The Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson

by Herbert Hoover, Mark O. Hatfield (Introduction)

"Hoover's book was meant as a tribute to his former chief, but is ti easy to suspect that anger and hurt might underlie a portrayal that presents the worst as well as the best in one of our greatest statesmen. What makes Hoover's memoir especially valuable to readers already familiar with the story are matters of tone and interpretation which Hoover himself... probably did not notice that he was making available." -- David Burner, The Atlantic Woodrow Wilson Center Press.

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Presidents, Politics, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1992

About the author

Herbert Clark Hoover, the 31st President of the United States (1929–1933), was a mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic modernization". In the presidential election of 1928 Hoover easily won the Republican nomination. The nation was prosperous and optimistic, leading to a landslide for Hoover over the Democrat Al Smith, whom many voters distrusted on account of his Roman Catholicism. Hoover deeply believed in the Efficiency Movement (a major component of the Progressive Era), arguing that a technical solution existed for every social and economic problem. That position was challenged by the Great Depression, which began in 1929, the first year of his presidency. He tried to combat the Depression with volunteer efforts and government action, none of which produced economic recovery during his term. The consensus among historians is that Hoover's defeat in the 1932 election was caused primarily by failure to end the downward spiral into deep Depression, compounded by popular opposition to prohibition. Other electoral liabilities were Hoover's lack of charisma in relating to voters, and his poor skills in working with politicians.

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a rarity: one President writing a book specifically about another. Hoover served in Wilson's administration as the Director of the U.S. Food Administration, which basically came about due to Hoover's outstanding work with the Commission for the Relief of Belgium and then the American Relief Administration in WWI. His efforts and results were brought to Wilson's attention, causing Wilson to rightly conclude that he needed to employ this man in some critical capacity.

One would think that there would be a multitude of stories to tell, considering the time period and events that Hoover is writing of. This book specifically deals with the end of WWI and the very messy, and disastrous, peace treaty imposed by the Allies on Germany. Of course, this story cannot be told without also discussing Wilson's Fourteen Points, his League of Nations concept, the failure of the U.S. Senate to ratify the treaty nor join the League, and the destruction (politically, physically, and even somewhat mentally) of Wilson himself. But Hoover, despite either first or second-hand knowledge of many of the important meetings taking place in Versailles, does not possess the gift of an engaging storyteller.

While Wilson's name is in the title of the book, and his photo adorns the front cover, certain portions of this book are about Hoover! Indeed, some sections seem to be almost identical to parts of Volume I of Hoover's Memoirs. Hoover seems to get lost in his own impressive accomplishments at times, and Wilson either takes a backseat or disappears completely from view. Fortunately these asides come to an end about halfway through the book, and the focus shifts more towards Wilson.

But the lack of staying on Wilson causes one to question Hoover's purpose in writing the book. Hoover's intent seemed to be to give readers a - in his mind - more accurate picture of the trials and dilemmas that Wilson faced in Paris and also in the U.S. when he returned home. He partially succeeds here - managing to write of Wilson's difficulties with Italy (Vittorio Orlando), France (Georges Clemenceau), and Britain (David Lloyd George). All three of those leaders are looked upon variously as difficult, stubborn, vindictive, greedy, or waffling. All three caused major headaches for Wilson (literally and figuratively). All three greatly contributed to the harsh peace treaty and the road that ultimately set Germany on in the 1920s and 1930s.

During much of the time that Wilson was in Paris, Hoover did not have a lot of face-to-face meetings with him. This was mainly due to each other's monumental responsibilities. Instead, Hoover quite frequently sent letters to Wilson concerning food issues that he believed required Wilson's immediate attention. Hoover quotes liberally from letters - his own and many others'. There are so many letters that one wonders how Wilson felt about hearing so frequently from Hoover while he had so many other things on his mind.

Outside of the food situation (which was critical in many countries), Hoover seemed to have limited influence with Wilson. While Hoover does not directly say this, it becomes apparent when Wilson does not heed his unsolicited advice about the Versailles Treaty as things are coming to a head. Hoover wrote this book in his old age, almost forty years following the events. By that time, he had become quite bitter about losing the Presidency to FDR, the New Deal, and America's involvement in WWII. He seemed to become much more conservative after he left the White House. Even here, sometimes his "I told you so" attitude comes out. For example, on page 232, he quotes from Vance McCormick's diary, then adds sarcastically "He might have added that my reason was a refusal to starve millions of innocent human beings. Also he could have added that Norman Davis agreed with Bliss and me." That is a typical Hoover line - that someone agreed with him, not that he agreed with someone else. These types of comments are peppered throughout the book and tend to mar the overall quality.

Hoover also tends to minimize the effects of Wilson's deteriorating health while he was in Paris. It is generally accepted now that Wilson's mental faculties were severely strained and at times overtaxed due to his illness (possible influenza or a stroke - historians disagree as to which is the culprit) and his fights with the other three leaders. Hoover does acknowledge a few of Wilson's shortcomings, but does not dwell on them until the end of the book when he writes of Wilson's stubborn refusal to accept any reservations at all to the treaty. While this book does contain snippets of first-hand experience, Hoover misses a chance to really paint a clear picture of what Wilson was up against from 1918-1920.

Grade: D

[Jeremy Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unlikely to ever be picked up or read in its entirety by any but the most curious historians, this is a work of such explicit, selfless nuance and that it deserves several serious and worthy comments of credit to an author long since maligned for reasons outside his multitude of books. To remember this author, former President Herbert Hoover, in the loose and casual American consciousness, is to remember that he presided over the Stock Market Crash in 1929 and the subsequent years of the Great Depression for which he was unable to escort the nation with any real success. However, for the more attentively minded American, those conscious of any of the other 90 years that existed for Mr. Hoover outside of those from 1929-1933, he was the ultimate humanitarian, a compassionate, thoughtful engineer who worked to orchestrate one of the most complicated, but necessary food supply chains in history to the starving people of varied European nations during and after World War I, from 1918-1919, under President Woodrow Wilson. In other words, Mr. Hoover was an active player in the scenes that evolved and devolved between the Armistice of 1918, which came with tremendous hope for the world, along with Wilson’s Fourteen Points, and the faltering, oppressive treaties of peace from 1919 that spawned an even angrier German resolve in the two decades that followed.

All that to be said, Hoover’s account here, published in 1958, almost 40 years after the end of World War I and about which this book was written, almost 25 years after his own ouster from the presidency for failing to contain the outcome of the depression, roughly 15 years after the close of World War II, offers readers the most comprehensive, early details of how and why Woodrow Wilson clearly failed in his effort to orchestrate temporal or lasting peace in the world, despite a high tide of preachy idealism and intellectualism. This is by no means an advisable read for someone with only a vague understanding of the first Great War, for it would most assuredly be a snooze fest, but it’s worth saying, over and above the lessons never learned about revenge and inhuman cruelty, that Mr. Hoover writes with such an impartial, unbiased, clear elucidation of facts and conversations and letters and diaries that his research is an unimpeachable addition to the tragic, closing months of World War I, enough that I was appalled by matters previously foreign to my knowledge of those days and years.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review is based on the original publication of this book in 1958. It's a mixture of memoir of Herbert Hoover's own experience during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and a history of the event with the emphasis on Woodrow Wilson's role. There are long extracts of documents of various kinds in this book and quotes from published memoirs of other participants. I was surprised how much praise Hoover lavished on Wilson. Perhaps, his own experience of leaving the White House as an unpopular president for his unsuccessful grappling with Great Depression led Hoover to greatly sympathize with Wilson's ordeal of attempting to build a new world order that would replace the one that had led to so much death and destruction. This would not be the first book I would read on Hoover, Wilson, or Paris, but definitely would recommend for those want to read more deeply on on those topics.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book written by President Hoover about President Wilson. Perhaps the most unusual characteristics of this book is that Republican Hoover does not condemn Democrat Wilson. What a strange concept!

President Wilson created the 14 Points and was viewed as the leader of the world, but for whatever reasons known only to himself, insisted on attending the Peace Conference rather than delegate to others to negotiate. This and many other aspects of the peace conference have caused issues that we are still experiencing to this day.

A well thought and researched book.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is much information about the Treaty of Versailles and why it was going to cause another war. I gained a better understanding of President Wilson and respect for what he was trying to do for mankind. He would never have approved of the UN because it allows tyrants to be members, unlike the League of Nations, which only admitted democracies. The machinations of the countries involved in the Treaty to end WWI were never ending and shed much light on what the future of Europe would be. The information about Herbert Hoover's quest to feed the millions of starving Europeans, starting with the Belgium during WWI, and continuing through the French blockade after the armistice, is remarkable. Hoover knew that in order for there to be peace, the belligerents should not be starved to death by the blockade, which the French still insisted upon after the armistice. Hoover's administration of the tens of millions of tons of food relief to Europe to feed starving children and women is a heroic effort. This book is recommended for any wanting a better understanding of why we ended up with another world war and the condition of the Middle East today. The edition I read was the first, hardback, printed in 1958, library of Congress Catalog Card Number 58-9257.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as part of my research for my final year American History assignment at University. Insightful but not particular helpful to my needs.