A newspaper at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum announces Hoover’s election as president.
Winona Kay Photography
On Aug. 10, 1874, Herbert Hoover was born in West Branch. This past week marked Hoover’s 152nd birthday, but it is also significant because it coincides with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the grand reopening of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. It is fitting that the reopening of the Hoover museum is occurring during America’s 250th birthday.
Hoover’s life story reflects America’s greatness. His belief in American exceptionalism was shaped by his early years in West Branch and his career as a mining engineer. His experiences across several continents gave him a unique perspective on the world’s institutions and societies, reinforcing his appreciation for the American system.
Although Hoover’s time in Iowa was cut short when he was orphaned at a young age, he never forgot the values instilled in him there. “My experiences of later years have in no way diminished my memories and my gratitude to my native state,” recalled Hoover.
It was in Iowa, Hoover stated, that “the doors of opportunity were first opened to me,” and “it was here that I was given that tender care of mind and body, those first steps in education, that knowledge of poverty and struggle for family betterment which contribute to understanding of American life.”
Hoover also credited Iowa with the beginning of his civic education and patriotism. One of his earliest political memories was when he “walked alongside the torchlight procession in the Garfield campaign.”
“My every frequent homecoming has been a re-affirmation of the glory of America,” Hoover reflected later in life. George H. Nash, a Hoover historian and biographer, wrote that “more than any other man who held the American presidency, Hoover was profoundly acquainted with the social systems of the Old World.”
“I have seen the squalor of Asia, the frozen class barriers of Europe. And I was not a tourist. I was associated in their working lives and problems. I had to deal with their governments,” Hoover stated. He witnessed firsthand political and economic systems across the globe, many of which stood in sharp contrast to those of the United States.
This is why Hoover was alarmed by the rise of socialism, communism and fascism after World War I. He believed Americans had to be prepared to defend what he referred to as the “American System.”
The American founding itself had a profound impact on Hoover. Throughout his speeches, articles and books, he consistently referred to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
He also praised the mechanics of the Constitution, including federalism, separation of powers, checks and balances, and the protection of liberty through the Bill of Rights. In two books, “American Individualism” (1922) and “The Challenge to Liberty” (1934), Hoover defended American constitutionalism and the principles that made the nation exceptional.
Hoover’s objective was to remind Americans of their constitutional heritage and that those principles did not need to be jettisoned because of a crisis such as the Great Depression. This was the complete opposite from Hoover’s fellow Iowan, Henry Wallace, who served as secretary of agriculture and vice president in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration.
History, Hoover argued, should serve as a guide, and the “American System” should serve as an anchor — a check against ideas that would undermine liberty and constitutionalism. Hoover noted that conservatives should not be “allergic to new ideas,” but rather ideas needed to be tried “slowly without destroying what is already good.”
Russell Kirk, in “The Conservative Mind,” wrote that Hoover was “the last American president to do his own thinking.” This was a major compliment coming from one of the leading intellectuals of American conservatism. Kirk admired Hoover and described him as “one of the more learned of American presidents.”
President Hoover’s story reminds us of the values and principles that have made the United States an exceptional nation. It also reminds us of the Iowa values that continue to shape our citizens, from humanitarianism to patriotism and public service.
John Hendrickson serves as policy director for Iowans for Tax Relief Foundation.