Canton ohio and i started looking, it was a woman whose story has not been fully told. Or so many layers to her and different at remedies that she has been involved. And the legacy that will like to see the rest of the people. Iowa. S born in her father really wanted a boy. Lou and he did pretty much raise her as well to call it, boy. One of the early pictures of her was her fishing with her father. But the pitcher we are going to show of her carrying a rifle on top of a borough. A lot of her diary talks about the joy of being able to hunt and fish and be outdoors. How does that translate into her grownup life. Outdoors ande decision to study was an outgrowth of that. , we have material when she went on camping trips. She rode horseback. She slept on the ground while her other camp mates slept in tents. From a policy perspective, she spent her years encouraging other young women to incorporate the outdoors and physical activity into their lives. It was not just for her. When other women were not doing this. I started to be interested in women being more physically active. The nextwhat we called step. Two areas where she got involved. The first was the girl scouts. That was an opportunity for her to promote a lot of Outdoor Activity what we would call outdoor craft such as hiking and learning to build a camp fire and cooked outdoors and join the outdoors. The other part was when the National Amateur athletic. Not just something that women did. Andope you can follow along what makes is really interesting is your questions. Did he do that in many ways and and you canmbers also tweak us. We were this many tweets as we can. We will work as many tweets as we can. Theres already a conversation going on. We are working in some of those comments. Please join us. Much to learn about this interesting woman. How did she get from iowa to california . California was so important. Her father was in banking. Course, this was before yet the federal reserve. Banks do not necessarily succeed. A went up and down with economy. Lookinger charles was for other opportunities and he was given the opportunity to start a bank and whittier california which at the tame was 1887. Rly they were building a Brandnew Community and have been founded by the quakers. They were open to any fair minded people of any religion. Heres the connection. Whittier, california being established. Many years later her father had had wanted a boy. It as a we named result of that, she becomes the tomboy of the era. They go camping. They are up in the mountains a lot. She is learning about the mountains and loving it. This is a rifle that was owned by him. An this photograph early photograph of her on top of this new will, looking pretty rough and tough. Le,on top of this mui looking pretty rough and tough. Annie any oakley oakley. One of her favorite essays was independent girl. There is ar clash of arms ending in mortal combat. That person in Herbert Hoover. This is the diary from 1891 to 1892. When she is at college. Life. Talking about her with the thing she is talking about a lot is her botany classes. She really likes to be an outdoors. In the outdoors. Ms. Palmer and i were a good match for climbing. We found lots of flowers, blueprints, primroses, etc. It was a lot of fun to be outside in the world. Part of that class, they are also drawing sketches of flowers. Things like that. This is lous sketchbook. Flowers, different kinds of things. They have the last name as well. This must have been something she was learning from her classes. She does not write about herself necessarily, itchy writes about the experiences of her life. She is a highly educated woman. A boths created her mom and dad created a loose, open, if you want to learn something, we will encourage you to do that. She was able to do that and explore that as far she could. We were commenting as we were aboutng the photographs how full of life it comes through in these still photographs all these years later. She seems to be smiling. Geology atn to study one of americas first ladies earned a degree in geology from stanford. How unusual was that for a woman in the u. S. In the late 1890s to study geology . It was very unusual. We are not sure she was the first woman in the country to get a agree in geology. Recently that the male students went on field trips and she was not allowed to go because she was a woman. Love the outdoors and love to go on trips in Normal School i know how upset she was. She graduated with a degree. It was unheard of women with a degree where the Jobs Available . She sends sent letters to here i am, i have , and she cannot find a job in her field. But she did meet Herbert Hoover, a fellow geologist. The way that relationship developed is herbert was a senior at the time. Interestingly enough, lewis six months older lou is six months older. Assistant. B theprofessor has delivered lecture in geology, which encouraged him to apply and study their. He took an instant liking to her. He talks about her whimsical smile and laughing blue eyes. What an intelligent and delightful young woman she was. I believe that she needs some assistance. Also he was also an island . Yes. They were quakers. There were connections that brought them together. But what happened after he took a job . Letters,were lots of but obviously there was a strong connection and interest. Nevada, andk into then to austria. He was and then to australia. He was offered a position in china. He center a telegram. Enrt her a telegram. Him ind her to join china. The postmaster posted it on the Bulletin Board for everyone to see. Her nickname for him was irked. Bert. We have a robust website for this series. It is that www. Cspan. Org firstladies. Her ba degreesee from stanford. It introduced her to a life changing partner. She said yes to china. When did they go and what was it like . They went the day after they got married. Married february 10, 1899. They headed off to china the next day. They spent a couple days in japan, and then they were there when the boxer rebellion occurred. She asks, did their stay in china influence their political ideas . There stays in a lot of places influence their views. One thing they were interested in was ways to keep our freedom. They saw what it was like when freedom had been taken from people. What influence their joint what was it about them and their development that led them to view the world in that way . I dont know they necessarily had that view when they first started out, but over time, because they were in china during the boxer rebellion, they were in europe during the warreak of the first world they had lived in countries where peoples freedoms had been curtailed. Taught about freedom in america, and then seeing other people not having those freedoms they saw that was subbing that was very important. And also that approach enabled the cougars to acquire quite a bit of wealth and be very successful in their children field. Multimillionaires when they got to the white house. Absolutely. The boxer rebellion was a protest against foreign influence in china. With their life threatened . Yes it was. They were under siege. There was american aid. A barricade. Lou man the barricade. Manned the barricade. She was sitting in her house when a bullet came through the front door. She pulled out a deck of cards and paid played solitaire. She didnt let it faze her. Said, you have missed the most exciting summer. We have a graphic i want to put on the screen. Breadth of the places stanford, and then china, and then london. Up toput them in the lead world war i. In the duke a job for the commission to relieve belgium. Relief administration after world war i. And then secretary of commerce under harding. Question, i read she was a globetrotter. What other countries did she go to . They were in countries in southeast asia, such as burma and cambodia. And also australia. Africa. Countries in the middle east. And they were also in russia. Time,y also, during this published together. They published a couple of aeces on geology one was biography of the man who created the seismograph to measure the security severity of earthquakes. Centurynslated a 16th on mining. It was written in latin. Lou had studied latin, but they also used the traditional translator. Professional translator. Herbert was a member of that association, but lou was not. But she was the one who gave the remarks and accepting in accepting the metal. Medal. David is from chicago. Add about her relationship with the white house staff. Hoovert pretrade mrs. Portray her as a nice person. Apparently she and the president did not speak to the white house staff unless they wanted them to disappear. Curtains hiding behind and jumping into closets. They did not speak to the staff. I have read in other places that mrs. Hoover would commit a cake using hand signals, which drove the staff crazy. Communicate using hand signals, which drove the staff crazy. She was a compassionate woman but not very nice to the staff. Lets check that out and how that squared away with her public image. The caller raises some good questions. There is a lot of material that supports what he mentioned. One of the things we have to look at, as historians, is when did that material come out . One of the challenges with reading anything about the hoovers, particularly anything while the roosevelts were in office there was enormous and tight hoover sentiment that people had opportunities to capitalize on an antihoover message. Is whatthe information we have to look at more carefully. They did pay several Staff Members out of their own funds. They made sure all the staff made ate three meals a day and were able to keep their jobs. It is a mixed message about what was going on with the white house. And needs to be looked at more closely. , what were her opinions of the women suffrage haveent . We dont evidence of her being actively involved. But she said something when she was 15 years old talking about she didnt think it was right that women should be classified in the same category as jill birds and convicts. And convicts. In other words, being denied the right to vote. Favor ofery much in saying women get the right to vote. But she was on active suffragette. Not an active suffragette. Believe in equality between men and women . Absolutely. Here are some of the artifacts they brought back. Among the Different Things that lou collected through her life were the chinese porcelains, blueandwhite. They tended to focus on the main ming. They collected their first blue and white when they were living in china. The developed what was probably the best collection in the u. S. Of chinese porcelains. Lou having learned to speak chinese while living in china she would literally research each of the artists, each of the pieces where they were made. They were continually trading these. They had as many as 400 at one time. Sets. To get matched in inllected pewter london. There were some pieces of british peter. Pewter. Collecting doesnt seem to go beyond 1920. We have 50 or 60 in our collection. The most unique thing she collected was, throughout all travels, sheles started collecting weapons. Boomerangs uple they spent some time in australia. We are pretty sure this is an indonesian peace. It mightve been just decorative, but it mightve been a weapon. None of it seems to be particularly sharp. I think you would do a lot of damage to somebody. There are various other a bayonet. A dagger. With a wooden handle. Swords seem to be one of her favorite things to collect. We have a number of them here. Righties of nationalities and shapes. Nationalitiesf and shapes. Welcome. ,e learned that Herbert Hoover through a variety of appointments, arrived in the harding and coolidge cabinets. Then he was the republican choice for president in 1928. Set the scene what the country was like when that election took place. The American Economy had been growing in leaps and bounds of the 1920s. He had been a dominant secretary of commerce. To hoover rise has come into the language. Se hooverize has come into the language. He is able to get the nomination in 1928. Partially from his reputation in world war i and as secretary of commerce. And also the incredible relief effort that he managed in 1927. This is a time. , as we have talked about, when the mass media is beginning to come into play. How did that affect his popularity . He got a lot of coverage. There were newsreels. He had films made of him, his biographical film. It was called, master of emergencies. The media was very important in terms of getting his image and to the public. Wins with a popular vote. The democrats nominated all , the firstl Smith Catholic to be nominated. He is a beneficiary of the divide that happens on the democratic side. Smith is a post from an from within. Because of concerns about his position on prohibition and the likes. Hoover escaped an internal battle. Came in with an overwhelmingly republican congress. Large majorities. One would think you would have a lot of support. One would think. Was she in the campaign . She was very visible. Part of the press that was out at the time in conjunction with all smith being the democratic nominee. There were the case comparisons these comparisons with katie smith, all smiths wives al smiths wife. She had already gained National Prominence on her own. Michael, you are on. I just wanted to, and. She seemedo comment. Very unorthodox for the. Period. I think she was eclipsed by Eleanor Roosevelt and jackie kennedy. So she has kind of been forgotten. I wonder if any of you know how she was perceived at the time of her reign as first lady by the press and the public. So the oppression also the depression. Same expectations and enthusiasm that had greeted her first coming into office. Lou had been involved with girl scouts. She had been involved with the athletic amateur foundation, the womens division. Chaired asted or conference on women in Law Enforcement. She was very, very well known. One of the things that she did early on she was unorthodox and other ways. A socialited secretary, but those two did not get along. The social secretary wanted lou to learn how to do things the washington way. That wasnt exactly how she wanted to do things. Those two parted company after one year. She did not hire another social secretary. She introduced a lot of changes. She was very unorthodox syria unorthodox. Do you know what their inauguration was like . Some have opted not to have an inaugural ball. They. Was pouring rain out that day. The Vice President attended the ball. It was not what we would now think of as an inaugural ball. Jordi nuss jordan is watching us in pennsylvania. Trucks i am a big fan of this series. Isbert hoover my question , what is her favorite activity in the white house . Im not sure there is just one. I will have to pick to. One would be taking care of the gardens again. Totally loving up the at doors. She was interested in chronicling the furniture. How long were they in office before the stock market crashed eight months. Warnings . There had been a stock market bubble. Bit ofad been a little financial volatility that had been sorted out by some major bankers in new york. Getting together and making sure that the stock market was back on track. Economic depression agriculture that had been going on since world war i. Some bad definitely economic signals in the air. But nobody expected what happened on october 24. This talk market tumbled the stock market tumbled. He makes a statement that the base of the economy is down and is sound. But then it crashes. Before we get into the white house during the depression and her role in addressing it, there is a story we dont want to leave on the table. A controversial appointment. It was very common for the to have tees. In the previous administration, it was usually one tea. The same year he was elected, 1928, chicago elected an africanamerican congressmen. He was the first to get elected in 28 years. The issue arose about what to do about inviting his wife to one of the tees. Teas. Should lou instructs her secretaries to have communication about how to handle this. Of the instructions decision she made was to break teas, where six each group of wives is selected as a group. Wives who they thought might not be offended would be vetted during one of these tees and their base racial views sounded out. He invites the president of the teske institute to join him for an meeting. That raises no eyebrows or hadtions, even though there not been an africanamerican who met with the president since booker t. Washington. Tea,e day after the sixth she sends a private invitation privatedepriest for a key. The congressmen publicizes this, gets attention. Every thing seems to be ok. That a weak leader, the representative hosts a music all tea as ale nt and fundraiser. The southern legislatures realizing realize this is getting out of hand. The entire summer, you have andats several stutter a threat to center mrs. Hoover and the congress. It becomes a brouhaha throughout the summer. For precarious one time for africanamericans. How does this affect their future over the next few years is to mark few years . It was a difficult situation because the Republican Party is the party of abraham lincoln. The party that africanamericans vote for. Intort hoover had broken what harding had made a slight inroads into. Was alone the one hand trying to balance the expectation that we are the party of lincoln, we have a heritage of civil rights, with seeing potentially there is inroads we can make into the south. Which is solidly democratic territory. Lou have tod negotiate the fact of this brouhaha because it has substantial political effects. Hoover did not have a solid base in congress at this time. There are what are known as lily white republican organizations in the south that are trying to become competitive in the south by essentially changing traditional racial mores. They are not happy. That lou and Herbert Hoover do. On the other hand, they dont build or maintain momentum. Republicans in congress, when he needed them after the depression hits does it have ramifications . It was part of a larger picture of the faculties that hoover had with the congress. He has a unified congress in 1928. In 1930, the democrats win back the house. The problem is that Herbert Hoover is not a politician. He has risen to the heights of secretary of commerce, and then president , without ever having held elective office. So far the only president s who had gone straight to the top had been generals. He doesnt have the background in dealmaking and dealing with politicians he is actually quite superior towards politicians. That heto one senat