Question 1

True or false: Hoover personally funded the building of the Hoover Dam while president.

Accepted Answer

False. The dam was a federal project named after him, but he didn't fund it personally. It was completed after his presidency.

Question 2

True or false: Hoover was a vocal supporter of the New Deal proposed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Accepted Answer

False. Hoover strongly opposed the New Deal, arguing it expanded government power too much and stifled liberty.

Question 3

True or false: After leaving office, Hoover chaired a commission that helped reorganize the executive branch.

Accepted Answer

True. He led the Hoover Commission (1947–1949) under Truman, streamlining federal operations.

Question 4

True or false: Hoover was a self-made millionaire before entering politics, largely from mining ventures.

Accepted Answer

True. He amassed a fortune as a mining engineer and businessman in Australia, China, and elsewhere.

Question 5

True or false: Herbert Hoover was the first U.S. president born west of the Mississippi River.

Accepted Answer

True. Hoover was born in West Branch, Iowa, making him the first president born west of the Mississippi.

Question 6

True or false: Hoover believed in using government force to break up peaceful labor strikes.

Accepted Answer

False. Hoover actually supported voluntary cooperation and opposed government intervention in strikes, unlike later presidents.

Question 7

True or false: Hoover was the first president to have a telephone installed on his desk in the Oval Office.

Accepted Answer

True. Hoover had a phone installed in 1929, though it was rarely used due to the Great Depression.

Question 8

True or false: Hoover spoke fluent Mandarin Chinese from his time working in China.

Accepted Answer

True. He and his wife learned Mandarin while he worked as a mining engineer in Tianjin, China.

Herbert Hoover Trivia Questions