Herbert Hoover’s “Rugged Individualism” Campaign Speech (1928) Commentary by Tom Lansford, University of Southern Mississippi

Explanation and Analysis of the Document

In 1928 Hoover was arguably the most popular Republican in the country, and he easily secured the Republican nomination for the presidency after President Calvin Coolidge announced that he would not seek another term. Hoover had not developed a large or influential political machine, as had his rivals in the Republican presidential race or, indeed, as had Al Smith, his Democratic opponent in the general election. Smith, the governor of New York, was a populist who opposed Prohibition and whose Catholicism alienated southern Democrats. Most Americans perceived Hoover as a safe, competent administrator with a background in humanitarian causes who would continue the nation's postwar economic expansion. Indeed, in his acceptance speech at the party's convention in Kansas City, Hoover promised that his administration would achieve a final victory over poverty. His campaign slogan pledged a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage.