“Hoover: A 50-Year Humanitarian Odyssey,” April 21

Thursday, April 21, 6 p.m.

Presented by the Davenport Public Library

On April 21, Utah-based author and university professor Branden Little will detail the programs and people that Herbert Hoover set up to feed millions in the online presentation Hoover: A 50-Year Humanitarian Odyssey, the latest informative and fascinating program in the Davenport Public Library's virtual 3rd Thursday at Hoover's Presidential Library & Museum series.

As explained at Hoover.archives.gov, "When World War I broke out in August 1914, Germany invaded the neutral country of Belgium, hoping to quickly overrun France. By October 1914, food supplies in Belgium were nearly exhausted. The American ambassadors to Belgium and Great Britain persuaded the British to allow the importation of food under American supervision on the condition that none of it would go to Germany or the German army in Belgium. They promised the Germans that the distribution would not be used to aid the Allies or to spy on the German army. Herbert Hoover was asked to lead the project, which came to be called the Commission for Relief in Belgium, (CRB).

"In order to distribute food equitably and to prevent the growth of the black market, the CRB collected and rationed all locally grown food along with the imported supplies. By mid-November, food supplies reached all parts of occupied Belgium, and there was no catastrophic famine from that point forward, though rations for all were strictly limited for the duration. Herbert Hoover gained worldwide fame as the 'Great Humanitarian' for creating an unprecedented organization that fed 10 million civilians for five years in the midst of a war zone."

"In 1917, after the United States entered the war, Hoover was named to head the U.S. Food Administration. Hoover was the right man for the job, which guided the effort to conserve resources and supplies and to feed America’s European allies. Hoover became a household name – 'to Hooverize' meant to economize on food. Americans began observing 'Meatless Mondays' and 'Wheatless Wednesdays' and planting War Gardens. Within a year, the United States had doubled its food shipments to Europe. After the Armistice was signed in November 1918, President Wilson appointed Hoover to head the European Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Hoover was able to channel 34 million tons of American food, clothing and supplies to war-torn Europe."

Speaking on these events and Hoover's additional humanitarian efforts in his virtual April 21 program is Branden Little, a professor of history at Weber State University who researches the international history of the United States, humanitarian relief, and expeditionary warfare. He specializes in the era of the First and Second World Wars and earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.A. in national-security affairs from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, and a B.A. in international relations and history from the University of California, Davis. Engaged in teaching teachers and public audiences, Little served as the lead scholar for northern Utah's "World War I and America" series, sponsored by the Library of America, the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the U.S. World War One Centennial Commission. Little has also been featured on C-SPAN's American History TV and Lectures in History series and is currently completing work on Band of Crusaders: American Humanitarians and the Remaking of the World, 1914-1964, which examines American-led relief and reconstruction activities during two world wars and the early Cold War.

Hoover: A 50-Year Humanitarian Odyssey will be presented on April 21 at 6 p.m., participation in the virtual program is free, and more information is available by calling (563)326-7832 and visiting DavenportLibrary.com.