After the catastrophic Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, then-Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover reminded the country that its greatest resource is the people themselves.
“I suppose I could have called in the whole of the Army, but what was the use? All I had to do was to call in Main Street itself,” he said.
While the mammoth death toll and devastation of that flood created a precedent for more federal resources proceeding a natural disaster, a robust civil society remains America’s best force for good during a crisis. This truth will hold fast in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and the devastation and heartbreak it leaves in its wake.
The essential nature of civil society and charities was on display during one of America’s worst natural disasters in 2005: Hurricane Katrina. Religious organizations were often the first to devastated communities as volunteers cut through debris with chainsaws to clear roads and deliver hot meals and clean water the very next day. Church charities remained on the Gulf Coast, rebuilding in the region long after the federal government, too.
The Cajun Navy, one of the best examples of America's civil society, is an all-volunteer force located in South Louisiana that is adept at delivering aid and rescuing people in their homes and off rooftops during floods. “When you have the means and opportunity to help relieve suffering, you do it,” Clyde Cain, who has been a leader and volunteer in the rescue missions, said.
In 2011, when tornadoes ravaged parts of Alabama and the Southeast, the Red Cross deferred to the expertise of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, calling their food trucks a “well-oiled machine.” When Helene made landfall, Samaritan’s Purse (headquartered in Boone, North Carolina) had mobile oxygen clinics up and running for those who lost power at home and set up a 20-bed field emergency hospital in Linville, North Carolina.
Localized in the region hardest hit, the Franklin Graham-led organization is proving well-equipped to meet immediate needs. After Hurricane Katrina, the importance of strong state leadership became more evident when comparing the response in New Orleans and parts of Louisiana with Mississippi’s Gulf Coast region.
Then-Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour was widely praised for his initial response to the destruction on the state’s Gulf Coast, while former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco was heavily criticized for her disaster response. Barbour was much quicker to act, helping to coordinate the state, local, and federal response to the destruction.
Strong and competent local leadership is even more integral for a community’s ability to recover and rebuild from disasters, offering another reminder of the value of political workhorses over show horses in today’s environment. Just as important, residents uniting to assist those in need is another reminder that we aren’t as divided as cable news or social media incessantly try to reinforce.
Because Florida did not have major road destruction like western North Carolina, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) quickly redeployed his state’s National Guard air assets to that region. Other state guard units are already in Asheville, North Carolina.
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Hoover told the country that no other Main Street in all the world could match America in a crisis. It’s a reminder of our self-governing heritage and the kind of can-do spirit envisioned by our Founding Fathers and pioneers.
Hoover’s most powerful words about American civil society and the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 hit the nail on the head: “The safety of the United States is its multitudinous mass leadership.”
Ray Nothstine is a senior writer and editor and a Future of Freedom Fellow at the State Policy Network. He manages and edits American Habits, an online publication focused on federalism and self-government.
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