The supreme purpose of history is a better world. History gives a warning to those who would promote war. History brings inspiration to those who seek peace. In short, history helps us learn.
Yesterday’s records can keep us from repeating yesterday’s mistakes. And from the pieces of mosaic assembled by historians come the great murals which represent the progress of mankind.
-Herbert Hoover, “Words to Live By,” in This Week, May 26, 1957
Since its founding by Herbert Hoover in 1919, the Hoover Institution Library & Archives has been collecting, preserving, and making widely available the most important materials documenting war, revolution, and peace in the modern era.
Each object and collection at the Library & Archives provide a unique story about the political, social, and economic ideas and movements that have shaped the past century. From the millions of consequential moments documented in letters, diaries, rare books, maps, posters, photographs, audio recordings, film, and digital records, a profound impact on our modern world is revealed.
It is for this reason that thousands of researchers and scholars as well as casual history hobbyists from around the world consult this collection each year to better understand the consequential moments that have shaped the human experience.
Delve into the rich history and significance of select artifacts from the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in this video series. Hoover’s expert curators, fellows, and other scholars will share remarkable stories and insights behind the artifacts, the context of their creation, and how the Library & Archives preserve access to this incredible wealth of material.
Episodes will explore various topics, including: the New Deal, the attack on Pearl Harbor, political strife in the Middle East, the Soviet Union, and Communist China, and much more. The primary sources featured in Reflections reveal the answers to these and other momentous historical questions. Join in on the discovery of these untold stories hidden in Hoover’s collections.
WATCH THE TRAILER
>> Jean McElwee Cannon: There is perhaps no artifact that captures the controversy of the New Deal. And the continuing questions about economic policy that it raises better than this document created by one of Roosevelt's most trusted aides in 1932.
>> Kaoru Ueda: Historians increasingly recognize the need to study materials from all sides of the world. The Fujita papers show a Japanese perspective.
>> Abbas Milani: That's why it is indispensable to actually come to a place like Hoover Archive to get your hands on what are the most important firsthand clues.
>> Stephen Kotkin: Hoover, the world's greatest private collection of materials on war, revolution, and peace.
