Today in History, March 11: 1947 – Democrat President Harry Truman writes a letter to former Republican President Herbert Hoover, thanking him for his efforts in helping to save Europe…for the second time. It is so interesting looking at history absent the biased perspective we’ve grown accustomed to. Most of us know Hoover…you know, “Hooverville’s” full of starving people, the man who was asleep at the switch and helped caused the great depression. The story is never as simple as we are told. Hoover made it to the Presidency because after WWI, he organized the assistance of a starving war-torn Europe, demonstrating his abilities. As WWII ended, the same disastrous conditions, magnified, existed. Truman, who had been a young artillery officer as Hoover was doing his good deeds in 1917, called upon his 71-year-old friend to repeat his actions. Hoover worked tirelessly to create the conditions to feed a starving Europe and end their dependence upon America. Truman then assigned the former chief executive to head the “Hoover Commission” to organize an objective Truman (D) and Hoover (R) shared…to limit the power of the Executive Branch and streamline the government. Thus we find that a decent man, Truman, called upon another decent man, Hoover, to aid in helping the world and America.
Legacies tend to fluctuate with the perspectives of the day.
Mark Loves History! 