Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis were never close. During their one term in office they seldom worked together on anything. It is ironic given that Curtis wasn't a big supporter of Hoover and even ran against him in the 1928 election.

Curtis ran a quiet campaign and hoped to be the compromise candidate at the Republican convention. Hoover was hardly Coolidge's favorite, but the two were joined and beat Al Smith in a walk, taking 58 percent of the popular vote and cracking the Solid South on their way to an 444-87 electoral college rout.

Little would go right after that. Hoover saw his office as a vehicle for improving the conditions of all Americans by regulation and by encouraging volunteerism. The economy tanked in 1929, becoming the lasting issue of his administration.

Hoover didn't want to tamper with the economy when it was going well and not much more during the Great Depression. That was really all Franklin Roosevelt needed to campaign upon in 1932. Curtis stayed on the ticket, though that was no given, but both were solidly trounced with Hoover carrying only six states.

Hoover stayed out of the public eye and enjoyed solitude. He would ultimately write 16 books in his long life. He hoped to be nominated again in 1936, but would ultimately endorse Alf Landon. In 1940 he was considered, but Wendell Willkie won the Republican nomination.

Initially a neutralist, Hoover called for total war once the battle was joined. After the war he once again worked tirelessly to feed Germany, a role he also played after World War I. He died in 1964 at the age of 90 with a largely rehabilitation legacy.

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