Herbert Hoover & Great Depression

by Harris Gaylord Warren

“The pertinent sources and literature consulted are prodigious and the judgments are those of the expert and objective historian.” ―Wilfred E. Binkley In this balanced evaluation of the Hoover Administration and its efforts to deal with the domestic problems of the Great Depression, Harris Gaylord Warren cuts through the myths that surround a crucial and insufficiently understood period of American political history. He outlines the conditions that produced the depression, and the political and economic philosophy that underlay Hoover’s actions. Although sharply critical of Hoover’s lack of vision, he demonstrates that in many ways Hoover has been unfairly judged. For, Mr. Warren notes, Hoover, “the Great Humanitarian, the Great Engineer, the Great Secretary,” was “the embodiment of an idea, a legendary ideal, a portrait of intentions and not a picture of realities.”

Genres: Biography, History

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1967

About the author

"The recent death of Harris Gaylord Warren deeply saddened friends and colleagues of this distinguished historian of Paraguay. As the first researcher in the United States to delve seriously into the history of that often-ignored land, Harris Warren was an inspiration to a generation of scholars. In Paraguay, as well as in the United States, his contributions will long be remembered."

"In 1928, (Warren) gained an appointment as clerk of the U.S. Legation in Asuncion, Paraguay. There, his life-long fascination with the history and culture of that land was kindled... (He) enrolled at Stanford University, where in 1930 he received a master's degree in Latin American history", followed by a PhD in History from Northwestern.

His scholarly career was marked by a wide-range of interests. "While he is generally remembered today as the father of Paraguayan studies in the United States, his early work focused on borderlands history. His first book was The Sword Was Their Passport: A History of American Filibustering in the Mexican Revolution (1943)... Warren also authored many articles on the same theme and collaborated on various textbook ventures", in several instances with his wife Katherine Elizabeth Fleischman.

"In 1949, Warren produced the first serious English language text on Paraguayan history, Paraguay: An Informal History... While wanting to continue work on Paraguay, Warren was unable to return immediately to the South American archives. He concentrated instead on (work) that might be accomplished closer to home. In this vein, he published Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression as well as several short borderland studies and articles on U. S. - Latin American relations."

Nevertheless, by the 1960s he "returned to his first love, the history of Paraguay. He steadily contributed articles on Paraguayan immigration, politics, rail-roads, banking, and personalities... On retirement, he resolved "finally to get some work done" on the history of Paraguay." He continued to publish various articles and, more significantly, wrote Paraguay and the Triple Alliance: The Postwar Decade, 1869-1878 which "appeared to general acclaim... In 1985, that first study was followed by the solid Rebirth of the Paraguayan Republic: The First Colorado Era, 1878-1904."

"Harris was researching the twentieth-century Liberal period of Paraguay when his health began to fail. To the end he remained optimistic, anxious to continue his work on Paraguay."

- excerpted from Harris Gaylord Warren (1906-1988) (COONEY, WHIGHAM) from The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 69, No. 3 (Aug., 1989), pp. 562-564 accessed 05/04/2014 via JSTOR

Reviews

[David Nichols · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author struggles to make his subject as boring as possible, but fortunately he fails in his design. The Great Depression might be depressing, but it ain't dull. A brief epilogue on Hoover's post-presidential career would have been appreciated, however.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A real letdown next to some of the other presidential biographies I've been reading in recent years.