Operation Coffeecup
Ronald Reagan, Rugged Individualism, and the Debate over “Socialized Medicine”
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12465472 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeffrey St Onge (0000-0001-6972-4216, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 223-252 |
| Publication date | 2017-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Rhetoric and Public Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1094-8392 • E-ISSN: 1534-5238 |
| Publisher | Michigan State University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.14321/rhetpublaffa.20.2.0223 |
| OpenAlex | W2757239687 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 12 |
In 1961, the American Medical Association (AMA) funded a persuasive campaign called Operation Coffeecup. The campaign, which was designed to defeat Medicare, featured a speech by a young Ronald Reagan outlining the dangers of “socialized medicine.” The speech was recorded on a long-play record and distributed to the Women’s Auxiliary of the AMA, a group primarily composed of the wives of doctors who were instructed to write seemingly spontaneous letters to Congress detailing their opposition to the program. This essay investigates Operation Coffeecup mainly through a rhetorical analysis of Reagan’s speech. I argue that “socialized medicine” drew upon a problematic articulation of American culture that privileges the individual at the expense of the larger community. I conclude by discussing the thread of individualism that has persisted in the United States from the pre-Depression era mythos of rugged individualism to neoliberal discourses that shape debates about health policy today
Articulation (sociology · Individualism · Linguistics · Opposition (politics · Political science · Politics · Rhetorical question · Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Law · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
Public opinion, 1935-1946
The Great Transformation
Ronald Reagan and “Operation Coffeecup”
Redefining the Proper Role of Government
LBJ, Reagan, and the American Dream
Red Scared
The Social Transformation of American Medicine
Red Scare
Ronald Reagan
Recasting the American Dream and American Politics
Barry Goldwater's rhetoric of rugged individualism
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |