"We were challenged with a peace-time 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... it would have meant the undermining of the individual initiative and enterprise." — Herbert Hoover, campaign speech, October 1928
Hoover's invocation of "rugged individualism" most directly shaped which response to the early Depression?
- A
Direct federal grants to unemployed workers in 1929
- B
Immediate creation of federal old-age pensions and unemployment insurance
- Ccheck_circle
Reliance on voluntary cooperation and limited federal intervention before 1932
- D
Nationalization of the major banks in 1930
Explanation
Hoover preferred voluntarism (e.g., business pledges, local relief) and resisted direct federal aid until programs like the RFC.