View source for Directory:Herbert Hoover

{{Infobox_President | name=Herbert Clark Hoover 
| nationality=American
| image=Herbert Hoover.jpg
| order=31st [[President of the United States]]
| term_start=[[March 4]], [[1929]]
| term_end=[[March 4]], [[1933]]
| predecessor=[[Calvin Coolidge]]
| successor=[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]
| order2=3rd [[United States Secretary of Commerce]]
| term_start2=[[March 5]], [[1921]]
| term_end2=[[August 21]], [[1928]]
| president2=[[Warren G. Harding]] <br> [[Calvin Coolidge]]
| predecessor2=[[Joshua W. Alexander]]
| successor2=[[William F. Whiting]]
| order3= [[Chairman]] of the Commission for Polish Relief, the Hoover Commission, and the Finnish Relief Fund, [[Coordinator]] of Food Supply for World Famine.
| birth_date={{birth date|1874|8|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place=[[West Branch, Iowa]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1964|10|20|1874|8|10}}
| death_place=[[New York City|New York]], [[New York]]
| spouse=[[Lou Henry Hoover]]
| alma_mater=[[Stanford University]]
| occupation=[[Engineer]] ([[mining engineer|Mining]]), [[Businessperson|Businessman]], [[Humanitarianism|Humanitarian]]
| party=[[United States Republican Party|Republican]]
| vicepresident=[[Charles Curtis]]
| religion=[[Quaker]]
| signature=Herbert Hoover signature.gif 

|}}
'''Herbert Clark Hoover''' ([[August 10]], [[1874]] &ndash; [[October 20]], [[1964]]), the thirty-first [[President of the United States]] (1929–1933), was a [[mining engineer]] and humanitarian administrator.  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 [[United States presidential election, 1928|the presidential election of 1928]] Hoover easily won the [[History of the United States Republican Party|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 [[United States presidential election, 1932|1932 election]] was caused primarily by failure to end the downward spiral into deep Depression, compounded by popular opposition to [[Prohibition in the United States|prohibition]]. Other electoral liabilities were Hoover's lack of charisma in relating to voters, and his poor skills in working with politicians.