Herbert Hoover – (No. 31) – Rapidan Camp, Shenandoah Mountains, VA – June 1, 2019

Herbert Hoover – (No. 31) – Rapidan Camp, Shenandoah Mountains, VA – June 1, 2019

President Herbert Hoover
(Source:  Smith, 2005)

Herbert Hoover shared many traits of our current president, Donald Trump.  Hoover made a load of money before he went into politics.   He had also never run for a political office before he won the presidency.  (His only previous race was for Stanford student body president which he won.)  Also, he took no salary while president.  And, he liked tariffs.

Herbert Hoover was born in 1874 into a Quaker family but his parents died young.  His father died of a heart attack when Herbert was only six.  His mother died two years later from pneumonia.  So, he was raised by aunts and uncles.  He was raised as a Quaker but said that he “didn’t work very hard at it.” (Moore, 2007).

He graduated from Stanford with a geology degree and went on to become a mining engineer.   He found a job working for a gold miner who sent him to Australia to search for gold.   His next assignment was China.  But first, Hoover returned to the states to marry his college sweetheart, Lou Henry, who had studied geology with him at Stanford. 

Then the Hoovers left for China.  While on their boat, they studied Mandarin and eventually became quite fluent.  They used it throughout their lives as a “secret” language.  The Hoovers were in China during the Boxer Rebellion in 1899 and were under bombardment for a month until American troops showed up.  While they were awaiting rescue, Hoover set up a food rationing system for the trapped Americans.  This was the start of his life of public service.

When they returned to the United States, in 1908, Hoover started his own engineering company.  He was known as the “doctor of sick mines.”  He was enterprising and thrifty—undoubtedly due to his Quaker upbringing.  And he was a great businessman.  By 1914 he was worth $4M, a hefty sum at the time (about $100M in today’s dollars).

As war clouds were forming in Europe, Hoover helped 150,000 American tourists and expats trapped in Europe, make their way home.  He used some of his own money to help them. 

Then Germany cut off the population of Belgium, a neutral country.  The Germans stole Belgium food and cut off their supply lines.  Hoover, who was living in London, agreed to coordinate food relief efforts.  He created an organization called the Commission for Relief of Belgium (CRB). He shuttled back and forth from London to Europe to coordinate the relief and even traveled to Germany to obtain their cooperation.  CRB ships were marked so that German submarines would not attack them.  Even so, a few ships were torpedoed and sunk.  When it was going at full steam, the CRB was feeding 10 million people an average of 1,800 calories a day every day for four years.  And Hoover raised money to run the organization.  Thrifty Hoover kept the overhead low and to “Hooverize” came to mean to economize.

Hoover took no salary for his work.

Once America entered the war in 1917, President Wilson asked Hoover to lead the U.S. Food Administration.  The purpose was to increase food production and decrease food demand.  Hoover instituted “Meatless Mondays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays” to cut consumption.  He also encouraged citizens to grow their own food in “victory gardens.”  He did all this coincident with his leadership of the CRB. 

Upon taking office in 1921, President Harding named Hoover Secretary of Commerce.  When Harding died in 1923, President Coolidge kept Hoover in the post. 

As Secretary, Hoover helped standardize parts for various industries (automobile, electric lights, etc.) which helped with the mass production that firms were using.  For example, it was Hoover who came up with a standard paper size of 8-1/2” x 11”. 

During the disastrous Mississippi River flood of 1927, he coordinated the flood relief across six states. He also promoted the development of inland waterways such as the Columbia River, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Colorado River. 

But Coolidge grew to dislike Hoover; he called him “Wonder Boy.”  Coolidge said of Hoover:  “That man has offered me unsolicited advice for six years.  All of it bad” (Moore, 2007).

When Coolidge declined to run in 1928, Hoover became the Republican candidate.  Given the Roaring 20s economy, Hoover had a huge advantage.  Alfred E. Smith, the Democratic candidate was also handicapped because he was a Catholic; he was thought by some to be more loyal to the Pope than to the United States.  On election day, Hoover buried Smith with 440 electoral votes to 87 for Smith.  The popular vote total was 21.5 million versus 15 million.  Hoover became the first president born west of the Mississippi River.

In his inauguration speech on March 4, 1929, Hoover declared that “I have no fear for the future of this country.  It is bright with hope”  (Moore, 2007) 

That didn’t last long.

At first the stock market continued to rise due to unregulated speculation.  It hit 380 in August 1929.  That would be the highest the market would reach until 1955.

But the economy was slowing.   Purchasing was slowing down and unsold inventories were piling up—tripling in one year.  With demand cooling, industrial production slowed.  Producers cut prices to encourage buyers.  But that just encouraged people to delay purchases in hopes of lower prices.  (Ironically, Hoover had gone into his presidency wanting to fight inflation.)

Businesses began to lay off workers, slowly at first, then in buckets.  Between 1929 and 1933 unemployment would rise from 3.2 to a jaw dropping 24.9 percent.

In the countryside, unsold agricultural inventories were piling up.  In June 1929, Hoover signed the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929 to give limited aid (i.e., loans) to farmers.  The Federal government also funded a Wheat Stabilization Corporation and a Cotton Stabilization Corporation to help prop up prices.  But this only led to over production and the corporations’ funds were rapidly spent. 

On October 29, the stock market crashed—16 million shares were sold.  By the end of October, $16B in market value had evaporated. 

Hoover took the bully pulpit and attempted to browbeat industry into continued economic prosperity.  He brought rail executives together in November 1929 and asked them to continue their construction activities.  He also met with other big industrial leaders and asked them to avoid layoffs and keep wages up.  He also asked businesses not to cut payrolls or reduce production.  He asked governors and mayors to keep up public works and created a bureau to coordinate this.  He met with labor leaders and asked them to avoid pushing for wage increases. 

He asked Congress to fund large public spending projects which by November 1929 had risen to the highest level in five years ($423M).  By 1930, Congress had spent $100M but that had only provided jobs to 4.5 million workers.

The Federal Reserve did the opposite of what was needed.  They tightened monetary policy which added pressure on the banking industry which was disincentivized from making loans.  Banks began to fail.  For example, in Utah 32 of 105 banks failed.  In 1931, the Bank of the United States closed.

During the 1920s, the Republicans had favored high tariffs.  But that was now straining the fragile economy.  But the President and Congress kept pushing them.  In June 1930, Congress passed a tariff bill known as the Hawley-Smoot Bill.  It was the wrong move at the wrong time.  Other countries retaliated and put their own tariffs in place.  More than one thousand members of the American Economic Association signed a letter opposing tariffs.  Within two years, imports had dropped 40 percent. 

And unemployment kept rising.  It reached 16 percent in 1931 and reached 30 percent in 1921.  Blacks, in particular, were especially hard hit.  In Pittsburgh: 38 percent of the unemployed were African American even thought they were only 8 percent of the population.  And in Chicago, blacks made up 16% of the unemployed even though they were only 4% of population.

But Treasury Secretary Paul Mellon wasn’t concerned because he wanted to wring the excesses out of the economy. The Federal government unwisely tried to balance the budget and continued to maintain the gold standard, both of which removed liquidity from the stagnant economy.

But when the mid-term elections of 1930 came around, the voters remained hopeful that the Republicans could pull the country out of its tailspin.  Voters gave more seats to Republicans in the House and maintained the status quo of Republican control in the Senate.

Europe was sharing America’s economic woes with a steep economic downturn of their own.  Some countries went off the gold standard and devalued their currencies.  But the currency devaluation reduced their ability to buy U.S. goods adding to the economic pressure on the U.S.  To help Europe, Hoover pushed for a moratorium on German WWI debt.  But France did not support this, and German banks began to collapse in July 1931.

In 1932, Congress passed, and Hoover signed, a tax increase bill (Revenue Act of 1932) which raised the top rate from about mid-20 percent to 63 percent.  It was yet another wrong move.

But Hoover did create the Reconstruction Finance Corps in 1932 to loan money to banks and industry.

Overall, Hoover was taking an increasing share of the blame for the economic depression.   (It was actually Hoover who came up with term “depression”; previously they had been called “panics” (McElvanie, 1984)).  The shacks built by the homeless became known as “Hoover Hotels.”  Groups of shacks were a “Hooverville.”  A “Hoover Flag” was empty pants pockets turned inside out. 

In the summer of 1932, things got worse.

Between ten and twenty thousand jobless veterans gathered in Washington, DC to demand an immediate bonus for their service rather than have to wait until the date that Congress authorized the payment: 1945.   The so called “Bonus Army” set up a makeshift camp in Anacostia Flats, within sight of the U.S. Capitol.  President Hoover was opposed to paying the bonuses and called on the Army to remove the vets.  The Army assigned future WWII generals, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton to the task. They used tanks, gas masks and fixed bayonets to rout the vets.  Then they burned the camp.  Hoover said,  “Thank God we still have a government…that knows how to deal with a mob” (Smith, 2005).  When Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic presidential nominee, heard about the debacle, he crowed, “This elects me” (Moore, 2007).

* * *

It took us a while to visit President Herbert Hoover. It wasn’t that we didn’t want to, it’s that we couldn’t.

We didn’t want to travel to his birthplace in Iowa — a great decision because he moved to Oregon by age 10. Instead, we found his Summer White House, Rapidan Camp, in nearby Shenandoah Valley, VA. Rapidan, named for the nearby Rapidan River, was Hoover’s Summer White House.

But Rapidan is closed in the winter and doesn’t open until “late spring.” This year, late spring meant the beginning of meteorological summer, or June. That’s because ice storms pounded Shenandoah National Park last winter and kept Skyline Drive — the only public road in the park — closed for four months. The National Park Service got part of the road open only at the end of March. That delayed things.

However, it was worth the wait.

We drove a little more than two hours from our home in Kensington, MD through farmlands and forests to Shenandoah for our 2 p.m. tour. We had a quick stop for lunch at scenic Skyland, eating outside on the patio with beautiful views of the mountains and trees. 

We met “Ranger Ginny” (Browne), a retired schoolteacher, and our 12-person tour group 10 miles down the road at the Harry F. Byrd Visitors Center at Big Meadows.

Ginny started talking to our 12-person group about five minutes before we were to set off on our journey …. And didn’t stop talking.   She warned, “Now I tend to talk a lot.  So, if you have a question, there won’t be a natural place to jump in.  You’ll just need to cut me off.”

She was full of information about Hoover’s life and his presidency. This is not a “here’s the president’s dining room table” tour.  She told us, “He is not the J. Edgar Hoover, nor is he related to him.  He’s also not the vacuum cleaner guy—although he would have appreciated that technology.”

We drove about 20 minutes in a small shuttle over a super-bumpy gravel road, through the wide-open Big Meadow and down into the shady forest.

She cautioned, “We pass bears all the time.  You’ll only see their butts since they’re bent over foraging for food.  They look like tree stumps.  I’m convinced we pass bears all the time.”

While Cathy looked out for bears and listened to Ranger Ginny discuss the founding of Rapidan, Tom somehow took a nap.

When Hoover was elected president, he wanted a place he could escape to since he loved the outdoors and was an avid fisherman. He wanted his escape to be in the mountains, close to Washington, with good trout fishing. So, his aides drew a 100-mile radius around Washington on a map and found the Blue Ridge Mountains, part of which park activists were trying to turn into a national park.   

Hoover sent his secretary to scout locations. With his own money, the new president bought 164 acres at $5 per acre and said he would donate it to the U.S. for the future use of presidents, as part of the national park.

At first, the camp, built by the Marines, was just five tents on platforms and was called — un-imaginatively — “Five Tents.” The site is near the confluence of the Laurel and Mill creeks, which create the Rapidan River.

Hoover, the fisherman.

Hoover went fishing that first summer of 1929 and had lots of guests. But Hoover and Lou quickly realized that they needed to upgrade since they were spending so much time at the camp and their guests were too important to house in tents. So, the Marines built cabins that included electricity, hot and cold running water, flush toilets, and phones.

The camp, which grew to 13 buildings, a Marine camp and a Cabinet camp — used by Cabinet members who spent their weekends working at Rapidan during the Great Depression —  is now down to three, with one used to house seasonal workers. The other two are open to visitors.

The two cabins are nestled in the woods along a stream that was created by the Marines so that Hoover could enjoy the sound of the water from his cabin. 

The first cabin we visited was the Prime Minister’s Cottage, named for British Prime Minister Ramsey McDonald, who was the camp’s first real guest in 1929. Prime Minister McDonald traveled to the U.S. to meet with Hoover because he was concerned that European countries were rebuilding their Navies in defiance of the post-World War I agreement.

Hoover met McDonald and his daughter Isabel (another building at the camp had been named after her) at the White House portico and told them he was taking them to Rapidan. McDonald had to borrow Hoover’s clothes for the outdoorsy weekend.

Cathy enjoying the porch off
the Prime Minister's cabin.

The cabin is small with several rooms housing exhibits about Hoover’s presidency, the camp and the park.

Next up was the Brown House, home of Hoover and his wife, Lou.

But first, a note. The Shenandoah is a national park. In this case, that means lots of trees and rocks and …. animals.  As we approached the Hoovers’ house, Ranger Ginny stopped and said, “I have to let you know that we have snakes that hang out here.” 

“They look like copperheads,” but they’re northern water snakes. They’re “aggressive” but not venomous, she continued.

While Tom was thrilled with this news, Cathy was not.

A big, fat northern water snake.

And lo and behold, 10 seconds later someone pointed out what looked like a thick tree branch, was rather a big, fat snake. 

After that, we followed Ginny’s advice and stayed in the middle of the path and did not stray.

The Brown House is a traditional cabin with dark wood floors and walls and a lovely, wide deck wrapping around three-fourths of the house and big, open rooms. The deck is perfect for sitting and reading, contemplating nature, or (our favorite) taking a nap.  

Lou enclosed the screened-in porch in the front and made it her office area — it has a beautiful view of the trees and stream and is the best room in the cabin (in our opinion).

The Brown House

There are big open areas to the left and in front, with stone fireplaces and comfortable chairs, rocking chairs and sofas for sitting and chatting or reading. 

To the right are the bedrooms. They are spare but do have built-in bookshelves. Originally it was one bedroom with twin beds. The Hoovers added another bedroom for Lou in case Hoover was working. He didn’t think it was fair to disturb her sleep if he had to stay up late.

Ranger Ginny showing us the porch of
the Brown House.

In the bedroom is a photo of men tossing a big ball over what looks like a volleyball net.  This is “Hooverball,” invented by Hoover and his White House physician, Joel Boone.  It consisted of tossing a 7-8 pound medicine ball over a net spanning a tennis court.  Hoover was a big believer in physical fitness and believed your mind needed exercise before you could work.  Hoover played the game with his cabinet members before work. (The game is still played during Hoover’s Hometown Days every August in his hometown of West Branch, IW.)

In 1932, FDR beat Hoover by 7 million votes.  During the transition, the country continued to suffer but FDR didn’t offer to help the outgoing administration.  He wanted the country to continue to go downhill so Hoover would get more blame (Shlaes, 2007). 

When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, he visited Rapidan. But since he was in a wheelchair, and Rapidan is not very accessible, he couldn’t use it. But he liked the concept, so he created another version in Western Maryland, which was called Shangri-La until the 1950s, when Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it for his grandson, David. Since then, it has been known as Camp David.

Directions

Rapidan Camp is located in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, about 70 miles from Washington, DC.  Reservations must be made in advance to visit the camp.  Tickets for the 2.5 hour tour can be purchased on this website: https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/251745 or by phone:  540-999-3500 x3283.   Tickets are $10.  Children 12 and under are free.

References

Current, Richard N., Williams, T. Harry, Freidel, Frank.  1975.  American History:  A Survey, Fourth Edition, Volume II:  Since 1865.  Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Ernsberger, Jr., Richard.  2014.  The ‘Man of Force’ Who Saved Belgium.  American History.  Pp. 35-43.

McElvanie, Robert S.  1984.  The Great Depression: America 1929-1941.  Times Books.  New York, New York.

Moore, Kathryn.  2007.  The American President.  Fall River Press.  New York, New York.

Shlaes, Amity.  2007.  The Forgotten Man:  A New History of the Great Depression.  Harper Perennial.  New York, NY.

Shlaes, Amity.  2013.  Coolidge.  Harper Perennial.  New York, NY.

Smith, C.  2005. Presidents:  Every Question Answered.  Smithsonian Metro Books.  New York, NY.

Videos

History Channel.  2005.  The Presidents:  The Lives and Legacies of the 43 Leaders of the United States.