Herbert Hoover and Race

Picture: Charles Curtis, an American Indian and first non-white U.S. Vice President.

Hi.

Thanks to those who visited Herbert Hoover NHS this morning. Somehow though, I forgot to mention one of my favorite Herbert Hoover topics.

Hoover was a well known humanitarian beore he came to office, especially for his work during WWI and in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Hoover and his wife upset many Democrats by inviting black congressman and thier wives to social events in the White House. What was most insulting about this to southern Democrats was that Hoover and his family not only formally recognized blacks but openly and personally socialized with them . . . in the midst of the Jim Crow Era.

What really sets Hoover apart though was the fact that he chose an American Indian, Charles Curtis, to be his Vice President. For whatever reason, this astonishing fact in history is terribly neglected. Some have suggested it is because Curtis was such a partisan Republican, and because while he was a Senator from Kansas he often advocated federal Indian law policies that favored assimilation over tribal sovereignty. In any case, a Senator from Kansas before he became Vice President, Curtis was commonly called behind his back in the senate chambers "Chief" and other derogatory names. During the recent election, Curtis gained minimum attention in the press. This is the only article I could find on his historic vice presidency: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-06-06-indianvp_N.htm Curtis is affiliated with the Kaw, though he was related to other tribes as well. Due to his mixed European and Indian background, he could speak fluently French, English and Kansa.