|
National Archives and Records Administration
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
What qualifications of leadership would you expect from Herbert Hoover? Compile a list of questions to ask during the interview.
- Identify the qualities of a successful leader. Formulate each quality into a question to ask Herbert Hoover during the interview. Compile a list of questions to ask.
- Role Playing - Students assume an identity from the following list and interview Herbert Hoover for the position of chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium. [Information for each gentleman can be found on the Internet.]
Brand Whitlock - American minister to Belgium
Walter Hines Page - American Ambassador in London
Emile Francqui - Leading director of Belgium's principal bank
Hugh Gibson - 1st secretary of the American legation in Brussels
Marquis of Villalobar - Spain's minister to Belgium
Herbert Hoover - Successful American mining engineer living in London
Herbert Hoover was born in 1874 in a Quaker village in Iowa, orphaned at age nine, raised by aunts and uncles, graduated in the pioneer class of Stanford University, married Lou Henry Hoover, was a world class mining engineer, self-made millionaire, and chairman of the CRB by 1914. Hoover was reticent to talk about himself and always got upset when newspaper articles described his heroic deeds or speculated on his wealth and vast enterprises, therefore I have turned to the words of others to describe Herbert Hoover.
Hoover's passport - five feet eleven and one-half inches tall with gray-green eyes, dark brown hair, and a medium complexion.
Joseph C. Green - Hoover would pace up and down the floor, deep in thought.
W.L. Baillieu - When conversing with colleagues or addressing a meeting, he would frequently jingle the coins in his pocket, a habit he had acquired in boyhood.
Frederic C. Walcott - "Genius" was a word frequently used to describe him. Hoover is a perfect wonder, one of the most remarkable men I have ever met.
Francis W. Hirst - Hoover had won admiration from most and extorted respect from all.
Brand Whitlock - Hoover had a boundless capacity for work. Laboring regularly at commission affairs well into the evening, and usually on weekends as well, Hoover appeared never to rest. Hoover's concentration on commission business was reflected at times in indifference to his own personal attire. Hoover's suits were rarely brushed, never pressed, and always had scuffs on the shoulders, while his shoe laces were usually broken and tied in rough knots.
Paul Hymans - For all his brusqueness and peremptoriness of manner, there was a look of kindness in the depths of his eyes.
Gilchrist Stockton - Hoover is the soul of the CRB. Though he never notices any of us very much we all idolize him.
Will Irwin - He was the Chief, we were his boys, and we would have done anything in the world for him.
[Quote taken from page 29 of George Nash's book] "Undaunted, Hoover refused to surrender. He had ordered the food, he needed it now, and he meant, come what may, to get it. Finally, after another week of pressure and vexatious delays, including the intervention of Ambassador Page at the Foreign Office and a personal visit by Hoover himself to the Board of Trade, the British government reluctantly permitted the foodstuffs already purchased in England to leave. But, it said, no more.
Hoover had gotten his way, and if his associate Edgar Rickard is correct, he had taken a long chance in doing so. According to Rickard, Hoover first purchased the supplies, chartered the ships, loaded them, and only then-'when the hatches were closed'-asked the British for permission to make the first shipment! As Rickard told the story in later years, the senior British official whom Hoover called upon expressed regret that he could not assist him: the food was unobtainable, the railways were clogged, shipping was unavailable, the Channel was closed, war was on. Hoover listened, unimpressed. 'I have attended to all this,' he replied. 'All I need now is clearance papers and . . . you are the only man who can grant them.' The British official was staggered. 'Young man,' he exclaimed, 'there have been men sent to the Tower [of London] for less than you have done.' Still, he gave Hoover his papers and congratulated him.
Rickard's anecdote was not entirely accurate. Hoover, in fact, duly filed his application for a Board of Trade permit through the Belgian legation, on the very day (or day before) he and Shaler ordered their 10,000 tons. Nor, at least at first, did he actually load a vessel prior to obtaining clearance. But as the days of late October passed by without result, Hoover's frustration intensified, until, on the twenty-sixth, he went to the Board of Trade and applied for the permits himself. Not long afterward he privately recorded how he triumphed:
Immediately this [relief] Commission was set up, they went into the market and purchased $250,000 worth of food, chartered ships, placed the food on board, quietly stated to the English Cabinet that the Belgian people are starving, and said 'Are you going to allow this to go to the Belgians or not?' and having carefully advertised the purchases and the preparations for shipment and the date when the steamers could sail, there could only be one answer from the English officials." (Nash, George H., The Life of Herbert Hoover: The Humanitarian, 1914-1917. New York, London: W.W. Norton & Company, 1988.)
| Photo | |
 |
Herbert Hoover [1914-32] Age 40 London, England |
| Text Transcript | |
| Letters | |
 |
Addressed to Louis Janin March 3, 1897 Sent by B.S. Cook Sec. & Mgr., The Oregon Land Company |
| Text Transcript | |
 |
Addressed to Louis Janin March 5, 1897 Sent by McDermott, M'ngr Steeple Rock Development Company |
| Text Transcript | |
 |
Addressed to H.C. Hoover November 24, 1898 Sent by Harry James Sons of Gwalia Limited |
| Text Transcript | |
 |
Addressed to The Santa Gertrudis, Ltd. June 27, 1916 Sent by Herbert Hoover |
| Text Transcript | |
| Newspaper Clippings | |
 |
"Gold in China Is All A Myth" San Francisco Chronicle October 24, 1901 |
| Text Transcript | |
 |
"The Highest Salaried Man Of His Age In the World" San Francisco Chronicle December 8, 1901 |
 |
|
| Text Transcript | |
Click here for a printable version of the worksheet
Where did you find the photograph?
What is happening in the photo?
Start at the top of the photo and look from left to right until you have listed every item.
Look carefully at any people in the photo. How are they dressed?
Does the photo have a title? Is anything written on the back or front?
Give the photo a title and a caption that explains the photo to others.
Who do you think was the intended audience?
When do you think the photo was taken?
Where do you think the photo was taken?
What details in the photo give you the most information?
Are there objects and people you see that give you the most information?
Does the photo illustrate a certain theme, historical period or special event?
What questions does the photo raise in your mind?
Where could you find the answers to your questions?
Click here for a printable version of the worksheet
Photographs are a good way to learn about and remember history. To make sure your photos last as long as possible, follow these steps for handling, labeling and storing:
Wash your hands or wear cotton gloves when handling photos.
Natural skin oils and dirt damage photographs over time.
Use a pencil and write lightly near the edge of the photo's back side.
Pressing hard on the photo will damage it.
Never use a pen. Ink might leak through the photo and damage the image.
Place photo on hard smooth surface to mark.
Record the following information on the back of photographs:
Subjects
Photographer
Where and when the photo was taken
Print clearly so others can read your writing in the future.
Use special frames and albums that are free of photo-damaging chemicals to store or display all photographs.
It is best not to tape or glue your photos in an album. Both can damage pictures.
Store your photos in a cool, dry place.
Keep photographs out of the sun so they do not fade.
Ask a local photographer or camera shop on how to locate archival supplies.
