busy
Hoover's reputation went through a roller coaster over the course of his life. Coming into the Presidency he was seen as a brilliant whiz kid. He was so admired while in the cabinets of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, that many consider him to be the best Secretary of Commerce in history. As president, he has been criticized for being too hands off when the great depression hit. He was perceived as uncaring. For example, in 1932 when former servicemen marched on Washington demanding bonus money due to them in future and General Douglas MacArthur turned his troops on them against Hoover's orders, many blamed this on Hoover. Homeless people lived in cardboard boxes and a collection of these were named "Hoovervilles". "Hoover blanket" were old newspaper used as blanketing, a "Hoover flag" was an empty pocket turned inside out, "Hoover leather" was cardboard used to line a shoe with the sole worn through and a "Hoover wagon" was an automobile drawn by horse because the owner could not afford gasoline.
Hoover was soundly defeated by Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 and the Hoover looked even more uncaring when contrasted with FDR's activism and New Deal legislation.
But after World War 2, Hoover built a reputation as a great humanitarian. He managed a school meals program in the American and British occupation zones of Germany in 1947 that served 3.5 million children aged six through 18. A total of 40,000 tons of American food was provided during this program, referred to as "Hooverspeisung" (Hoover meals). In his retiring years he was an avid fly fisherman and was seen as an elder stateman.
Hoover died at the age of 90 in New York City at 11:35 a.m. on October 20, 1964. He had outlived by 20 years his wife, Lou Henry Hoover, who had died in 1944. The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is located in West Branch, Iowa next to the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.