by Nancy Gibbs
“I’ve got a limousine on the way”: Miller, Plain Speaking, 219–20.
He helped lead a nationwide drive: “Big Clothing Drive Opens Here Today,” New York Times, April 2, 1945.
He blasted the inefficiency: “Hoover Assails UNRRA on Food,” New York Times, April 8, 1945.
“It is now 11:59”: “Feed Victims Now, Hoover Appeals,” New York Times, May 9, 1945.
“You have the right to call for any service”: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, April 12, 1945, President’s Personal File, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
“Thanks for the offer”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, April 19, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
His hopes unleashed: Edgar Rickard, diary entry of April 14, 1945, Edgar Rickard Collection, Herbert Hoover Library.
Republican congresswoman Clare Boothe Luce: “U.S. Europe’s Hope, Mrs. Luce Reports,” New York Times, May 3, 1945.
It’s time to call Hoover: Henry L. Stimson, diary entry of May 2, 1945, Henry L. Stimson Papers, Yale University Library; cited in Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman.
“I had to explain that I would not go to Washington”: Herbert Hoover, notes of meeting between Hoover and Bernard Baruch, May 6, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Friends kept telling him: Rickard, diary entry of May 8, 1945.
“Because of the pettiness”: Hoover, notes of meeting between Hoover and Bernard Baruch.
But he was softening: Rickard, diary entry of May 14, 1945.
“making a mountain out of a molehill”: Memo of phone conversation between Herbert Hoover and Henry Stimson, May 17, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
The only way he would get a real hearing: Ibid.
Harry S. Truman: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, May 24, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
The Roosevelt loyalists: Harry S. Truman, Mr. Citizen, 183.
As aide Eben Ayers remembered it: Eben A. Ayers, Truman in the White House: The Diary of Eben A. Ayers, ed. Robert H. Ferrell (Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1991), 27.
Hoover wrote back immediately: Rickard, diary entry of May 27, 1945.
“Mr. Hoover’s advice has been available”: “Mr. Truman Calls Mr. Hoover,” New York Times, May 28, 1945.
“Bare subsistence meant hunger”: Herbert Hoover, personal memo, May 28, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
The meeting lasted nearly an hour: “Truman Speeds Up Tempo Of White House Activity,” New York Times, May 13, 1945.
“This is the same answer”: Harry S. Truman, Mr. Citizen, 121.
“The President of the United States”: Lansing Warren, “Truman Hears Hoover on Food,” New York Times, May 29, 1945.
“In one master stroke”: “Era of Good Feeling?” Time, June 4, 1945.
In his own notes: Herbert Hoover, personal memo, May 28, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Hoover went back to the Waldorf: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, May 30, 1945, President’s Secretary’s Files, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
Hoover publicly praised the president: “Hoover Hails Truman on His Food Policies,” New York Times, June 7, 1945.
Truman had once observed: David McCullough, Truman (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), 467.
“I have no one to raise a fuss”: Harry S. Truman, Off the Record: The Private Papers of Harry S. Truman, ed. Robert H. Ferrell (New York: Harper & Row, 1980), 40.
“It gave me a lift”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, June 1, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
No war president: McCullough, Truman, 406.
“an absolute ruin”: Dwight D. Eisenhower, The Eisenhower Diaries, ed. Robert H. Ferrell (New York: Doubleday, 1967), 52.
“He does not have the abilities of his predecessor”: Herbert Hoover to John C. O’Laughlin, December 27, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Hoover could sympathize: Leuchtenburg, Herbert Hoover, 93.
“If I can get the use”: Harry S. Truman, Strictly Personal and Confidential: The Letters Harry Truman Never Mailed, ed. Monte M. Poen (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982), 172–73.
There were food riots in Hamburg: “The March of Famine,” New York Times, March 25, 1946.
Drought and locusts wrecked crops: “The Bad News,” The Nation, Time, February 18, 1946.
Attlee, Truman said: Harry S. Truman, Memoirs: 1945: Year of Decisions (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1955), 468.
Agriculture Secretary Clinton Anderson: “Anatomy of Failure,” The Administration, Time, April 29, 1946.
But Hoover didn’t believe: “Hoover Urges U.S. to Heed Food Plea,” New York Times, February 9, 1946.
“More people face starvation”: “The Bad News,” Time, February 18, 1946.
Hoover immediately pitched in: “Hoover Urges U.S. to Heed Food Plea,” New York Times.
Hoover was on a fishing trip: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 113.
Lest Hoover worry about a trap: Clinton Anderson, notes of phone conversation between Anderson and Herbert Hoover, February 25, 1946, Herbert Hoover Papers, Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He then walked Anderson: Herbert Hoover, telegram to Clinton Anderson, February 26, 1946, Herbert Hoover Papers, Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
“I count on your support”: Harry S. Truman, press release, February 27, 1946, White House Press Release Files, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
Truman didn’t care: Leuchtenburg, Herbert Hoover, 157.
He called this “the most important meeting”: Felix Belair Jr., “New ‘Famine’ Board Asks U.S. Cut Wheat Use By 25%,” New York Times, March 2, 1946.
“You know more about feeding nations”: Smith, An Uncommon Man, 352.
Recalling the request later: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 123.
And everyone smiled: Belair Jr., “New ‘Famine’ Board Asks U.S. Cut Wheat Use By 25%.”
“Mr. Hoover taking up where he left off”: “An Old Trail for Mr. Hoover,” New York Times, March 6, 1946.
If your neighbor were starving: Address by Herbert Hoover on world famine, March 16, 1946, Post-Presidential Articles, Addresses, and Public Statements File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library. Quoted in Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman.
After a week of consultations: Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, 72.
Touring Warsaw: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 143.
He visited slums and soup kitchens: “Hoover Finds Poland Hardest Hit, 5 Million Children Badly Underfed,” New York Times, April 1, 1946.
When the team went to Rome: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 136.
“Because of his experience”: John W. Snyder, interview by Jerry N. Hess, March 12, 1968, transcript, Oral History Interviews, Harry S. Truman Library.
“An urgent need has developed”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, April 18, 1946, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“Millions will surely die”: Harry S. Truman, Memoirs, vol. 1, 473–74.
It was “a part of the moral and spiritual reconstruction”: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 173–77.
A few days later he warned Truman: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, April 21, 1946, White House Central Files: Confidential File, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
“I fully recognize the personal sacrifice”: Harry S. Truman, telegram to Herbert Hoover, May 7, 1946, Post-Presidential In
dividual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“there was only one method”: Notes of meeting between Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, May 16, 1946, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Hoover even drafted a telegram: Herbert Hoover, notes of meeting between Hoover and Harry S. Truman, May 16, 1946, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“All of the values of right living”: Herbert Hoover, Addresses Upon the American Road: 1945–1948 (New York: D. Van Nostrand Company, 1949), 221–22.
relations with Argentina were so bitter: Herbert Hoover, diary entries, June 6–10, 1946, Post-Presidential Subject File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“Colossus of the North”: Hoover, An American Epic, 212.
“I sent a cordial telegram to President Perón”: Ibid., 214.
“With justified pride”: “Goal Attained,” Food, Time, July 8, 1946.
“I am going away for a rest”: Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, 90.
“I know that I can count upon your cooperation”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, November 29, 1946, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Chapter 2: “Our Exclusive Trade Union”
He was called stupid: McCullough, Truman, 520.
In the 1946 midterm elections: Ibid., 522.
“President Hopes Investigator’s Findings”: James Reston, “Truman’s Choice of Hoover Called Political Maneuver,” New York Times, January 24, 1947.
German economic unification: Felix Belair Jr., “Hoover Weighs Bid to Study Germany,” New York Times, January 22, 1947.
“I was not in a particularly conciliatory mood”: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 226.
“If the views expressed by Mr. Hoover”: Felix Belair Jr., “Congress Gives Clear Indication That It Is Not Forgetting About 1948,” New York Times, January 26, 1947.
When Hoover reached the White House: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 226.
He agreed to undertake: Felix Belair Jr., “Hoover Accepts Mission to Europe to Ease U.S. Taxpayers’ Burden,” New York Times, January 23, 1947.
Food was once again terribly scarce: Hoover, An American Epic, 4, 228.
He testified before the House: Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, 103.
“You have made a very decided contribution”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, March 11, 1947, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
No longer could the United States sit back: Ayers, Truman in the White House, 171.
The stunned lawmakers seemed: C.P. Trussell, “Congress Is Solemn,” New York Times, March 13, 1947.
“Blair House may be wired”: Rickard, diary entry, May 22, 1947.
In April he signed a congressional resolution: “The Restoration,” Power, Time, May 12, 1947.
When Hoover finished: Smith, An Uncommon Man, 371.
Early in 1949: “The Laundry Is Free,” National Affairs, Time, January 24, 1949.
There had been at least a half dozen attempts: John D. Morris, “A Modern Government Is Hoover Group’s Aim,” New York Times, October 5, 1947.
“The overlap, waste and conflict of policies”: Herbert Hoover to Representative George H. Bender, October 3, 1945, White House Central Files: Official File, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
“It is heartening to know”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, October 11, 1945, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
A single salmon in the Columbia River: “One Way to Save Money,” Boards & Bureaus, Time, December 13, 1948; and Smith, An Uncommon Man, 373–74.
Those most intent on rolling back: Herbert Hoover, The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, Volume 1: Years of Adventure, 1874–1920, v–vi, quoted in Marie B. Hecht, Beyond the Presidency: The Residues of Power (New York: Macmillan, 1976), 301.
“Mr. Hoover was not about to take part”: Peri E. Arnold, “The First Hoover Commission and the Managerial Presidency,” Journal of Politics 38, no. 1 (February 1976): 56.
Truman told the commission: Hecht, Beyond the Presidency, 169.
“Now Sam, that’s all”: Smith, An Uncommon Man, 342.
The commission had a mandate: John D. Morris, “A Modern Government Is Hoover Group’s Aim,” New York Times, October 5, 1947.
Hoover predicted: “Red Tape Costs U.S. $250,000,000 In Buying Supplies, Hoover Reports,” New York Times, November 24, 1948.
“They weren’t very well written”: James H. Rowe, interview by Jerry N. Hess, September 30, 1969, transcript, Oral History Interviews, Harry S. Truman Library.
“Who is there who ought to know”: Ronald C. Moe, “A New Hoover Commission: A Timely Idea or Misdirected Nostalgia?” Public Administration Review 42, no. 3 (May–June, 1982): 272.
“From my several conversations”: James E. Webb, memo to Harry S. Truman, October 1947, James E. Webb Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
At a staff meeting: Ayers, Truman in the White House, 250.
“If you follow the counsel”: “The Big Show,” Republicans, Time, June 28, 1948.
Truman wrote to him: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, June 23, 1948, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“If you can’t win an election”: Miller, Plain Speaking, 261.
“Well, I suppose he does”: Rowe, interview.
“Hoover didn’t have any more to do with the Depression”: Donovan, Conflict and Crisis, 427.
“Mr. Hoover and his staff”: James Reston, “Hoover Ponders How Much to Ask in Reorganization,” New York Times, January 1, 1949.
Acheson urged: Peri E. Arnold, “The First Hoover Commission and the Managerial Presidency,” 59.
His best hope: Cabell Phillips, “Hoover Board Plans Affected By Election,” New York Times, November 14, 1948.
“FDR kicked him around”: Charles S. Murphy, David H. Stowe, James E. Webb, and Richard E. Neustadt, joint interview by Hugh Heclo and Anna Nelson, February 20, 1980, transcript, Oral History Interview with the Truman White House, Harry S. Truman Library.
“If that can be managed”: James E. Webb, memo to Harry S. Truman, November 5, 1948, James E. Webb Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
“It is not our function”: William E. Pemberton, “Truman and the Hoover Commission,” Whistle Stop (newsletter of the Harry S. Truman Library Institute) 19, no. 3, 1991.
“The task, as you and I have seen”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, November 12, 1948, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“I believe we can really accomplish”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, November 26, 1948, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“They went along until November”: Rickard, diary entry of December 4, 1948.
Hoover came to suspect: Herbert Hoover, Commissions on the Organization of the Executive Branch, Post-Presidential Hoover Commission I Files, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
You now had two presidents: Herbert Hoover, notes of meeting between Hoover and Harry S. Truman, January 7, 1949, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
Congress would still have the right: Clayton Knowles, “Reorganization Bill Voted In House As Hoover Report Asks Cut In Executive Units,” New York Times, February 8, 1949.
Finally, columnist Arthur Krock wrote: Arthur Krock, “In the Nation: The Senate and the Reorganization Plans,” New York Times, February 10, 1949.
“Yet it was approved”: “An Impressive Vote,” New York Times, February 9, 1949.
“Senator, don’t try to create”: “Hoover Approves Reorganizing Acts,” New York Times
, July 1, 1949.
In fact on his last night in office: Matthew Connelly, interview by Jerry N. Hess, August 21, 1968, transcripts, Oral History Interviews, Harry S. Truman Library.
“And least of all, our former Presidents”: Truman, Mr. Citizen, 121–22.
“Mr. Truman’s treatment affected him”: Frank Pace Jr., interview by Jerry N. Hess, January 17, 1972, transcript, Oral History interviews, Harry S. Truman Library.
“I think we need an agreement”: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, March 27, 1960, Post-Presidential Papers, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
Hoover, rearranging his travel plans: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, May 10, 1957, Post-Presidential Papers, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
“I am all swelled up about it”: Harry S. Truman to Herbert Hoover, May 20, 1957, Post-Presidential Individual Correspondence File, Herbert Hoover Papers, Herbert Hoover Library.
“I feel that I am one of his closest friends”: Truman speech at the dedication of the Hoover Library, August 10, quoted in Walch and Miller, Herbert Hoover and Harry S. Truman, 235.
“I am deeply grateful”: Herbert Hoover to Harry S. Truman, December 19, 1962, Post-Presidential Papers, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.
Chapter 3: “The News Hounds Are Trying to Drive a Wedge Between Us”
Like millions of his countrymen: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Crusade in Europe (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1948), 409.
A “rush and storm of joy”: William S. White, “Capital Hails Eisenhower,” New York Times, June 19, 1945.
“Stand up, so they can see you”: Harry C. Butcher, My Three Years with Eisenhower: The Personal Diary of Captain Harry C. Butcher, USNR, Naval Aide to General Eisenhower, 1942 to 1945 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1946), 869.
“I am nevertheless proud and honored”: New York Times, June 19, 1945.
“The U.S. liked what it saw”: “Home to Abilene,” Heroes, Time, July 2, 1945.
“That is my hardest decision”: Truman diary, “6/17/45,” Harry S. Truman Library, http://nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/correspondence/truman-harry/corr_diary_truman.htm.
“I was informed that event”: Harry S. Truman, notes regarding June 18, 1945 meeting, President’s Secretary’s Files, Harry S. Truman Papers, Harry S. Truman Library.