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Presidential transition of Herbert Hoover

The presidential transition of Herbert Hoover began when he won the United States 1928 United States presidential election, becoming the president-elect, and ended when Hoover was inaugurated on March 4, 1929.

Presidential transition of Hebert Hoover
Date of electionNovember 6, 1928
Inauguration dateMarch 4, 1929
President-electHerbert Hoover (Republican)
Vice president-electCharles Curtis (Republican)
Outgoing presidentCalvin Coolidge (Republican)
Outgoing vice presidentCharles G. Dawes (Republican)

Hoover took a "goodwill trip" to Latin America during his transition, in hopes of improving relations between the United States and nations in the region.

Hoover, largely, did not begin focusing on shaping his administration until the final two weeks of his transition. At the time that Hoover's occurred, presidential transitions were much less complex than they are today. The term "presidential transition" had not even begun to be widely applied to the period between an individual's election as president of the United States and their assumption of the office.[1]

"Friendly takeover"

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The transition was an example of a "friendly takeover", in which the outgoing president and the president-elect were of the same political party (Republican). It would be the last such transition until the 1988–89 presidential transition of George H. W. Bush.[2][3]

Secret Service protection

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Beginning on November 7, the day after the election, the newly minted president-elect and his family were given protection by the United States Secret Service.[4]

Economy

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While the stock market would crash months into Hoover's presidency, starting the Great Depression, the performance of the economy during his transition appeared strong. Among United States presidential transitions, the stock market performed stronger than it had during a presidential transition for decades. The growth of the Dow Jones Industrial Average had experienced during Hoover's presidential transition (21.8%) would not be exceeded by any United States presidential transition until the first presidential transition of Donald Trump.[5][6]

Latin American tour

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President-elect Hoover and his wife aboard the USS Utah in South America, December, 1928.

On November 19, 1928, President-elect Hoover embarked on a ten-nation goodwill tour of Latin America, first departing from San Pedro, in Los Angeles, California aboard the USS Maryland.[4][7][8][9] He was accompanied on the trip by his wife Lou Henry Hoover.[10] He delivered twenty-five speeches, stressing his plans to reduce American political and military interference in Latin American affairs. In sum, he pledged that the United States would act as a "good neighbor."[11][12][13]

Hoover's work as United States secretary of commerce had led him to view Latin America as important, and believe that there was need to improve relations.[14] Hoover began planning the trip soon after winning the election.[14] It was the first time that a president-elect had taken such a goodwill trip abroad.[14] Hoover also planned the trip as means of staying away from Washington, D.C., avoiding men seeking to lobby for patronage posts.[14]

The administration of outgoing president Calvin Coolidge lent their support to Hoover's plans to take this trip.[9] Henry P. Fletcher accompanied Hoover on the trip, serving as official advisor to the president-elect as well as a representative of Coolidge and the Department of State.[9] Coolidge ordered that Hoover should be treated with presidential honors on his trip, despite Hoover having not yet entered the office.[9]

While crossing the Andes from Chile, a plot by Argentine anarchists to bomb Hoover's train as it crossed the vast Argentinian central plain was foiled. The group of plotters were led by Severino Di Giovanni. The bomber was arrested before he could place the explosives on the rails. Hoover professed unconcern, tearing off the front page of a newspaper that revealed the plot and explaining, "It's just as well that Lou shouldn't see it," referring to his wife.[15]

During his travels, he delivered roughly 25 speeches.[9] Public reception in the United States of Hoover's trip was largely positive.[9]

Dates Country Locations Details
November 26, 1928   Honduras Amapala Met with President-elect Vicente Mejía Colindres and Foreign Minister Augusto Coello.[16] Departed the U.S. November 19, 1928.[17]
November 26, 1928   El Salvador Cutuco Met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Martínez Suárez.[16]
November 27, 1928   Nicaragua Corinto Met with President Adolfo Díaz and President-elect José María Moncada.[17]
November 28, 1928   Costa Rica San José Met with President Cleto González Víquez.[16][18]
December 1, 1928   Ecuador Guayaquil Met with President Isidro Ayora.[16]
December 5, 1928   Peru Lima Met with President Augusto B. Leguía.[16]
December 8–11, 1928   Chile Antofagasta,
Santiago 		Met with President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. Met with Bolivian diplomats to discuss the ongoing Tacna–Arica dispute.[16][19]
December 13–15, 1928   Argentina Buenos Aires Met with President Hipólito Yrigoyen.[20] Also reported to President Coolidge on the success of his tour via telegraph.[21]
December 16–18, 1928   Uruguay Montevideo Met with President Juan Campisteguy, and addressed the National Council of Administration.[16]
December 21–23, 1928   Brazil Rio de Janeiro Met with President Washington Luís; addressed the National Congress and the Supreme Federal Court.[17] Returned to U.S. January 6, 1929.[22]

Vacation in Florida

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After Hoover returned from his Latin American trip, he avoided the press and patronage seekers by vacationing in Florida until February 19.[3][14] Hoover was in little hurry to begin preparing to take office. Presidential transitions were much less complex when Hoover took office than they have been in more recent decades.[3]

Shaping of Hoover's administration

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After his Florida vacation, Hoover began the business of shaping his administration in the final two weeks of his transition period.[3]

Hoover retained two members of Coolidge's Cabinet. One was Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon, whom, per the later recounting of historian David Bruner, Hoover retained in order to avoid a reaction on Wall Street, as the financial sector held Mellon in strong esteem.[3] The other was Secretary of Labor James J. Davis, who was retained, per Bruner's accounting, in order for Hoover to avoid the pressure to appoint John L. Lewis to the position.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Riley, Russell L. (January 5, 2021). "Presidential transitions didn't use to matter. Here's what changed". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bush transition team already setting course for the first 100 days". Newspapers.com. The Pittsburgh Press. Associated Press. 13 Nov 1988. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Weaver, Warren Jr. (1988-11-13). "THE NATION: History's Precedent; How Hoover Handled The '29 Transition". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "National Affairs: President-Elect". Time. 1928-11-19. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  5. ^ Light, Larry (19 January 2017). "Will Donald Trump suffer the GOP stock curse: a bearish 2017?". www.cbsnews.com. CBS News. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  6. ^ Cox, Jeff (2017-01-23). "By this market measure, Trump's transition 'was the smoothest ever'". CNBC. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Travels of President Herbert C. Hoover". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  8. ^ Jeansonne, Glen (2012). The Life of Herbert Hoover: Fighting Quaker, 1928-1933. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-1-137-34673-5. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d e f DeConde, Alexander (1950). "Herbert Hoover's Good Will Tour". The Historian. 12 (2): 167–181. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1950.tb00106.x. ISSN 0018-2370. JSTOR 24436083. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Viva Hoover! The 1928 Good Will Tour". National Archives. 2019-02-21. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Herbert Hoover: Foreign Affairs". millercenter.org. Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  12. ^ "Travels of President Herbert C. Hoover". U.S. Department of State Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
  13. ^ Deconde, Alexander (March 1950). "Herbert Hoover's Good Will Tour". Historian. 12 (2): 167–181. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6563.1950.tb00106.x.
  14. ^ a b c d e Schwartz, Thomas (6 November 2019). "The Purpose of Hoover's 1928 Goodwill Tour – Hoover Heads". hoover.blogs.archives.gov. Herbert Hoover Library and Museum. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  15. ^ "The Museum Exhibit Galleries, Gallery 5: The Logical Candidate, The President-Elect". West Branch, Iowa: Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Hoover, Herbert (1974). "Supplement IV - Addresses During a Trip to Central and South America". Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Herbert Hoover. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 615–642. Archived from the original on August 3, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  17. ^ a b c Jeansonne 2012, pp. 44–45.
  18. ^ Cohen, Alex (November 29, 1928). "Don Cleto Gonzales Viquez, President of Costa Rica, in welcoming President Elect Herbert C. Hoover today, made the following address: Our Love OF U. S. Great, Message from Costa Rica". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 2. ProQuest 180956936. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  19. ^ DeConde, Alexander (1951). Herbert Hoover's Latin-American Policy. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 36. ISBN 9780804713436. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  20. ^ Kinsley, Philip (December 15, 1928). "Silent Hoover Wins Argentine Man of Silence: President Irigoyen Made Friend of U. S." Chicago Daily Tribune. p. 1. ProQuest 180959992. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  21. ^ "Good Will Tour Success, Hoover Wires Coolidge: Uses Direct Cable Line from Buenos Aires". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 16, 1928. p. 3. ProQuest 180956550. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  22. ^ "Hoover Enters Home Waters; Begins Packing: Expected in U. S. at 8 A. M. Sunday". Chicago Daily Tribune. January 4, 1929. p. 21. ProQuest 181001819. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
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