Question

Herbert Hoover: Roosevelt's New Deal Would Destroy America (Excerpts)

"Our opponents...are proposing changes and so-called new deals which would destroy the very foundations of our
American system."
Historical Context: Elected in 1928, Herbert Hoover was president of the United States during the first years of the
Great Depression. His popularity suffered as economic conditions worsened in the early 1930s. Nonetheless, the
Republican Party chose him to run for reelection as president in 1932. During the campaign he both defended his
presidency and attacked his Democratic opponent, Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the following viewpoint, excepted from a
campaign address given at New York City's Madison Square Garden on October 31, 1932, Hoover defends his record
and what he calls the "American system" of individual freedom and limited government.
"This freedom of the individual creates of itself the necessity and the cheerful willingness of men to act cooperatively in
a thousand ways and for every purpose as occasion arises; and it permits such voluntary cooperations to be dissolved
as soon as they have served their purpose, to be replaced by new voluntary associations for new purposes.
This is self-government by the people outside of Government; it is the most powerful development of individual
freedom and equal opportunity that has taken place in the century and a half since our fundamental institutions were
founded.
It is in the further development of this cooperation and a sense of its responsibility that we should find solution for
many of our complex problems, and not by the extension of government into our economic and social life. The greatest
function of government is to build up that cooperation, and its most resolute action should be to deny the extension of
bureaucracy
The primary conception of this whole American system is not the regimentation of men but the cooperation of free
men. It is founded upon the conception of responsibility of the individual to the community, of the responsibility of local
government to the state, of the state to the National Government.
It is founded on a peculiar conception of self-government designed to maintain this equal opportunity to the individual,
and through decentralization it brings about and maintains these responsibilities. The centralization of government will
undermine responsibilities and will destroy the system....
My countrymen, the proposals of our opponents represent a profound change in American life-less in concrete
proposal, bad as that may be, than by implication and by evasion. Dominantly in their spirit they represent a radical
departure from the foundations of 150 years which have made this the greatest nation in the world. This election is not a
mere shift from the ins to the outs. It means deciding the direction our Nation will take over a century to come."

What is Hoover's vision of government? Answer this question AND provide a quote from the speech to back up your
response.

Answer 1

Herbert Hoover's vision of government emphasized individual freedom, limited government, and voluntary cooperation among citizens. He opposed extensive government intervention, believing it would undermine personal responsibility and the American system.

Step-by-step explanation:

Herbert Hoover's vision of government was rooted in the principle of individual freedom and limited government. He believed in the power of the individual to cooperate voluntarily in economic and social affairs without the need for extensive government intervention. A key quote from his speech that encapsulates this vision is: "The primary conception of this whole American system is not the regimentation of men but the cooperation of free men." Hoover thought that such a system, founded on self-government and decentralization, would foster individual responsibility and equal opportunity, crucial elements to maintaining the uniqueness of the American system of governance.