The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of American Presidents: Part 14

All too often, American presidents are generalized. This one was good, this one was bad, or all of them were bad before or after this point. In reality, each President has positive or negative aspects that may be frequently overlooked. Sometimes what seemed good at the time is not so good in retrospect, or what was controversial would be accepted today. In this series, we'll look at the highlights of each President from the founding of America to today.

In Part 13, we looked at the presidencies of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. We now continue with two more presidents, Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

31. Hebert Hoover (in office March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1933)

Raised as a Quaker.

Both parents died by the time he was 6 years old, so Hoover and his two orphaned siblings were taken in by their uncle on his farm. After 18 months, Hoover was sent to live with another uncle, who raised him.

Did not attend high school, but took night school classes to educate himself while working in his uncle's office.

Failed every entrance exam except mathematics, but was still accepted as part of the inaugural class of Stanford University in 1891.

Helped organize the "Big Game" football rivalry between Stanford and University of California-Berkley.

Graduated with a degree in Geology, launching a very successful career as a mining geologist, travelling the world and amassing a fortune.

While working as a geologist, he also wrote and lectured. He wrote a book which proposed then-progressive ideas of an 8-hour workday, a 48-hour work week, an end to child labor, and a unionized workforce.

While working in London as a geologist and consultant, often investing in struggling businesses, World War I broke out and Americans were struggling to get home or buy food because they couldn't use their traveler's checks and didn't have enough cash. Hoover worked with other businessmen to provide assistance to the nearly 100,000 Americans in England and across Europe.

After helping the stranded Americans, the group Hoover worked with organized formally as the Commission for Relief in Belgium. Led by Hoover, the private group negotiated with the governments of England, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, bringing much-needed food and supplies to the citizens of German-occupied areas.

Appointed to head the U.S. Food Administration by President Woodrow Wilson to ensure American food needs during WWI. In this role, he essentially had to provide food for the Allied Forces, as the war created a global food shortage.

In his role at the Food Administration, he promoted the idea of "meatless Mondays" and devised the slogan, "When in doubt, eat potatoes." He was very effective in this role, and began to have a reputation for hard work and efficiency

After the war, the Food Administration became the American Relief Administration, which continued to feed those affected by the war while rebuilding the infrastructure of Europe.

Known to be humble, he never wanted credit for any work he did, including philanthropy.

When he considered running for president, he initially didn't say he was a Democrat or a Republican. He had worked with Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, but was not himself a Democrat, and was open to running for either party. When neither party asked him to run, he declared himself a Republican, since he though Democrats were unlikely to win the 1920 election. While this incorporated him into the party, the Republicans chose Warren G. Harding as their candidate.

President Harding rewarded Hoover for his support of Harding's campaign by nominating him as Secretary of Commerce. Hoover would serve as Commerce Secretary for both Harding and his successor, President Calvin Coolidge.

While several members of Harding's cabinet became immersed in scandals, Hoover was scandal-free, and continued to be known for efficiency. As Secretary of Commerce, he believed the Commerce department could generate growth for the country by investing in infrastructure while cutting waste.

As Commerce Secretary, helped grow and regulate both the broadcast radio industry and air travel.

During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the leaders of the six states devastated by the flood asked President Coolidge to task Hoover with leading disaster relief. Coolidge didn't believe it was the responsibility of the federal government to help, but he eventually agreed. Hoover spearheaded a massive campaign, and began to be seen as a better leader than the sitting president.

Defeated Democrat Al Smith to become president. Hoover won the popular vote, and won by a landslide in the electoral vote, even taking several Southern states, which normally voted as a solid Democrat bloc.

Wrote several books and continued to seek another term after his term as president. While he was never reelected, he was asked by later presidents, starting with Truman, to serve in other capacities.

Second former president to reach age 90 (the first being John Adams).

Achievements as President

Saw the presidency as a vehicle to improve the lives of all Americans.

Signed the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, which established the Federal Farm Board, intended to stabilize farm prices.

Made use of scientists throughout his career to use evidence and statistics to support decisions and government initiatives.

Hoover's wife, herself a geologist whom he met in college, was described as an "activist First Lady", typifying the more assertive, independent role of women in post WWI America.

Set out to make use of the booming economy of the 1920s to banish poverty in America.

Started the Hoover War Collection at Stanford University that served as a chronicle of WWI. Working with scholars, he provided documents, artifacts, and other memorabilia, and provided a $50,000 grant to get the project started. It's now known as the Hoover Institution Library and Archives.

In 1932, when unemployment had reached 23 percent, Hoover finally provided direct federal relief with actions such as establishing the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, the Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, the Federal Home Loan Act, and the Emergency Relief and Construction Act. While all of these actions saved companies, banks, jobs, and lives, they ultimately didn't have the full effect he had hoped for.

Reorganized the Bureau of Indian Affairs to limit exploitation of Native Americans.

Stayed true to his pledge to not interfere in the politics or affairs of Latin America, mostly keeping the United States an isolationist nation during his tenure.

Failures

While Americans overall were optimistic about the economy and the future throughout the 1920s, and Hoover shared that optimism, he failed to see signs of economic trouble, such as wage disparity, an ongoing crisis among farmers, market saturation of some consumer goods, and, perhaps worst, rampant stock market speculation. Celebrities such as Groucho Marx reflected that by the late 20s, the stock market was like betting on horse races: everyone wanted an insider tip, and fortunes were raised and lost over the course of each day, only to be won and lost again the following day. Failure to see these trouble signs led to the economic crash of 1929.

As unemployment reached almost 12%, then went up to 15%, and homeless Americans became commonplace, Hoover's name became used to describe elements of homelessness. A newspaper used to cover yourself when sleeping on a park bench or street was a "Hoover blanket." Cardboard used to patch holes in shoes was called "Hoover leather." Worst was likely the term "Hooverville", used to describe tent towns.

In 1932, when WWI vets were demonstrating in Washington, D.C. by camping out in tents because they had not received their benefits and many were homeless and starving, Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur to end the protests. While he did not order military force to be used, MacArthur responded by using the Army and tear gassing the demonstrators. MacArthur himself thought the action was a disgrace, as was the government's failure to support the veterans. Hoover later endorsed the action, harming his bid for reelection.

Hoover publicly supported Prohibition before being elected, and continued to support it after election. To show his support, he created the Wickersham Commission, which was intended to prove the benefit of Prohibition and silence the growing number of detractors, as well as the growing number of people who openly flaunted defiance of Prohibition by using speakeasies. Instead, the Commission's report proved overall enforcement was lax, and opposition was growing. In 1932, Hoover's last year in office, a constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition was in the works. In January 1933, the amendment was approved by Congress and submitted to the states for approval. That approval was achieved by December 1933, ending Prohibition.

With the ongoing Depression, Hoover was unopposed in seeking the Republican nomination for a second term. The latter half of his presidency was so disastrous that few could see how he would win, and no Republicans wanted to run in his place, knowing the Depression would be blamed on him. Hoover ran, and defended his policies, facing worse opposition than any president in history. At speaking stops, he was jeered. His presidential train was pelted with rotting fruit. Would-be assassins were stopped by the Secret Service. And he was defeated in an embarrassing landslide by hid opponent, the Democratic governernor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Controversies

While heading the American Relief Administration after WWI, working closely with President Wilson, Hoover took the controversial step of also helping the Germans. At the same time, he helped the newly-formed Soviet Union, which was facing a famine after the Bolshevik Revolution. When asked if he was helping promote Communism and Bolshevism, Hoover replied and the Soviets in their recovery, Hoover said, "20 million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!". His actions are believed to have saved millions of lives.

Some worried that because he had worked abroad for so many years, and especially because he had lived and worked in London for much of his life, that Hoover would seem overly loyal to Great Britain. So his image had to be shaped to dispel the perception prior to running for president.

While working on the relief program for the Great Mississippi Flood, in which he created tent cities for those made homeless, Hoover worked with black leader Robert Russa Moton to suppress reports of mistreatment of blacks in the area refugee camps, in exchange for giving Moton massive influence once Hoover was elected president, which was expected.

While he was not in favor of Prohibition, Hoover stated that he was during his 1928 presidential campaign, to curry favor with some voters. Worse, in order to win over white, Southern voters, he and other leaders of the Republican party removed blacks from leadership positions in the South and replaced them with whites, hoping the win the greatest majority of votes possible.

Hoover was criticized that for the first and only time, Congress was not reapportioned after the results of a census, in this case the 1920 census. City demographics had changed considerably at the time and reapportioning would likely have added power to Republicans.

Hoover believed that federal public relief, aka "the dole" would not help the general public during the Depression, and that the answer was local government relief and private donations. He asserted that federal relief would only weaken the country.

While he did take action after the stock market collapse to try to stimulate the economy, keep wages from being cut, and to keep businesses such as railroads afloat, at the same time, he hoped the depression would be temporary, as was a previous one from 1920-21, and he felt pressured by his party to go along with legislation they were pushing through. Therefore he signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act in 1930, intended to help farmers. Instead, it resulted in punitive tariffs from many trading partners, which made the economic situation worse. This also damaged his chance of reelection.

As the European economy fell into rapid decline, many European nations abandoned the gold standard. Hoover refused to follow suit, believing it would make the American economy worse. He also believed the American economy was suffering as much as it did by 1930 because European countries were struggling, not due to American problems. In response to he European struggles, he temporarily suspended agreed-upon European payments on war debt, including Germany. While the countries were grateful, including Germany, their economies crashed and governments fell. That year, Adolph Hitler rose to power in Germany.

Hoover rarely discussed civil rights as president. While he was urged to pursue a federal law outlawing lynching, he refused. As with many of his policies, he believed the way to improvement for African-Americans wasn't through federal policy or intervention, but through individual achievement and education. While he appointed more African-Americans to federal positions than the previous two presidents combined, he removed African-Americans from positions of leadership in the Republican party in order to make Republicans more appealing in the South, where Democrats had a strong majority.

In order to to fight unemployment, Hoover cut immigration, and signed an executive order requiring immigrants to have a job before being admitted to the United States. He also started prosecuting illegal immigrants, an effort that most severely affected Mexicans in Southern California. With support of the federal government, and executed by state and local authorities, between 300,000 and 2 million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were removed and sent to Mexico, with 40-60% of them being legal American citizens. Of the total number sent to Mexico, the majority of them did so voluntarily, but the effort has still been regarded more recently as equating an ethic cleansing.

While he is never known to have made racist remarks or jokes, which were very common at the time, it is known that he had views now considered racist, notably that he thought black people were generally inferior to whites and, based on his time living and working in Asia, that no great scientific achievements had come out of Asia in modern times because Asians did not have the mechanical mindset of Europeans.

32. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (in office March 4, 1933 – April 12, 1945)

Descendant of two powerful American families, the Delanos and the Roosevelts. The Delanos can be traced back to 7 passengers on the Mayflower, including those who chartered the ship and 3 of those who signed the Mayflower Compact. Other Delano descendants include presidents Calvin Coolidge and Ulysses S. Grant. The Roosevelts were descended from an early Dutch immigrant to what was New Amsterdam (later New York). That family included Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 5th cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, as well as spouse Eleanor Roosevelt, who was Theodore Roosevelt's niece. His family was very wealthy and strongly Democrat.

Graduated from Harvard University in three years, earning a Bachelor's Degree in History. During a fourth year, he took graduate courses.

Elected to New York State Senate, where he served for 2 years.

In the Senate, helped form a group of politicians who stood opposed to, and helped break up the corrupt New York political machine known as Tammany Hall.

Served as Assistant Secretary to the Navy under President Woodrow Wilson, holding the position before and during World War I.

As Assistant Secretary of the Navy, worked with President Woodrow Wilson to bring a merit-based system of promotion to the Navy.

Was James. M. Cox's running mate in the 1920 presidential election. Cox lost to Warren G. Harding.

Served as Governor of New York from 1929-1932, where he initiated programs to combat the Great Depression.

As governor, started holding "fireside chats", in which he addressed the public directly via the radio. This had never been done before, and he continued the practice as President.

Proposed hydroelectric power as a source of providing electricity for the state of New York.

At the start of the Great Depression, was the first person to propose the idea of unemployment insurance, something he implemented once he became President.

Defeated Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover in a monumental landslide victory, becoming President.

An avid stamp collector, he devoted time to his hobby every day. When he contracted polio, it's believed the hobby helped distract him from the disease.

Despite his 5th cousin Theodore being a Republican, Roosevelt looked to him, particularly his integrity and vitality, as a model of inspiration.

Crippled by polio, he was the first disabled President.

Achievements as President

Longest-serving American President, elected to a record 4 terms in office. No other president has served more than two terms.

Largely credited with guiding America out of the Great Depression, and through World War II.

Starting with his first 100 days in office, implemented massive, unprecedented levels of legislation, directed at reshaping the federal government and ending the Great Depression. He continued to direct the government through the Depression, with a cornerstone of his efforts being the New Deal, enacted between 1933 and 1938.

Began the Fifth Party System, which reshaped the political landscape, making Democrats the dominant part for decades, with the exception of 1952, when WWII commanding general Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected to two terms as president. Under the Fifth Party System, Democrats concentrated more on civil rights, particularly the concerns of African Americans, a focus that would continue through the 1960s. Because of this focus, many black voters, who had voted Republican since gaining the right to vote after the Civil War, started voting for the Democratic Party.

Along with his many sweeping reforms and creations, Roosevelt established, or aided the establishment of many departments and programs still active today, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the National Labor Relations Act, and Social Security.

Known as a strong leader, he appointed powerful, intelligent men to his cabinet, but always maintained control himself.

With an interest in ecology an conservation, but also as part of his central effort of creating jobs, he established the Civilian Conservation Corps, a program that ran from 1933 to 1942, employing more than 3 million young men in planting trees, building trails, and other activities based in state and national parks.

Finally withdrew troops from Haiti, and signed new pacts with Cuba, Panama, and other Latin American countries, vowing not to interfere with their affairs.

In a 1941 speech, he outlined four freedoms he believed everyone in the world should enjoy: freedom of speech and expression, freedom to worship, freedom of want, and freedom from fear. In a similar speech in 1944, he discussed the Second Bill of Rights for Americans: the right to a decent home, the right to adequate medical care, the right to a good education, and the right to a useful and remunerative job.

Passed the G.I. Bill, which established an array of benefits for soldiers retuning from combat, including a college education, medical care, low-cost home loans, job counseling, and unemployment insurance.

Because he was an avid stamp collector, he worked directly with the Postmaster General on new stamp designs and colors, something no other presidents have ever done.

Helped guide the formation of what would become the United Nations, and is said to have even been responsible for the name.

Consistently viewed as one of the top 3 best presidents (typically alongside George Washington and Abraham Lincoln).

Failures

To pay for increased government spending during WWII, Roosevelt proposed an income tax of 99.5% on all income over $100,000. This was struck down by Congress. He then issued an executive order creating an income tax of 100% on all income over $25,00. This was rescinded by Congress. Further efforts to raise more short-term funds for government spending were adjusted through Congressional efforts.

Died in office, one month into his fourth term, before he was to address the founding conference of the United Nations. Because he had maintained tight personal control of everything for his entire term, Roosevelt hadn't invested in a transitional plan for his new vice-president, Harry Truman.

Controversies

Had at least five extramarital affairs throughout his marriage. At one point he considered divorcing Eleanor and marry his mistress, Eleanor's social secretary Lucy Mercer, but chose to stay married to her because his mother objected to the divorce, and Mercer would not marry a divorced man who had five children. Because Eleanor discovered the affair, Roosevelt agreed not to see Mercer again. However, Eleanor never forgave him, and the marriage was merely a political arrangement. Eleanor established her own residence, and never lived with Roosevelt again, even at the White House, even in later years, during the war as his health declined.

Roosevelt was the first disabled President, crippled by polio, with declining feeling in and use of his waist, hips, and legs. Wanting to convey an image of strength, he refused to be filmed, photographed, or seen in a wheelchair, and made use of braces to help him stand, and aides to help him move when necessary.

During Prohibition, like most of America, he continued to enjoy alcohol. He didn't support Prohibition, and sought a solution that would make everyone happy.

Continued the efforts of repatriation and deportation of Mexicans started by President Hoover, though after several years Roosevelt aided the federal government's active efforts and simply let state and local authorities continue to send Mexicans back to Mexico. This wasn't done to any other ethic immigrant group. Further, Mexican-Americans were the only group explicitly excluded from benefitting from Roosevelt's "New Deal" programs.

It has long been alleged that Roosevelt knew the Japanese were planning to attack Pearl Harbor. America was largely isolationist after WWI, and still recovering from the decade of the Great Depression, and Americans were divided about how they felt about the events in Europe. There had been pro-Nazi rallies in various cities in America, including Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was assumed America would join the war at some point, but until Pearl Harbor, there was no strong desire to join the war. In the years since the war, a memo to the President indicating that the Japanese were showing interest in Hawaii and assembling forces has surfaced. So there was indication that Roosevelt was warned something might happen, but it hasn't been proven that he knew the Japanese planes were on their way.

During the war, issued an executive order placing Japanese-American citizens in internment camps, as a matter of national security. German-American citizens, of which there were plenty, were not placed in camps. In some areas of the United States, such as Milwaukee, there were so many German-Americans that German was commonly spoken in the home until the war, when, as during WWI, it was often worried that German-Americans could be spies or saboteurs. There were also plenty of Italian-Americans, particularly in cities such as Chicago and New York, and America was also at war with Italy, led by fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Despite these concerns, only Japanese-Americans were put in camps.

While he denounced lynching in the South, and was vocally supportive of African-Americans, as was First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Roosevelt would not sign or endorse federal anti-lynching legislation, saying it would not pass, and would alienate voters and politicians in the South, where he was trying to maintain control. He also didn't appoint any African-Americans to official cabinet or advisory positions, though he did secretly consult with a group of African Americans about issues of concern to their community.

A chain-smoker for most of his adult life, the habit, and stress, started to take a toll on Roosevelt later in his term. He suffered from high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, chest pains, and congestive heart failure. It was clear that his health was failing, but his physician and the White House repeatedly said he had no health issues, particularly when asked during preparation for his 1944 re-election campaign. Privately, Roosevelt said that he might resign due to health concerns after the war was officially over. He was so obviously infirm that he shocked Congress by making his final address to them while seated, something no President has done before or since.

Replaced Henry Wallace with Harry S. Truman as his running mate in his fourth and final presidential campaign. Wallace was a key advisor, and popular among many Americans, but he was viewed by some as too liberal, while Truman was known for identifying governmental inefficiency, and, more important to the Democrats, was likely to do what Democrat leaders told him to do, unlike Roosevelt himself, or Wallace.

Aided in the development of the atomic bomb.

While a member of the Harvard University board of directors, Roosevelt decided there were too many Jewish students at the university and implemented quotas limited how many Jewish students could be accepted per year. When Jews began to be targeted in Germany, Roosevelt allowed visiting European Jews to stay in the US indefinitely, but he didn't allow more Jews to emigrate here, resulting in the loss of an estimated 190,000 Jewish lives. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt made numerous anti-Semitic remarks during her marriage to Franklin Roosevelt, including in letters written to her mother. Later in their marriage, her circle of friends included several Jews. While Roosevelt did establish the War Refugee Board in 1944 to aid European Jews and other victims of German and Japanese, he also counselled U.S. government officials to limit hiring of Jews to prevent anti-Jewish sentiment and activities from arising in America as they had in Germany.

As Roosevelt's health decline, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was more present in the White House, though she kept her own schedule and wasn't living there. The president had long been restricted to only four hours of work a day, and much of his time was on bed rest. At times, Eleanor was the only one allowed in his bedroom, and documents that needed to be read or signed were delivered to the door, where Eleanor brought them to the President. It has been alleged that at this time, Roosevelt was often too sick to be making decisions, and Eleanor was actually the one signing for him.

Next: Harry S. Truman and Dwight David Eisenhower