Slogging Through Hoover

   One of the things I like about the CBS Sunday Morning show is that sometimes they do segments on books that sound interesting. A few weeks ago they did a segment on a book about Herbert Hoover, a former president of the United States. The segment said that Hoover has a reputation for being one of the worst presidents in American history. One of the things he is blamed for is the Great Depression that occurred during the 1930s. A historian that was interviewed during the segment felt it was unfair to judge all that Hoover based on the four years he was president. After all most of the Great Depression happened when Franklin D. Roosevelt was president, so why is Hoover getting all the blame?
  Hoover actually did quite a bit of good, according to the segment.
  It looked intriguing so I checked it out of the library. I like reading anyway and biographies are some of my favourite books to read. I also think it's a good practice to look at all of what someone has done in their life before making a judgement on it.
   I am on page 238 of this 614 page book and it has been some tough reading. It isn't because of the writing. The author, Kenneth Whyte, is quite good. The trouble is the subject.
   So far what I have seen is that Hoover is socially inept, gloomy, depressing, somewhat dishonest, greedy, and autocratic. He gets things done, but sometimes his methods are suspect and he skits the law. He doesn't appear to care for his wife or children, but cares very much about his reputation and being held in very high standing wherever he is. To me he seems like an incredible jerk.
   I can't find one redeeming quality about this man except for the fact that he did keep Europe from starving after World War I. It also said in the book that he was not in favour of the heavy reparations placed on Germany in the Treat of Versailles. He worried, with good reason, that Germany would find it hard to recover when saddled with such a burden and that division of the country would make it difficult for Germany to meet those obligations. I've heard it said that those heavy reparations were what eventually led to the rise of Hitler and World War II.
  Right now I'm reading about the election of 1920. Hoover wanted to be president, but didn't want to do the campaigning that goes along with it. He thought based on what he had done in Europe during the war it should have been given to him. He had spent much of his life outside the United State, working in Europe. Many did not think that he should preside over a country he'd been away from for so long. (Warren G. Harding, won the election.)
   I'm going to keep reading, I'm hoping that I'll find something to improve my opinion of him. If nothing else it will be a good lesson in American history.