Q : What do the Hoover Dam and the Boulder Dam have in common?A : Everything . They ’re the same decameter .
( My apologies for the worst riddle ever . )
In 1928 , Congress authorized a project out western United States that would produce hydroelectric powerfulness formillionswhile also controlling alluvion and providing ample H2O for irrigation . At the time , it was plebeian practice session to name new dams after Chief Executive — Calvin Coolidge , for model , commit the Coolidge Dam in Arizona on March 4 , 1930 , a year after he will spot .
But Coolidge was n’t commander - in - boss during the country ’s most incapacitating economic depression ever . Hoover , of course , was . As a outcome , people were n’t too pleased when Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilburannouncedat the project kickoff in September 1930 that it was his “ honor and privilege ” to name the dam after his chief . Even the pressure recognize the dedication with apathy , continuing to refer to the project as " Boulder Dam " even as official government document look up to it as Hoover .
To no one ’s surprise , Hoover lost re - election in 1932 ; Ray Lyman Wilbur was drum out as well . New Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes was ready to overturn his forerunner ’s decision — you could practically take the shrug in his statement : “ The men who pioneered this task knew it by this [ Boulder Dam ] name . ” Ickes tried to back up his conclusion by say that no living human beings should have a dam distinguish after him , even though United States President Woodrow Wilson , Calvin Coolidge , and Theodore Roosevelt all had namesake dams constructed while they were still around . Hoover was not invited when FDR dedicated Boulder Dam in 1935 .
Twelve old age subsequently , however , public thought had transfer . People seemed to forgive Hoover , partially because of his commendable works during WWII and part due to the mere passage of time . Perhaps feeling it was metre to restore honor to the thirty-first chairwoman , Congress passed a invoice on April 30 , 1947 , to bring back the dam ’s signify name . ( Thoughaccordingto the U.S. Department of the Interior , theofficialname never switch from Hoover Dam . )
Harold Ickes was still around at the time , and though he was no longer in politics , he still staunchly believed in the “ Boulder Dam ” title . After the re - rename , he releasedthis statement , which smelled strongly of false grapes : “ I did n’t sleep with Hoover was that small a man to take credit for something he had nothing to do with . ”
