Peer Review

Herbert Hoover: excerpt from a 1932 campaign speech.

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Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: A voice recording excerpted from Herbert Hoover's 1932 campaign speech. It is a
part of a campaign song sung by the audience.
Type of Material:: voice recording and archival photo of Hoover.
Recommended Uses:: Can be downloaded and used in the classroom to show Hoover's view of government
in his own words.
Technical Requirements:: Real Audio and/or MP 3, which can be downloaded at MP3.Com.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: To enable students to develop insight into the differences between the
Republican and Democratic views of government in 1932.
Target Student Population:: High School and college, although middle school teachers might find it useful.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Background on the presidency of Herbert Hoover and the challenges he faced in
running for reelection in 1932.

Rating:
Strengths:: Although brief, the selection is a very clear statement of Hoover's
laissez-faire view of government and his belief in individual freedoms.
Concerns:: This is a very brief selection and has limited use by itself. It must be used as

part of a larger assignment.

Rating:
Strengths:: Hearing Hoover's own words is very effective. The brief snippet of the campaign
song enables students to better under the nature of political rallies for the
period.
Concerns:: My main concern is the amplification of the recording. With the volume turned
all the way up, it is still not very loud. This would be difficult to hear in a
large classroom. I tried the recording on the Vincent Voice Library site and the
volume is the same. Students would have to access this on their own computers
to understand what Hoover is saying.

Rating:
Strengths:: This is quite easy to use. The link works very well. If a student doesn't have
Real Player, a free download is possible.
Concerns:: None.

Other Issues and Comments:: The Hoover speech is part of the Vincent Voice Library, a collection of 50,000
voices, developed by Michigan State University. This site proves a treasure
trove of voice recordings of historical figures. It is specifically located in a
collection of the voices of 20th century presidents which makes it possible to
develop a variety of assignments using these other recordings.
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