AP Success - AP US History: Hoover's Rugged Individualism
"During [World War I] we necessarily turned to the government to solve every difficult economic problem…To a large degree, we regimented our whole people temporarily into a socialistic state. However justified in war time, if continued in peace-time it would destroy not only our American system but with it our progress and freedom as well.
When the war closed, the most vital of issues both in our own country and around the world was whether government should continue their wartime ownership and operation of many [instruments] of production and distribution. We were challenged with a...choice between the American system of rugged individualism and a European philosophy of diametrically opposed doctrines, doctrines of paternalism and state socialism. The acceptance of these ideas would have meant the destruction of self-government through centralization...[and] the undermining of the individual initiative and enterprise through which our people have grown to unparalleled greatness."
Herbert Hoover’s “Rugged Individualism” Campaign Speech, 1928.
Question 1
According to Herbert Hoover's 1928 speech, what was the 'most vital of issues' in the post-World War I era?
How to reintegrate soldiers back into civilian life.
The decision to enter into the League of Nations.
Whether government should continue their wartime ownership and operation of production and distribution.
The challenge of rebuilding European economies.
Question 2
Herbert Hoover's speech suggests that continuing wartime economic policies into peacetime would threaten which aspect of American life?
The balance of power between federal and state governments
International trade agreements
Progress and freedom
Military preparedness
Question 3
Hoover's reference to 'rugged individualism' in his speech was a critique of what?
Progressive reforms of the early 20th century
Paternalism and state socialism
Laissez-faire capitalism
Monarchical systems of governance
Question 4
What does Hoover imply would be the result of adopting European philosophies of paternalism and state socialism?
The destruction of self-government through centralization
Enhanced economic growth through government intervention
Improved relations with European powers
A stronger emphasis on collective bargaining
Question 5
Hoover's speech is an example of which of the following broader historical trends in the United States during the 1920s?
A return to a more laissez-faire approach to the economy after World War I
The rise of the welfare state
The expansion of civil rights for minority groups
The beginning of the Great Depression
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