Chapter 11, Herbert Hoover and the Crisis of American Individualism Summary and Analysis

Herbert Hoover rose to prominence in the aftermath of World War I. He was the only person to have his status elevated as a result of the war. He helped to run the American Relief Administration, which was regarded as a success at holding the European economies together after the war. Hoover had great experience in the relevant areas, having undertaken numerous major construction projects between 1899 and 1911. But after World War I, a mere decade later, Hoover's reputation as a great businessman and humanitarian was destroyed.

Indeed Hoover had great business and managerial talents. But Hofstadter argued that he was handicapped by his laissez-faire liberal philosophy, which tied him to a past and seemingly irrelevant age. Hofstadter discusses how he studied engineering and geology at...