Hoover Blanket

(noun)

Newspapers used for bedding among the homeless during the Depression.

Related Terms

Examples of Hoover Blanket in the following topics:

  • Hooverville

    • They were bitingly named after Herbert Hoover, then President of the United States, because he had allegedly allowed the nation to slide into depression.
    • Democrats coined other terms, such as "Hoover blanket" (old newspaper used as blanketing) and "Hoover flag" (an empty pocket turned inside out).
    • "Hoover leather" was cardboard used to line a shoe when the sole wore through.
    • A "Hoover wagon" was an automobile with horses hitched to it because the owner could not afford fuel.

  • The Human Toll

    • These became known as "Hoovervilles," a term coined by Democratic National Committee publicity chief Charles Michelson to slander the name of Republican President Herbert Hoover, whose policies many people blamed for the stock market crash and ensuing Depression.
    • Democrats coined other terms, such as "Hoover blanket" – old newspaper used as blanketing – and "Hoover flag" – an empty pocket turned inside out – that pressed the idea of the president’s blame for the public misery.
    • "Hoover leather" was cardboard used to line a shoe when the sole wore through, while a "Hoover wagon" was an automobile with horses hitched to it because the owner could not afford fuel.
    • After Franklin Delano Roosevelt soundly defeated Hoover in the November 1932 presidential election, FDR’s “New Deal” economic recovery plan enacted special relief programs for the homeless under the Federal Transient Service (FTS), which operated from 1933-35.
    • Makeshift housing of the type found in shanty towns that sprung up during the Depression, named Hoovervilles to place blame on President Herbert Hoover, in an alley in the Manhattan borough of New York City in 1935.

  • Hoover and the Limits of Individualism

    • Hoover carried his "rugged individualism" into the Great Depression, believing that the government shouldn't interfere.
    • Rugged individualism was the phrase often used by Herbert Hoover during his presidency.
    • Hoover emphasized that rugged individualism was not laissez-faire, and that it in fact denounced laissez-faire economics.
    • Hoover saw volunteerism as preferable to governmental coercion or intervention, both of which he felt opposed the American ideals of individualism and self-reliance.
    • Analyze the relationship between Hoover's "rugged individualism" and his understanding of government intervention in the national economy

  • Herbert Hoover: The Great Engineer

    • Herbert Hoover was a globally trained engineer, having become extremely wealthy by 1914.
    • Originally, Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author.
    • Hoover graduated from Stanford University in 1895 with a degree in geology.
    • An open feud developed between Hoover and his boss Ernest Williams, with Hoover persuading four other mine managers to conspire against Williams.
    • Herbert Hoover, aged 23; taken in Perth, Western Australia in 1898

  • Hoover's Efforts at Recovery

    • Hoover endorsed a plan to deport “foreigners” under the third U.S.
    • The NCC exemplified Hoover's belief in volunteerism as a mechanism for aiding the economy.
    • Secretary of Labor under President Herbert Hoover.
    • Hoover addresses a large crowd on the campaign trail in 1932.
    • Analyze the fiscal and monetary tools that Hoover used to combat the Great Depression

  • Congressional Initiatives

    • Hoover attempted to counter the effects of the Depression through various Congressional initiatives, including public works and tax reforms.
    • Hoover's stance on the economy had been based largely on volunteerism, expecting churches and social institutions to aid the poor.
    • Prior to the start of the Depression, Hoover's first Treasury Secretary, Andrew Mellon, (under Presidents Warren G.
    • Years later libertarians argued that Hoover's economics were statist .
    • Herbert Hoover as the new President of the United States; original drawing for an Oscar Cesare political cartoon, 17 March, 1929

  • Competing Solutions

    • While Hoover's response to the Great Depression was initially too narrow and more decisive actions came too late, Roosevelt's New Deal drew on some of Hoover's ideas but proposed a series of sweeping reforms and programs.
    • All these initiatives suggest that Hoover believed the economic crisis to be a temporary downturn.
    • With unemployment skyrocketing and banks on the verge of collapse, Hoover proposed a new plan.
    • Hoover's response to the Great Depression is also associated with three other critical pieces of legislation.
    • Compare and contrast Herbert Hoover and Franklin D.

  • Al Smith and the Election of 1928

    • By 1914, Hoover was extremely wealthy, with an estimated personal fortune of $4 million.
    • Hoover served as head of the U.S.
    • Hoover was the first of two presidents to redistribute his entire salary; John F.
    • Hoover even triumphed in Smith's home state of New York by a narrow margin.
    • Shades of red are for Hoover (Republican) and shades of blue are for Smith (Democratic).

  • The Election of 1932

    • Hoover was so unpopular that Roosevelt's campaign revolved cautiously around blaming Hoover for the disastrous economic situation and making vague promises of programs and reforms that would lead the country towards economic recovery.
    • Hoover's reportedly grim personality contrasted with Roosevelt's optimism and confidence.
    • Roosevelt and Garner received over 57% and Hoover and Curtis over 39% of the popular vote.
    • Of all the regions, only New England supported Hoover and the Democratic ticket carried 42 states.
    • Blue counties voted for Roosevelt, red for Hoover--darker shades indicate wider margins.

  • The New Era

    • Hoover believed in the efficacy of individualism and business enterprise, with limited coordination by government, to cure all problems.
    • The economic bubble of the late 1920s under Hoover was reflected in the extension of credit to a dangerous degree, including in the stock market, which rose to record high levels.
    • Yet the dangerous practices of credit extensions, stock speculation and excessive government spending under Hoover brought the good times to a calamitous end.
    • President Herbert Hoover advocated individualism and business enterprise, but his policies that created an economic boom enabled credit extensions and speculation that resulted in the Stock Market Crash of 1929.