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HERBERT HOOVER AS SECRETARY OF COMMERCE.   Term Paper ID:28636 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: His positive contributions during the 1920s. His humanitarian values, progressive views on labor, international trade. Ties to business interests. Lack of success in agricultural area.... More...

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Paper Abstract: His positive contributions during the 1920s. His humanitarian values, progressive views on labor, international trade. Ties to business interests. Lack of success in agricultural area. Paper Introduction: THE GREAT ENGINEER Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce, 1921-29 Introduction Herbert Hoover is remembered today primarily as the hapless predecessor of Franklin D. Roosevelt: the President who, at the time of the Great Crash of 1929 and the beginning ensuing Great Depression, failed to respond either with effective economic policies or dynamic leadership, and was accordingly swept aside in the 1932 election. His unsuccessful presidency in a time of crisis has almost completely overshadowed his prior career. In the 1920s, however, Hoover was considered one of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. 5). Since full corporate rationalization in the form ofagribusiness in the modern sense was yet unheard of, and politicallyunsupportable for a society still deeply attached to the ideal of thefamily farm (an ideal that still has strong emotional pull even today), thesolution proposed was based on marketing cooperatives among farmers andsimilar arrangements. As the headof emergency food relief during the period of famine in Europe thatimmediately followed the war, he became a hero to millions, to the extentthat "hooverize" became a synonym for humanitarian accomplishment. Pittsburgh: University ofPittsburgh. In Ellis W. Herbert Hoover, 1921-1928. 83). Implicit in this approach to the department's work was a closerelationship to the industries it dealt with. THE GREAT ENGINEER Herbert Hoover as Secretary of Commerce, 1921-29Introduction Herbert Hoover is remembered today primarily as the haplesspredecessor of Franklin D. Hoover also took an interest in radio,the Internet of the 192 s. Hawley, Ellis W. It is well known thatregulatory agencies often tend to be "captured" by the industries that theyregulate. Theagricultural sector was still dominated by family farms, much morenumerous, for the most part much smaller, and very much poorer than thoseof today. (1981). Economic stabilization, 1921-22. ("Radio Flyer" brand children's wagons stillecho the excitement that radio produced in the 192 s.) Radio technology hademerged in experimental form at the turn of the century, and had beenapplied to a limited degree for military purposes (as for communicationbetween ships at sea) during World War I. InEllis W. 82). He would hold that position for eightyears, through the boom of the 192 s, before finally succeeding to theWhite House when the economy was on the verge of collapse. Wilson, Joan Hoff (1981). 23). Zeiger, Robert H. ("Technocracy," a termpopularized in this same era, had originally a more specific but relatedmeaning of government by technical experts.) This was an outlook much invogue in the 192 s. 116). Hoover's more serious error in international affairs had to do withinternational economic policy. The farm sector, in fact, faced problems that have continued toplague it since, including its own efficiency. In Ellis W. Afterthe Versailles treaty that ended the war, economist John Maynard Keynessaid that "Mr. Had he not becomePresident in 1929, what Keynes said of him after the Versailles peaceconference -- that he was the only participant to emerged with an enhancedreputation -- might well have been said of his role in economicpolicymaking in the 192 s. The country had morefarmers and farmworkers than needed, and grew more food than could readilyfind a market. Healso made the department a clearing-house for information useful toAmerican businesses interested in international trade or foreigninvestments. It is unlikely that corruption wasinvolved; most probably Hoover's experts provided advantages, more or lessinadvertently, to those firms that took their advice and provided them withintelligence of foreign business conditions. He exerted pressure -- sometimes running afoul of the StateDepartment -- in opposition to foreign raw-resource cartels, which werewidespread in international trade at that time (Brandes, 1962, p. In Herbert Hoover, Secretary of Commerce, business had anunderstanding friend at court. 115-47. In April, 1927, he was featured in the firstpublic demonstration of television (Smith, 1984, p. Harding to be Secretary of Commerce -- in general opinion one of theablest members of the cabinet. 67). At the same time he was anadvocate of business, particularly insofar as it adopted modern,rationalized methods of management. For a variety of "progressive" businessmen and their allies in theprofessions and social sciences, the wartime experience hadstrengthened an earlier vision of managerial progress throughscientific inquiry, expert administration, and coordinated group action(Hawley, 1962, p. Herbert Hoover's agricultural policies,1921-28. The wage earner and the new economicsystem, 1919-1929. Both positionshad representatives in the Republican administrations of the 192 s, Hooversupporting the first, Henry Wallace supporting the second. In fact, however, that is a role that has cometo be accepted and which is arguably useful. There can be no doubt that Hoover and hislieutenants made many valuable contributions to the efficiency ofAmerican business (Hicks, 196 , p. His unsuccessfulpresidency in a time of crisis has almost completely overshadowed his priorcareer. As businesses grew in size, traditional methods ofmanagement -- derived from customary practices in the workshops and smallfactories of an earlier time -- were giving way to the professional conceptof management that we now take for granted. The United States, besides being the"Arsenal of Democracy" in the war, had also been the banker to the Allies,lending to the British and French on an enormous scale. The remainderof this discussion will focus on his role as Secretary of Commerce duringthose years.Managerialism Hoover, an engineer by background, was in modern terms, something ofa technocrat, who believed that not only the performance of industry butsocial progress could best be furthered by rational methods of managementand a problem-solving approach to issues. 46). Nevertheless he played a significant part in establishingthe eight-hour standard industrial workday by exerting pressure on thesteel industry, where twelve-hour workdays had previously been the norm(Zeiger, 1981, p. Republican Ascendancy, 1921-1933. At the same time it was decentralized and non-rationalized,and thus at an inherent disadvantage in dealing with other sectors of theeconomy. Hawley, ed. All of these tendencies were accelerated by the experience of WorldWar I, when rationalized systems introduced for the war emergency hadachieved astonishing feats of organization and production. In Hoover's view this was less a "capture" than anatural partnership between government and industry. The hints of favoritismtoward certain firms engaged in international investment do not bear out acharge of corruption, but more probably were a natural dynamic between thedepartment and the firms that chose to cooperate with it. 8 ). 7). Neither, however, proved effective in dealing with the 192 s farm crisis,which ultimately would be solved, insofar as it was solved at all, by latermovements from land to city and suburbs that reduced the agriculturalpopulation to its modern low level.Labor For a Republican of the 192 s, Hoover's views on labor relations werehighly progressive. Hicks, John Donald (196 ). Hoover was the champion of what atthat time were the cutting-edge sectors of the economy. 7). By the 192 s it was just cominginto its own as a widely practical technology and mass medium. 8 -114.----------------------- 12 Hawley, ed. Smith, Richard Norton (1984). Herbert Hoover, 1921-1928. Americanagriculture in the 192 s was conspicuously not one of the "modern" sectorsof the economy. New York: Simon & Schuster. 64). Particularly in the South, systems such as sharecropping werewidespread, and rural poverty correspondingly severe. ("RadioFlyer" brand children's wagons still echo the excitement that radioproduced at this time.) Hoover established the policy for assigning radiofrequencies to commercial broadcasters, and actively promoted furthertechnological development. One alternative was a policy that sought to rationalize theagricultural sector on lines more or less comparable to those of the modernNew Era sectors. In the 192 s, however, Hoover was considered one of the ablest risingstars on the American and even international political scene. As a cabinet secretary in Republicanadministrations of the 192 s, perhaps, it would have been impossible forhim to do so. The repayment ofthese war debts was a hot political issue throughout the 192 s, and Hooverwas firmly on the side of those who insisted on repayment (Brandes, 1962,p. that was a binding force when our industries were smaller"(Zeiger, 1981, p. Hoover, however,saw a far more expansive role for the department as promoter andcoordinator of American industrial development. In the wake of the Russian Revolution, labor-unionactivism was the subject of widespread hysteria, leading to a "Red Scare"in the years immediately after World War I that prefigured the McCarthyismof the 195 s. Roosevelt: the President who, at the time of theGreat Crash of 1929 and the beginning ensuing Great Depression, failed torespond either with effective economic policies or dynamic leadership, andwas accordingly swept aside in the 1932 election. 176-77). A move to give Hooverthe Republican nomination went nowhere, but in 1921 he was picked by WarrenG. To these problems, two broad sets of policy alternatives were offeredin the years after World War I (Wilson, 1981, pp. 1 ).Agriculture One area in which Hoover was notably unsuccessful, even by his ownadmission, was agricultural policy (Wilson, 1981, p. He took particular interest in what, by the standards of the time,were the high-tech sectors of the economy. (1981). The chief criticism to be leveled at Hoover during his time atCommerce is that he was overly close to business interests, serving more aspromotor than as watchdog. The Department of Commerce, then one ofthe least-established cabinet departments, had previously the essentiallynegative role of enforcing the Interstate Commerce Acts, along with certainlimited and inherited roles such as fisheries management. He decided at once to make a governmentalattack on waste in business, and marshaled effectively the resources ofthe Bureau of Standards and the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerceto this end ... From the latter proposal would evolve the farm-price support system that operated in the US from the 193 s till the 199 s. "the Finance and Investment Division prepared and distributedto American investors reports on the budgets of foreign governments,financing methods abroad, as well as analyses of foreign exchangeconditions" (Brandes, 1962, p. Iowa City: University ofIowa, pp. An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of HerbertHoover. Therecould not be a better one" (Blandes, 1962, p. Hoover stood firmly apart from these fears, and grasped thatthe mainstream of American unionism was reformist rather than revolutionary(Zeiger, 1981, p. Whereas even large companieshad formerly been essentially family firms scaled up, corporations wereincreasingly private bureaucracies, with elaborate tables of organizationand, standardized management hiring and promotion practices in place ofdependence on personal relationships. Herbert Hoover exemplified these values, and brought them to bear inhis role as Secretary of Commerce. It was to be"a dynamic laboratory for his theory of a federal government eager toencourage private associations as the surest path to progress for allwithout domination by any -- including Washington itself" (Smith, 1984, p.98). Given the social attitudes of the 192 s it is hard to imagine thatHoover or anyone else in Republican administrations of the time (or evenDemocratic, had there been one) could have done a better or more honestjob. NewYork: Harper Bros. 95).International Trade Hoover saw the role of the Department of Commerce in internationaltrade as a natural extension of its domestic role as partner of Americanindustry. He was also conscious that the new, rationalized world of work,the traditional bonds that might have bound workers and employers togetherwere breaking down and had to be replaced in some systematic way."Industry must be humanized," he argued; firms had to "re-establish throughorganized representation that personal cooperation between employer andemployee ... More particularly, and in keeping with his general technocraticperspective, Hoover "believed that unless the country could enlist workersthrough a system of representation in the campaign to increase productivityand eliminate waste, it could never meet the demands of the postwar world"(Zeiger, 1981, p. In 192 , both American political parties vied for his allegiance.His eventual successor as president, FDR, said that "he is certainly awonder, and I wish we could make him President of the United States. 24). His concern, then, had much in common with recenttheories of industrial efficiency and production quality that call for acooperative rather than adversarial relationship between managers andworkers. Iowa City:University of Iowa, pp. References Brandes, Joseph (1962). As in its domestic advocacy, this policy involved very closerelationships between the division of the Commerce Department that dealtwith foreign trade and firms active in foreign investment. 82). In the words of a contemporary businessanalyst, each division of the Department, tasked with regulating aparticular industrial commodity, was "headed by an expert nominated -- insome cases actually voted on -- by the trade he knows and represents"(Brandes, 1962, p. Hawley, ed. At one time he had argued in favor of some sort of cooperativemanagement system, but amid the conservative atmosphere of the 192 s he didnot follow up on the logic of that position; while not hostile tounionization, and even sympathetic in principle, he did not activelysupport incorporating unions into the framework of American industrialrelations (Zeiger, 1981, p. 28). In hindsight -- and in the view of some at the time -- this was agrave error, straining the Western European economies and ultimatelycontributing to the onset of the Great Depression.Conclusion In spite of his views regarding war debts, Hoover's contributionsduring his tenure as Secretary of Commerce during the Harding and Coolidgeadministrations were for the most part positive. Hecarried out studies of oil reserves, and "expanded the Census Bureau intoan informational treasure trove for business planners" (Smith, 1984, p.99), providing a wide range of data and statistics that businesses coulduse to obtain marketing and other information. The other option centered on more direct government intervention inagricultural markets, as by farm price supports, possibly two-tiered: ahigher domestic price to protect farmers' incomes and a lower export priceto encourage farm exports. Hoover was the only man who emerged from the ordeal of Pariswith an enhanced reputation" (Blandes, 1962, p. He energetically promotedcommercial aviation, establishing beacons and other air-route markers, andlobbying for the assignment of airmail contracts to the nascent commercialairlines (Hicks, 196 , pp. The age of agribusiness lay far in the future. Theserelationships inevitably led to some suspicion of favoritism: "Although astudy of the Division's files reveals no apparently obvious favoritism,certain [American] financial firms seem to stand out as beneficiaries ofits assistance" (Brandes, 1962, p. Whatever might be said of his later performance as President in thecrisis years after 1929, in his role at the Department of Commerce Hooverarguably embodied the best rather than the worst of the 192 s. Businesses were urged, and to some degree pressured, to adoptstandardized measures, so that the interchangeability of components,already a basis of production-line manufacturing methods, could in somedegree be expanded across the whole economy. Herbert Hoover and Economic Diplomacy:Department of Commerce Policy, 1921-1928. 43-79. 119-21). Accordingly, Hoover greatly enlarged the department, adding 3, newemployees to its roles, an action strikingly contrary to the small-government Republicanism of the Harding and Coolidge administration. Herbert Hoover, 1921-1928.Iowa City: University of Iowa, pp. Each manembodied strains of progressive Republicanism, as then understood;Wallace's son would go on to become a New Dealer (and ultimately mount athird-party challenge against Truman in 1948 from the left). Hoover's concept of managerial efficiency tended to accentuatethis tendency, since it was in industry that the government could find therequisite technical expertise. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.