The most destructive river flood in United States History began in the summer of 1926 when heavy rains swelled the Mississippi River’s tributaries. Peak flooding occurred in Mound Landing, Mississippi and Arkansas City, Arkansas. Levees that had been put in place to control flooding hadn’t been designed with this volume of water in mind and broke, leaving more than 700,000 people homeless.
The US government, with Calvin Coolidge as President, was hesitant to offer relief. Coolidge believed in a limited national government and thought the states were in the best position to offer its citizens aid. His fear was that Washington would be called upon to help with regional crises, setting a precedent for future disasters and potentially straining the nations finances.
When the situation was deemed to be severe enough to warrant federal aid he called a meeting of his cabinet and placed Hoover in charge of the relief efforts based on his past experience dealing with humanitarian crisises during the Great War. Hoover coordinated the national response, giving speeches, raising money, and establishing tent cities. His successful management of the crisis propelled him to the top of the Republican Party and he received the party’s presidential nomination when Coolidge declined to run for another term.
