't appropriate the food. The CRB became a remarkable organization, with its own ships, factories, mills, and railroads. Private donations and government grants supplied the CRB's $11-million-a-month budget.
For the next two years, Hoover worked many long days from London, administering the distribution of over two million tons of food to nine million war victims. He crossed the North Sea forty times to meet with German authorities and persuade them to allow food shipments. This raised his international profile and status and he was seen as a great humanitarian. The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square Hooverplein after him. Hoover's organization fed up to 10.5 million people daily. But not everyone admired Hoover for his efforts. Great Britain believed that it was Germany's obligation to supply the relief. Winston Churchill was among Hoover's critics.
After the United States entered the war in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to head the U.S. Food Administration, which was created under the Lever Food Control Act in 1917. Hoover established set days for people to avoid eating specified foods and save them for soldiers' rations. He established "meatless Mondays", "wheatless Wednesdays", and "when in doubt, eat potatoes". This program helped reduce consumption of foods needed overseas. It was called "Hooverizing" by government publicists. The agency also instituted a system of price controls and licensing requirements for suppliers to maximize production.
After the war, as head of the American Relief Administration, Hoover organized shipments of food for millions of starving people in Central Europe. He used a newly formed Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee, to carry out much of the work in Europe. He also provided aid to the defeated German nation after the war, as well as relief to famine-stricken Bolshevik-controlled areas of Russia in 1921, despite opposition from Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other Republicans. A reporter asked Hoover if he was not helping to support Bolshevism. Hoover replied, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!".
At the end of the war, the New York Times named Hoover one of the "Ten Most Important Living Americans". President Wilson privately courted Hoover as his successor, and he briefly considered becoming a Democrat. In 1919 he established the Hoover War Collection at Stanford University. He donated all the files of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the U.S. Food Administration, and the American Relief Administration, and pledged $50,000 as an endowment. The collection was later renamed the Hoover War Library and is now known as the Hoover Institution.
After his defeat in the 1932 election as President, Hoover was bitterly disliked by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and he was shut out of any government activity. But after Roosevelt died and Harry Truman became President, the nation once again called on Hoover for humanitarian relief work. Hoover and Truman became friends and, because of Hoover's previous experience with Germany at the end of World War I, in 1946 Truman asked Hoover to tour Germany to determine the food status of the occupied nation. Hoover toured what was to become West Germany and he produced a number of reports critical of U.S. occupation policy. On Hoover's initiative, a school meals program in the American and British occupation zones of Germany was begun on April 14, 1947. The program served 3,500,000 children aged six through 18. A total of 40,000 tons of American food was provided during the Hooverspeisung (Hoover meals).
Hoover's most significant humanitarian efforts surrounded the two world wars of the 20th century. When World War I began in August 1914, before the United States was a participant in the war, Hoover helped to organize the return of around 120,000 Americans from Europe. He organized about 500 volunteers in distributing food, clothing, steamship tickets and cash to his countrymen who were stuck in the war zone, unable to return home without help. But he didn't restrict his activities to just Americans.
When Belgium faced a food crisis after being invaded by Germany in 1914, Hoover commended a relief effort by starting the Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB). As chairman of the CRB, Hoover worked with Belgian political leader Émile Francqui to provide food for the entire nation for the duration of the war. The CRB obtained and imported millions of tons of foodstuffs for Francqui's organization to distribute, and supervised food distribution to make sure the German army didn't appropriate the food. The CRB became a remarkable organization, with its own ships, factories, mills, and railroads. Private donations and government grants supplied the CRB's $11-million-a-month budget.
For the next two years, Hoover worked many long days from London, administering the distribution of over two million tons of food to nine million war victims. He crossed the North Sea forty times to meet with German authorities and persuade them to allow food shipments. This raised his international profile and status and he was seen as a great humanitarian. The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square Hooverplein after him. Hoover's organization fed up to 10.5 million people daily. But not everyone admired Hoover for his efforts. Great Britain believed that it was Germany's obligation to supply the relief. Winston Churchill was among Hoover's critics.
After the United States entered the war in April 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed Hoover to head the U.S. Food Administration, which was created under the Lever Food Control Act in 1917. Hoover established set days for people to avoid eating specified foods and save them for soldiers' rations. He established "meatless Mondays", "wheatless Wednesdays", and "when in doubt, eat potatoes". This program helped reduce consumption of foods needed overseas. It was called "Hooverizing" by government publicists. The agency also instituted a system of price controls and licensing requirements for suppliers to maximize production.
After the war, as head of the American Relief Administration, Hoover organized shipments of food for millions of starving people in Central Europe. He used a newly formed Quaker organization, the American Friends Service Committee, to carry out much of the work in Europe. He also provided aid to the defeated German nation after the war, as well as relief to famine-stricken Bolshevik-controlled areas of Russia in 1921, despite opposition from Senator Henry Cabot Lodge and other Republicans. A reporter asked Hoover if he was not helping to support Bolshevism. Hoover replied, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!".
At the end of the war, the New York Times named Hoover one of the "Ten Most Important Living Americans". President Wilson privately courted Hoover as his successor, and he briefly considered becoming a Democrat. In 1919 he established the Hoover War Collection at Stanford University. He donated all the files of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the U.S. Food Administration, and the American Relief Administration, and pledged $50,000 as an endowment. The collection was later renamed the Hoover War Library and is now known as the Hoover Institution.
After his defeat in the 1932 election as President, Hoover was bitterly disliked by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and he was shut out of any government activity. But after Roosevelt died and Harry Truman became President, the nation once again called on Hoover for humanitarian relief work. Hoover and Truman became friends and, because of Hoover's previous experience with Germany at the end of World War I, in 1946 Truman asked Hoover to tour Germany to determine the food status of the occupied nation. Hoover toured what was to become West Germany and he produced a number of reports critical of U.S. occupation policy. On Hoover's initiative, a school meals program in the American and British occupation zones of Germany was begun on April 14, 1947. The program served 3,500,000 children aged six through 18. A total of 40,000 tons of American food was provided during the Hooverspeisung (Hoover meals).