ch.22 sct. 3 C.T.#3

Hoover's belief in "rugged individualism" shaped his policies during the Great Depression through his views of people and the way they should be/live, and how that translates into the role of the government.
Hoover thought the government should encourage cooperation, but he thought that people should succeed through their own efforts and not depend on the government to bail them out or provide federal welfare (p.685). So basically, he thought it was good for people to tough it out on their own and thought the government should only encourage them to work together and prompt charities to help the needy.
His beliefs were reflected in his policies (and lack there of) during the Great Depression. After the stock market crashed, he called together leaders of the economy and asked them to work together and not make things worse. He also created a special organization to help charities, but none of these steps really worked and many people had expected him to take more drastic measures to try to help the situation. Instead of directly handing out food and money to the poor, he did stuff such as approving the Hoover Dam, which would make money from the profits, but more importantly, provide a lot of jobs for people.
Hoover believed people should try to make it on their own for the good of their own character, and this shaped his policies during the Great Depression, which, unlike what many poeple wanted, provided only a kind of passive encouragement or opportunity for work, not material aid.