Herbert Hoover, whose reputation as one of America’s most accomplished administrators and humanitarians led to a landslide victory in the 1928 Presidential election, was the 31^st President of the United States.  His meteoric rise to the Presidency was tarnished by the economic calamity of the Great Depression.

In 1927, Hoover led relief operations during the disastrous Mississippi River Flood.  Hoover’s skill at mobilizing private, business, and government resources convinced the American public that there was no task beyond his ability, and propelled him to the Presidency the following year.  However, a few months after he entered the White House, the economy faltered and sank into the Great Depression.  Hoover went to work with his characteristic energy, but his efforts were overwhelmed by the unprecedented scale of the downturn that lasted over a decade, until America’s entry into World War II.

As a former-President, Hoover served as an adviser and mentor for his successors.  After World War II, President Truman asked Hoover to again lead massive food relief programs.  Hoover later headed two commissions, one under Truman and the other under Eisenhower, to streamline the federal government.  Most notably, Hoover wrote numerous books including one on his favorite subject — fishing!

James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. was the 39th President of the United States. He promised a government “as competent, as compassionate, as good” as the American people. Carter became what many have called “the best former president in history” for work through his Carter Center in Atlanta on conflict resolution, the supervision of democratic elections abroad and the world-wide fight against disease.

Before becoming President, Carter graduated from the United States Naval Academy, served as a U.S. Naval officer for seven years, ran his family peanut farming business, served two terms as a Georgia State Senator and was elected the 76^th Governor of Georgia in 1971.

Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, General of the Army (5 stars) at the time of Germany’s surrender, President of Columbia University and the 34th President of the United States. The policies of his administration during his two terms in office resulted in a continued rise in postwar prosperity in America.

• It was Eisenhower’s appointment to West Point in 1911 that laid the foundation for the illustrious military and political career that lay ahead of him. His 1915 graduating class would later be called “the class the stars fell on” because 59 of its members eventually became generals.