On May 30, 1931, the Saturday after Memorial Day, the beleaguered President Herbert Hoover addressed a crowd of 20,000 people under sweltering heat at Valley Forge. This episode looks at that speech in the context of Hoover’s life and times. Contemporary listeners will see much that is familiar in Hoover’s speech — politicians are in many ways similar across generations — and also sentiments that we have not heard from our presidents in a long time.

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References for this episode

William E. Leuchtenburg, Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover Memorial Day Address at Valley Forge, May 30, 1931

New York Times coverage

Jessie De Priest tea at White House