Final answer:
Herbert Hoover was not specifically hired by the Department of Agriculture; he was appointed to head the Food Administration during World War I around 1917. His role was crucial in mobilizing the food industry and agriculture to support the war effort. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933, part of later efforts to stabilize farm prices, is a separate matter from Hoover's earlier initiatives.
Step-by-step explanation:
Herbert Hoover was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to head the Food Administration during World War I, which was not specifically a position within the Department of Agriculture. This occurred around 1917, as the United States entered the war. While Hughes was involved in government efforts, his role focused on mobilizing the food industry and agriculture through initiatives such as promoting food rationing and increasing crop prices to incentivize farmers to grow certain crops over others. His work was pivotal in supporting the war effort and ensuring that the military and the Allies had sufficient resources. Later, under Roosevelt's administration during the Great Depression, the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 was enacted, which began paying farmers not to over-plant and stabilized farm prices, a policy initiative related but separate from Hoover's earlier efforts. However, Langston Hughes, the African American poet, is also mentioned but in a different context of being questioned by the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1953.