Research Article

Australia’s Presidents? Herbert Hoover and Lyndon B. Johnson Remembered

Published: 2024-7-2

Journal: Australian Historical Studies

DOI: 10.1080/1031461x.2023.2262492

Abstract

## Abstract Among US presidents, Herbert Hoover and Lyndon Johnson had the strongest ties to Australia. Hoover spent over a year in Australia as a mining engineer before launching a career in international business, food relief, and politics. In 1942, LBJ passed part of his pre-presidential career in Australia. Yet Johnson’s presidential tour in 1966, coupled with his return in 1967, generated massive enthusiasm and modest protests against the Vietnam War. President Johnson’s visits helped to solidify and celebrate US-Australian ties while encouraging Australian independence, even if during a war directed from Washington. While Hoover left his mark on Australia’s landscape in the mines he promoted and the sites that still stand, Australians found little appealing in the dour, Depression-era president who had come and gone without regarding their country as a friend or ally. Johnson thus became a consequential figure in Australia’s national history in ways Hoover never did. ## Acknowledgments The author presented early versions of this article at the European Association for Studies of Australia conference in 2023 and at Bruce Hall, the Australian National University in 2022. For their comments and assistance, he thanks Frank Bongiorno, Will Christie, Damian Cole, Douglas Craig, Dean Fafoutis, Rae Frances, Katherine Jellison, Bruce Scates, Tim Rowse, and the journal’s anonymous referees. The author thanks the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the Australian National University for supporting this research. No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Faculty Members

  • Dean J. Kotlowski - Salisbury University

Themes

  • Presidential history
  • Impact of political tours
  • Cultural perceptions of leadership
  • US-Australian relations

Categories

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