Herbert Hoover: “Rugged Individualism” Campaign Speech

Audience

Hoover's address was aimed at all American voters. Hoover had already secured the Republican nomination for the presidency at the GOP national convention in Kansas City, Missouri, held on June 12–15, 1928. However, he needed to ensure that Republicans turned out to vote. He needed to maintain the party's enthusiasm, especially at a time when there were fears that many members of the party had become complacent and used to Republican victories. At the same time, Hoover needed to appeal to independent voters and Democrats.

Smith was well known across the country. He was on his fourth term as governor of New York, the nation's most populous state. The governor had already run for the presidency once, in 1924, when he lost the Democratic nomination to John W. Davis, after a contested convention that held the nation's attention as it took sixteen days and 103 votes. Finally, Smith was known as a reformer, and Hoover eagerly wanted to appeal to Americans who desired more efficient and less corrupt government. The Republicans' choice of New York as a venue was also significant, in that Hoover wanted to draw New Yorkers to the address and undermine Smith's support in his home state. New York had the largest population of any of the states and therefore the most votes. Its population was approximately 11.6 million, followed by Pennsylvania with 9.8 million and Illinois with 7.6 million.

Hoover's speech was designed to highlight the main points of his political philosophy to the average American. His antigovernment message was popular with many Americans, although, as noted, there was a growing portion of the population that wanted more government action to address the nation's problems. In an effort to appeal to this latter group, Hoover notes in his speech that he is not endorsing a “free-for-all” and that he understood that the economy would falter if one group came to dominate others. Indeed, the role of government was to ensure that everyone had equal opportunities to succeed.

The address was carried by radio stations across the nation and was reprinted in newspapers. The timing of the speech was very important, as the Republican candidate saw it as his last major opportunity to persuade Americans to support his presidential bid. Hoover would give one other major address on November 2, in St. Louis, Missouri, just four days before the election. In that address Hoover reiterated his major themes and added discussion of specific policy preferences, including support for a federal farm board to oversee agricultural issues.