Editing Herbert Hoover (section)

==Secretary of Commerce (1921–1928)==
{{Further|Presidency of Warren G. Harding|Presidency of Calvin Coolidge}}
[[File:HooverCommerce1926.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.15|Assistants William McCracken (left) and Walter Drake (right) with Secretary Hoover (center)]]
After his election as president in 1920, Harding rewarded Hoover for his support, offering to appoint him as either [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] or [[United States Secretary of Commerce|Secretary of Commerce]]. Secretary of Commerce was considered a minor Cabinet post, with limited and vaguely defined responsibilities, but Hoover decided to accept the position.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=51–52}} Hoover's progressive stances, continuing support for the [[League of Nations]], and recent conversion to the Republican Party aroused opposition to his appointment from many [[Senate Republican Conference|Senate Republicans]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=247–248}} To overcome this opposition, Harding paired Hoover's nomination with that of conservative favorite [[Andrew Mellon]] as [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]], and the nominations of both Hoover and Mellon were confirmed by the Senate. Hoover would serve as Secretary of Commerce from 1921 to 1928, serving under Harding and, after Harding's death in 1923, President [[Calvin Coolidge]].{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=51–52}} While some of the most prominent members of the Harding administration, including Attorney General [[Harry M. Daugherty]] and Secretary of Interior [[Albert B. Fall]], were implicated in [[Presidency of Warren G. Harding#Administration scandals|major scandals]], Hoover emerged largely unscathed from investigations into the Harding administration.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=288–292}}

Hoover envisioned the Commerce Department as the hub of the nation's growth and stability.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=53–63}} His experience mobilizing the war-time economy convinced him that the federal government could promote efficiency by eliminating waste, increasing production, encouraging the adoption of data-based practices, investing in infrastructure, and conserving natural resources. Contemporaries described Hoover's approach as a "third alternative" between "unrestrained capitalism" and [[socialism]], which was becoming increasingly popular in Europe.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=254–257}} Hoover sought to foster a balance among labor, capital, and the government, and for this, he has been variously labeled a [[corporatism|corporatist]] or an [[associationalism|associationalist]].{{sfn|Fausold 1985|pp=106}} A high priority was economic diplomacy, including promoting the growth of exports, as well as protection against monopolistic practices of foreign governments, especially regarding rubber and coffee.<ref>Joseph Brandes, ''Herbert Hoover and Economic Diplomacy: Department of Commerce Policy, 1921–1928'' (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970) pp 83–74. [https://archive.org/details/herberthoovereco00bran online].</ref>

Hoover demanded, and received, authority to coordinate economic affairs throughout the government. He created many sub-departments and committees, overseeing and regulating everything from manufacturing statistics to [[air travel]]. In some instances, he "seized" control of responsibilities from other Cabinet departments when he deemed that they were not carrying out their responsibilities well; some began referring to him as the "Secretary of Commerce and Under-Secretary of all other departments".{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=53–63}} In response to the [[Depression of 1920–21]], he convinced Harding to assemble a presidential commission on unemployment, which encouraged local governments to engage in countercyclical infrastructure spending.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=260–264}} He endorsed much of Mellon's tax reduction program but favored a more [[progressive tax]] system and opposed the treasury secretary's efforts to eliminate the [[estate tax in the United States|estate tax]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=303–304}}

===Regulation of radio and transportation===
{{Main|Regulation of radio broadcast in the United States}}
[[File:HerbertClarkHoover.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Hoover listening to a [[radio receiver]], 1925]]

Between 1923 and 1929, the number of families with radios grew from 300,000 to 10 million,{{sfn|Ferrell|1998|pp=32–33}} and Hoover's tenure as Secretary of Commerce heavily influenced radio use in the United States. Between 1922 and 1925, Hoover organized conferences among radio manufacturers, news agencies, and government organizations which played a key role in the organization, development, and regulation of [[radio broadcasting]]. Hoover also helped pass the [[Radio Act of 1927]], which allowed the government to intervene and abolish [[Radio broadcasting|radio stations]] that were deemed "non-useful" to the public. Hoover's attempts at regulating radio were not supported by all congressmen, and he received much opposition from the Senate and from radio station owners.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lepore |first=Jill |title=These Truths |publisher=W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. |year=2018 |isbn=9780393635249 |edition=1st |location=New York |pages=427–428 |language=en |chapter=A Constitution of the Air |lccn=2018019180}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Barnouw|first=Erik|title=A Tower In Babel; A history of Broadcasting in the United States to 1933|year=1966|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of 91st Congress, First Session. Volume 115, Part 4|journal=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of 91st Congress}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|others=United States Congress|author-link=Edith Green|last=Green|first=Edith|title=Program Practices of Television Networks|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85wTj3YZGL4C&q=Congressional+Record:+%22herbert+hoover%22+radio&pg=PA3558|journal=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 87th Congress, Second Session|volume=108|issue=part 3 (Pages 2851 to 4340)|date=March 7, 1962|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=85wTj3YZGL4C&pg=PA3558&dq=Congressional+Record:+%22herbert+hoover%22+radio&hl=en 3558]|language=en|quote=Interestingly, ... an American ... recognized the problem that arose with general dissemination, as opposed to [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point transmission]], of messages by wireless. ... The American was Herbert Hoover.}}</ref>

Hoover was also influential in the early development of air travel, and he sought to create a thriving private industry boosted by indirect government subsidies. He encouraged the development of emergency landing fields, required all runways to be equipped with lights and radio beams, and encouraged farmers to make use of planes for [[Aerial application|crop dusting]].{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=53–54}} He also established the federal government's power to inspect planes and license pilots, setting a precedent for the later [[Federal Aviation Administration]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|p=271}}

As Commerce Secretary, Hoover hosted national conferences on street traffic collectively known as the National Conference on Street and Highway Safety. Hoover's chief objective was to address the growing casualty toll of [[Traffic collision|traffic accidents]], but the scope of the conferences grew and soon embraced motor vehicle standards, rules of the road, and urban traffic control. He left the invited interest groups to negotiate agreements among themselves, which were then presented for adoption by states and localities. Because automotive trade associations were the best organized, many of the positions taken by the conferences reflected their interests. The conferences issued a model Uniform Vehicle Code for adoption by the states and a Model Municipal Traffic Ordinance for adoption by cities. Both were widely influential, promoting greater uniformity among jurisdictions and tending to promote the automobile's priority in city streets.<ref>Peter D. Norton, ''Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City'' (MIT Press, 2008), pp. 178–197 {{ISBN|0-262-14100-0}}</ref>

=== Hoover's image building ===
[[Phillips Payson O'Brien]] argues that Hoover had a Britain problem. He had spent so many years living in Britain and Australia, as an employee of British companies, there was a risk that he would be labeled a British tool. There were three solutions, all of which he tried in close collaboration with the media, which greatly admired him.<ref>George H. Nash, "The Great Enigma and the Great Engineer", in John E. Haynes, ed., ''Calvin Coolidge and the Coolidge Era,'' (1998) pp 149–80.</ref> First came the image of the dispassionate scientist, emotionally uninvolved but always committed to finding and implementing the best possible solution. The second solution was to gain the reputation of a humanitarian, deeply concerned with the world's troubles, such as famine in Belgium, as well as specific American problems which he had solved as food commissioner during the world war. The third solution was to fall back on the old tactic of twisting the British tail, which he employed during the [[Stevenson Plan|1925–1926 worldwide rubber crisis]]. The [[Automotive industry in the United States|American auto industry]] consumed 70% of the world's output, but British investors controlled much of the supply. Their plan was to drastically cut back on output from [[British Malaya]], which had the effect of tripling rubber prices. Hoover energetically gave a series of speeches and interviews denouncing the [[Monopoly|monopolistic]] practice and demanding that it be ended. The [[United States Department of State|American State Department]] wanted no such crisis and compromised the issue in 1926. By then Hoover had solved his image problem, and during his 1928 campaign he successfully squelched attacks that alleged he was too close to British interests.<ref>Phillips Payson O'Brien, "Herbert Hoover, Anglo–American Relations and Republican Party Politics in the 1920s." ''Diplomacy & Statecraft'' 22.2 (2011): 200–218.</ref>

===Mississippi flood===
The [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]] broke the banks and [[levee]]s of the [[lower Mississippi River]] in early 1927, resulting in the flooding of millions of acres and leaving 1.5 million people displaced from their homes. Although disaster response did not fall under the duties of the [[United States Department of Commerce|Commerce Department]], the governors of six states along the Mississippi River specifically asked President Coolidge to appoint Hoover to coordinate the response to the flood.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=68–71}} Believing that disaster response was not the domain of the federal government, Coolidge initially refused to become involved, but he eventually acceded to political pressure and appointed Hoover to chair a special committee to help the region.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=328–329}} Hoover established over one hundred [[Tent city|tent cities]] and a fleet of more than six hundred vessels and raised $17 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|17|1927|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}). In large part due to his leadership during the flood crisis, by 1928, Hoover had begun to overshadow President Coolidge himself.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=68–71}} Though Hoover received wide acclaim for his role in the crisis, he ordered the suppression of reports of mistreatment of African Americans in [[refugee camp]]s.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=333–335}} He did so with the cooperation of black American leader [[Robert Russa Moton]], who was promised unprecedented influence once Hoover became president.<ref name="pbs">[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/flood-moton-cac/ 'Robert Moton and the Colored Advisory Commission'], PBS.org</ref>

===Other initiatives===
[[File:Hoover and Harding at baseball game.jpg|thumb|Hoover (left) with [[Florence Harding]] and President [[Warren Harding]] at a baseball game in 1921]]

With the goal of encouraging wise business investments, Hoover made the Commerce Department a clearinghouse of information. He recruited numerous academics from various fields and tasked them with publishing reports on different aspects of the economy, including [[Iron and steel industry in the United States|steel production]] and films. To eliminate waste, he encouraged [[standardization]] of products like [[Tire|automobile tires]] and baby bottle nipples.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=257–200}} Other efforts at eliminating waste included reducing labor losses from trade disputes and seasonal fluctuations, reducing industrial losses from accident and injury, and reducing the amount of [[crude oil]] spilled during extraction and shipping. He promoted international trade by opening overseas offices to advise businessmen. Hoover was especially eager to promote [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]] films overseas.{{sfn|Hart|1998}} His "Own Your Own Home" campaign was a collaboration to promote ownership of single-family dwellings, with groups such as the Better Houses in America movement, the Architects' Small House Service Bureau, and the Home Modernizing Bureau. He worked with bankers and the [[Savings and loan association|savings and loan]] industry to promote the new long-term home mortgage, which dramatically stimulated home construction.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hutchison |first=Janet |title=Building for Babbitt: the State and the Suburban Home Ideal |journal=Journal of Policy History |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=184–210 |year=1997 |doi=10.1017/S0898030600005923 |issn=0898-0306 |s2cid=155048376}}</ref> Other accomplishments included winning the agreement of [[U.S. Steel]] to adopt an eight-hour workday, and the fostering of the [[Colorado River Compact]], a [[water right]]s compact among [[Southwestern United States|Southwestern states]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=269–271}}

===Presidential election of 1928===
{{Main|1928 United States presidential election}}

Hoover quietly gathered support for a future presidential bid throughout the 1920s, but he carefully avoided alienating Coolidge, who possibly could have run for another term in the [[1928 United States presidential election|1928 presidential election]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=322–323}} Along with the rest of the nation, he was surprised when Coolidge [[I do not choose to run|announced in August 1927]] that he would not seek another term. With the impending retirement of Coolidge, Hoover immediately emerged as the front-runner for the 1928 Republican nomination, and he quickly put together a strong campaign team led by [[Hubert Work]], [[Will H. Hays]], and [[Reed Smoot]].{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=335–338}} Coolidge was unwilling to anoint Hoover as his successor; on one occasion he remarked that, "for six years that man has given me unsolicited advice—all of it bad".{{sfn|Ferrell|1957|p=195}} Despite his lukewarm feelings towards Hoover, Coolidge had no desire to split the party by publicly opposing the popular Commerce Secretary's candidacy.{{sfnm|McCoy|1967|1pp=390–391|Wilson|1975|2pp=122–123}}

One public figure who endorsed Hoover for the Republican presidential candidacy was [[William Randolph Hearst]], who argued that “The present situation demands conservatism, and Secretary Hoover’s conservatism is of the constructive and not the reactionary type.”<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GCNPAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA18&dq=Hearst+The+present+situation+demands+conservatism,+and+Secretary+Hoover%E2%80%99s+conservatism+is+of+the+constructive+and+not+the+reactionary+type&article_id=7187,2028328&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjrlcecnqOMAxVYUkEAHYW7G-gQ6AF6BAgFEAM#v=onepage&q=Hearst%20The%20present%20situation%20demands%20conservatism%2C%20and%20Secretary%20Hoover%E2%80%99s%20conservatism%20is%20of%20the%20constructive%20and%20not%20the%20reactionary%20type&f=falseSt. Petersburg Times 10 Jun 1928]</ref> 

Many wary Republican leaders cast about for an alternative candidate, such as Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon or former secretary of state [[Charles Evans Hughes]].<ref name="rusnak">{{cite journal|last1=Rusnak|first1=Robert J.|title=Andrew W. Mellon: Reluctant Kingmaker|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|date=Spring 1983|volume=13|issue=2|pages=269–278|jstor=27547924}}</ref> However, Hughes and Mellon declined to run, and other potential contenders like [[Frank Orren Lowden]] and Vice President [[Charles G. Dawes]] failed to garner widespread support.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=338–339}} Hoover won the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the [[1928 Republican National Convention]]. Convention delegates considered re-nominating Vice President Charles Dawes to be Hoover's [[running mate]], but Coolidge, who hated Dawes, remarked that this would be "a personal affront" to him. The convention instead selected Senator [[Charles Curtis]] of Kansas.<ref>{{Citation | last1 = Mencken | first1 = Henry Louis | last2= Nathan | first2= George Jean | title = The American Mercury | year = 1929 | page = 404 }}</ref> Hoover accepted the nomination at [[Stanford Stadium]], telling a huge crowd that he would continue the policies of the Harding and Coolidge administrations.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg 2009|pp=71–72}} The Democrats nominated New York governor [[Al Smith]], who became the first [[Catholic Church in the United States|Catholic]] major party nominee for president.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=344–345, 350}}

[[File:ElectoralCollege1928.svg|right|thumb|upright=1.25|1928 electoral vote results]]

Hoover submitted his resignation as Commerce Secretary on July 7, but Coolidge kept him on until August 21 to wind up pending business.<ref>{{cite news |title=Coolidge Defers Action on Hoover; President's Wishes as to Date of Resignation's Acceptance Are Not Revealed. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/07/08/archives/coolidge-defers-action-on-hoover-presidents-wishes-as-to-date-of.html |access-date=July 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=July 8, 1928 |page=2 col. 2}}</ref>{{sfn|Clements|2010|pp=413–414}} Hoover centered his campaign around the Republican record of peace and prosperity, as well as his own reputation as a successful engineer and public official. Averse to giving political speeches, Hoover largely stayed out of the fray and left the campaigning to Curtis and other Republicans.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=343–346}} Smith was more charismatic and gregarious than Hoover, but his campaign was damaged by [[anti-Catholicism in the United States|anti-Catholicism]] and his overt opposition to Prohibition. Hoover had never been a strong proponent of Prohibition, but he accepted the Republican Party's plank in favor of it and issued an ambivalent statement calling Prohibition "a great social and economic experiment, noble in motive and far-reaching in purpose".{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=349–351}} In the South, Hoover and the national party pursued a "[[Lily-white movement|lily-white]]" strategy, removing black Republicans from leadership positions in an attempt to curry favor with white Southerners.{{sfn|Garcia 1980|pp=462–463}}

Hoover maintained polling leads throughout the 1928 campaign, and he decisively defeated Smith on election day, taking 58 percent of the popular vote and 444 of the 531 electoral votes.{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=355, 360}} Historians agree that Hoover's national reputation and the booming economy, combined with deep splits in the Democratic Party over religion and Prohibition, guaranteed his landslide victory.<ref>Elesha Coffman, 'The "Religious Issue" in Presidential Politics', ''American Catholic Studies'', (Winter 2008) 119#4 pp 1–20</ref> Hoover's appeal to Southern white voters succeeded in cracking the "[[Solid South]]", and he won five Southern states.{{sfn|Garcia 1980}} Hoover's victory was positively received by newspapers; one wrote that Hoover would "drive so forcefully at the tasks now before the nation that the end of his eight years as president will find us looking back on an era of prodigious achievement".{{sfn|Whyte 2017|pp=369–370}}

Hoover's detractors wondered why he did not do anything to [[United States congressional apportionment|reapportion congress]] after the [[1920 United States census]] which saw an increase in urban and immigrant populations. The 1920 census was the first and only decennial census where the results were not used to reapportion Congress, which ultimately influenced the 1928 Electoral College and impacted the presidential election.<ref name=slayton>{{cite book |last=Slayton |first=Robert A. |date=June 2, 2002 |title=Empire Statesman: The Rise and Redemption of Al Smith |url=https://archive.org/details/empirestatesmanr00robe/page/13 |location=New York |publisher=Simon and Schuster |page=[https://archive.org/details/empirestatesmanr00robe/page/13 13] |isbn=978-0-684-86302-3 }}</ref><ref name=finan>{{cite book |last=Finan |first=Christomer M. |date=June 2, 2002 |title=Alfred E. Smith: The Happy Warrior |url=https://archive.org/details/alfredesmithhapp00fina |publisher=Hill and Wang |isbn=0-8090-3033-0 }}</ref>