The Dartmouth Apologia

A Journal of Christian Thought at Dartmouth College

Author : Joe Gyorda

Work as an Act of Worship: Recalibrating Rugged Individualism with the Christian Tradition

First coined by President Herbert Hoover in a 1928 campaign speech, the term “rugged individualism” describes the uniquely American philosophy of hard work, self-reliance, and just desserts. This ideology developed under Hoover’s presidency, where his policies responding to the Great Depression placed the onus on the individual’s ability to work hard and “pull themselves up […]

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