rugged individualism

Cultural  

1. The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. The phrase is often associated with policies of the Republican party and was widely used by the Republican president Herbert Hoover. The phrase was later used in scorn by the Democratic presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman to refer to the disasters of Hoover's administration, during which the stock market Crash of 1929 occurred and the Great Depression began.

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Example Sentences

STOCKHOLM, Sweden—This paragon of collectivism is pivoting toward rugged individualism.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

They’ll get into America’s often misguided and misinformed obsession with rugged individualism, the long-term effects of de-emphasizing community, and of course, Emily in Paris.

From Slate • Mar. 4, 2025

Canadian food writer Marta Zaraska argues in her 2021 book "Meathooked" that beef became a key part of the American origin myth of rugged individualism that was emerging at this time.

From Salon • Oct. 28, 2024

In the vast and sparsely populated Northern Territory, residents’ sense of rugged individualism finds expression every July 1, explosively.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2023

Perhaps the seeds of redemption lay not just in perseverance, hard work, and rugged individualism.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown