Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections—Miller Center About the Administration The Campaign and Election of 1932: Political observers in the early 1930s were of decidedly mixed opinion about the possible presidential candidacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many leaders of the Democratic Party saw in Roosevelt an attractive mixture of experience (as governor of New York and as a former vice presidential candidate) and appeal (the Roosevelt name itself, which immediately associated FDR with his remote cousin, former President Theodore Roosevelt.)FDR's record as governor of New York—and specifically his laudable, if initially conservative, efforts to combat the effects of the depression in his own state—only reinforced his place as the leading Democratic contender for the 1932 presidential nomination. Under the watchful eyes of his political advisers Louis Howe and James Farley, FDR patiently garnered support from Democrats around the country, but especially in the South and the West. In preparation for his presidential bid, Roosevelt consulted a group of college professors, dubbed the "Brains Trust" (later shortened to the "Brain Trust"), for policy advice. Other observers, however, were not so sanguine about his abilities or chances.

Walter Lippmann, the dean of political commentators and a shaper of public opinion, observed acidly of Roosevelt: "He is a pleasant man who, without any important qualifications for the office, would very much like to be president." FDR's Democratic Party, moreover, was both factionalized and ideologically splintered. Several other candidates sought the nomination, including Speaker of the House John Nance Garner of Texas (who found support in the west) and the party's 1928 candidate, Alfred Smith (who ran strong in the urban northeast). The party further split on two key social issues: Catholicism and prohibition. Smith was a Catholic and wanted to end prohibition, which pleased Democrats in the Northeast, but angered those in the South and West. In 1932, though, the key issue was the Great Depression, not Catholicism or prohibition, which gave Democrats a great opportunity to take the White House back from the Republicans. While FDR did not enter the Democratic convention in Chicago with the necessary two-thirds of the delegates, he managed to secure them after promising Garner the vice-presidential nomination.

FDR then broke with tradition and flew to Chicago by airplane to accept the nomination in person, promising delegates "a new deal for the American people." FDR's decision to go to Chicago was politically necessary: he needed to demonstrate to the country that even though his body had been ravaged by polio, he was robust, strong, and energetic. Roosevelt's campaign for president was necessarily cautious. His opponent, President Herbert Hoover, was so unpopular that FDR's main strategy was not to commit any gaffes that might take the public's attention away from Hoover's inadequacies and the nation's troubles. FDR traveled around the country attacking Hoover and promising better days ahead, but often without referring to any specific programs or policies. Roosevelt was so genial—and his prescriptions for the country so bland—that some commentators questioned his capabilities and his grasp of the serious challenges confronting the United States. On occasion, though, FDR hinted at the shape of the New Deal to come. FDR told Americans that only by working together could the nation overcome the economic crisis, a sharp contrast to Hoover's paeans to American individualism in the face of the depression.

In a speech in San Francisco, FDR outlined the expansive role that the federal government should play in resuscitating the economy, in easing the burden of the suffering, and in insuring that all Americans had an opportunity to lead successful and rewarding lives. The outcome of the 1932 presidential contest between Roosevelt and Hoover was never greatly in doubt. Dispirited Americans swept the fifty-year-old FDR into office in a landslide in both the popular and electoral college votes. Voters also extended their approval of FDR to his party, giving Democrats substantial majorities in both houses of Congress. These congressional majorities would prove vital in Roosevelt's first year in office. The Campaign and Election of 1936 FDR entered the 1936 election with a strong, but not invincible, hand. The economy remained sluggish and eight million Americans still were without jobs. Critics from various points on the political spectrum—such as Father Coughlin and Dr. Francis Townsend—had spent much of the previous two years attacking the President.

(They supported Representative William Lemke of the newly formed Union Party in the 1936 election.) Likewise, by 1936 FDR had lost most of the backing he once held in the business community because of his support for the Wagner Act and the Social Security Act. Republicans, though, had few plausible candidates to challenge FDR in 1936. They settled on Alfred "Alf" Landon, a two-term governor of Kansas who was the only Republican governor to win reelection in 1934. Nominated on the first ballot at the Republican convention in Cleveland, Landon was a moderate conservative—and notoriously lackluster public speaker—who the party hoped could take votes from FDR in the rural Midwest. Unfortunately for Landon, his moderation was often drowned out during the campaign by the conservative clamor emanating from the Republican Party, as well as from his running mate, Chicago publisher Frank Knox.

Roosevelt seemed to relish the attacks of Republicans, maintaining that he and his New Deal protected the average American against the predations of the rich and powerful, Referring to "business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking," FDR crowed, "Never before have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me—and I welcome their hatred." Roosevelt's supporters believed their candidate understood and sympathized with them. As one worker put it in 1936, Roosevelt "is the first man in the White House to understand that my boss is a son of a (expletive.)" FDR won the election in a walk, amassing huge majorities in the popular vote and in the Electoral College. What the 1936 election made most clear was that because of FDR and the New Deal, the Democratic Party was now the majority party in the nation. Roosevelt had put together what came to be called the "New Deal Coalition," an alliance of voters from different regions of the country and from racial, religious and ethnic groups.

The coalition combined southern Protestants, northern Jews, Catholics and blacks from urban areas, labor union members, small farmers in the middle west and Plains states, and liberals and radicals. This diverse group, with some minor alterations, would power the Democrats for the next thirty years—and it was Roosevelt who put it together. The Campaign and Election of 1940 In 1940, Roosevelt decided to run for an unprecedented third term, breaking the tradition set by George Washington that limited Presidents to eight years in office. FDR had been coy about his future for most of his second term, but finally told confidantes that he would run only if the situation in Europe deteriorated further and his fellow Democrats drafted him as their candidate. Nazi Germany's successful invasion of Western Europe and defeat of France in the spring of 1940 took care of the former condition; FDR's political operatives, especially Chicago mayor Ed Kelly, arranged for the latter. Not all Democrats, most notably long-time political adviser James Farley and Vice President John Garner, were pleased with FDR's decision to break from Washington's precedent.

And conservative southern Democrats strenuously objected to FDR's vice presidential choice, Secretary of Commerce Henry Wallace, a former progressive Republican, but now a staunch liberal New Dealer. Republicans chose Wendell L. Willkie of Indiana, a corporate lawyer and president of a utility company, as their candidate. It was an unconventional choice. Willkie had voted for FDR in 1932 and had been a Democrat until 1938. While he opposed FDR's public power policies, especially the TVA, Willkie actually supported much of the New Deal's domestic legislation and was an internationalist in foreign affairs—controversial positions in a party with its share of vigorous New Deal opponents and isolationists. In many respects, Willkie was just the type of liberal Republican that FDR wanted to lure into the Democratic PartyDuring the initial weeks of the election season, FDR looked strong even though he campaigned only from the White House. Willkie proved lackluster on the stump and he seemed to agree with much of FDR's domestic and foreign agenda.

In late September, though, Willkie began to tighten the race, largely by charging that if FDR won a third term, "you may expect that we will be at war." Roosevelt countered that he would not send Americans to fight in "any foreign war." Over its last month, the campaign degenerated into a series of outrageous accusations and mud-slinging, if not by the two candidates themselves then by their respective parties. On election day, FDR won 55 percent of the popular vote and the electoral votes of thirty-eight states. Willkie gained only ten states, but for Republicans even this was an improvement over their dismal showing in 1936. The Campaign and Election of 1944 In 1944, in the midst of war, Roosevelt made it known to fellow Democrats that he was willing to run for a fourth term. Democrats, even conservative southerners who had long been suspicious of FDR's liberalism, backed Roosevelt as their party's best chance for victory. FDR received all but 87 of the votes of the 1,075 delegates at the Democratic National Convention. The real intrigue came with the Democratic nomination for vice president.

FDR decided against running with his current vice president, the extremely liberal Henry Wallace, fearing that Wallace's politics would open a rift in the party between liberals (concentrated in the northeast) and conservatives (largely hailing from the south.) Instead, Senator Harry Truman of Missouri, who had the backing of the south, the big-city bosses in the party, and at least the tacit approval of FDR, took the vice-presidential nomination. Republicans nominated Thomas Dewey, the popular governor of New York State, chosen with only one Republican delegate voting against him. Dewey ran as a moderate Republican, promising not to undo the social and economic reforms of the New Deal, but instead to make them more efficient and effective. Dewey, like Willkie four years earlier, was an internationalist in foreign affairs, voicing support for a postwar United Nations. One of Dewey's most effective gambits was to raise discreetly the age issue. He assailed the President as a "tired old man" with "tired old men" in his cabinet, pointedly suggesting that the President's lack of vigor had produced a less than vigorous economic recovery.

FDR, as most observers could see from his weight loss and haggard appearance, was a tired man in 1944. But upon entering the campaign in earnest in late September, 1944, Roosevelt displayed enough passion and fight to allay most concerns and to deflect Republican attacks. With the war still raging, he urged voters not to "change horses in mid-stream." Just as important, he showed some of his famous campaign fire. In a classic speech before the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, FDR belittled the Republican attacks on him. Recalling the charges from a Minnesota congressman who accused FDR of sending a battleship to Alaska to retrieve his dog Fala, FDR nearly chortled "These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks on me, or my wife, or my sons. No, not content with that they now include my little dog Fala. Wll, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family don't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them." With his audience abuzz, FDR delivered his punch-line: "I am accustomed to hearing malicious falsehoods about myself . . .

But I think I have a right to resent, to object to libelous statements about my dog."On election day, voters returned Roosevelt to the White House. He garnered almost 54 percent of the popular vote—to Dewey's 46 percent—and won the Electoral College by a count of 432 to 99. Even though the Republicans had improved their totals in both the popular and electoral votes, they could not unseat FDR. Franklin D. Roosevelt Essays Citation Information Chicago Style Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. “Franklin D. Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections.” Accessed January 19, 2017. ­/president/biography/fdroosevelt-campaigns-and-elections. Consulting Editor William E. Leuchtenburg Professor Leuchtenburg is the William Rand Kenan Jr. Professor Emeritus of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His writings include: The White House Looks South: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B.

Johnson (Louisiana State University Press, 2005) The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy (Columbia University Press, 1995) The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-32 (University of Chicago Press, 1993) Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, 1932–1940 (Harper Collins, 1963) Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential Election? - GCSE History - Marked by Teachers.com Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential Election? Extracts from this document... Introduction ﻿Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 Presidential Election? There were numerous overlapping reasons why Hoover lost the presidential election in 1932 and the combined effects of these reasons swayed public opinion against the Republicans. The first reason was due to the fact that Hoover was president at the time the Depression started; millions blamed him for the Depression. With bitterness they said, ?In Hoover we trusted; now we are busted.? Then once the Depression hit in 1929 Hoover believed, ?Prosperity is just round the corner.?

For this reason didn?t take action to end the Depression till 1932; Hoover did too little, too late to help his nation?s suffering people, so they began to believe Hoover didn?t care about them. Also Hoover?s reputation was permanently damaged after he refused to meet with peaceful war-veterans, then ordered General Douglas MacArthur to evict them from their ?Hooverville? which resulted in 2 dead ex-servicemen and 1000?s injured by tear gas. Finally Roosevelt won because of his completely opposite personality and his election campaign and as he offered Americans a ?New Deal.? He had 3 main aims, recovery, relief and reform. With Hoover?s reputation in shatters, the American public were keen to vote for anyone, as long as it wasn?t Hoover. ...read more. Middle However all of Hoover’s attempts to stop the Depression had little or the opposite effect of what was intended. He added the Hawley-Smoot tariff which damaged American trade as they couldn’t export their surpass goods. He also blocked the Garner-Wagner Relief Bill which would have allowed Congress to spend £2.1billion to create jobs.

Hoover’s attitude of Laissez-Faire didn’t help and caused Hoover to become unpopular; losing votes. Hoover also lost veterans votes because of the war he handled The Bonus Army. On 11 March 1932 Sargent Walter W. Waters called for a march on Washington and 250-300 men from Portland joined him. The veterans and their families had popular support and the support of some authorities. A Portland railroad offered the use of dung-stained cattle cars to transport the Bonus Army. The Indiana National Guard and the Pennsylvania National Guard used military vehicles to transport the Bonus Army. Toll bridge operators let the Bonus Army march silently across bridges without pay, and police officers refused to arrest Bonus Army veterans for trespassing. Thousands joined the Bonus Army as it marched towards Washington with Sargent Waters as their elected leader. Waters forbade drinking, panhandling, and ‘anti-government’ or ‘radical’ talk. ...read more. Conclusion He worked to provide old age pensions, help for farmers and unemployment relief; he spent $20million to achieve his aims. A majority of the voters believed that FDR?s plan to alleviate the Depression more actively addressed the issue than President Hoover?s plan.

FDR made people feel more confident about their financial future; he believed his main task was to improve life for ordinary people. Roosevelt believed in the ?forgotten? people - the unemployed, the homeless and hungry ? who voted Roosevelt into office in the 1932 election. In conclusion, there were many reasons why FDR won the 1932 presidential election but the root cause was Hoover?s unpopular policies. His flawed policies led to him not helping America?s people which damaged his reputation and lost him the election by 7 million votes. Whilst Roosevelt?s election campaign contributed to his victory, he was helped enormously by Hoover making himself unpopular by making mistake after mistake and then not owning up to it. He never apologised for not helping the poor during the Great Depression, he didn?t apologise for injuring and killing American veterans; he called them communists instead. Hoover wasn?t prepared to change his policies and ideas even though America was changing around him. His policies simply weren?t designed to work during a Depression and Roosevelt?s policies were. ...read more. The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE USA 1919-1941 section.

Found what you're looking for? Start learning 29% faster today 150,000+ documents available Why Did Franklin D. Roosevelt Win the 1932 Presidential Election? Essay - 731 Words Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 election? Essay ...﻿Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 election? – 12 mark question The Republican president, Herbert Hoover, was personally blamed for failing to deal with the consequences of the Wall Street Crash in October 1929. The Great Depression that followed was the most severe economic depression America had ever seen, and the whole world entered a state of poverty and hunger. Following the election in... 1247 Words | 4 Pages President Franklin D. Roosevelt Essay ... Franklin D. Roosevelt American History II A great leader is someone who can lead a country through the best times and through the worst times. It is someone that can take a bad situation and turn it into a good one. On January 20, 1882, one of these great leaders was born. Franklin D. Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York. He was born to James...

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This front page of the March 4, 1933 shows the newspaper's faith in the new President on the eve of his inauguration. In the three years leading up to the presidential election of 1932, there was little to assist Herbert Hoover’s re-election to office. The country was in turmoil and desperate for a way out of economic and social trouble. The Great Depression had wrecked the economy, and the damage was compounded by the ill-conceived attempts of Hoover’s administration to help control the downward slide. By the time Americans went to the polls in their thirty-seventh presidential election, industrial production was at a low ebb, unemployment was widespread, and the farmers of the country were facing ruin. By 1932, millions of people across the country were condemning Hoover and the Republican Party. This trend of disapproval, which led to a landslide win for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was evident in Seattle. A survey of The Seattle Daily Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer, and University of Washington Daily demonstrate the negative public opinion of the time. In Seattle, discontent with the Republican Party was expressed in Seattle Times and The Seattle PI. Curiously.

the University of Washington Daily showed a more conservative view, reporting that the majority of the students favored Hoover for re-election. Looking into the views of such widely circulated public propaganda shows how desperate the nation was for a change of leadership. Before delving into the election and the Seattle newspapers, it is crucial to first understand the climate of the country before the election, which was the driving force in the overwhelming Democratic Party victory. By spring of 1932, living conditions in the United States reached what was seen to be an “intolerable impasse.” [1] Unemployment had risen to between a quarter and a third of the workforce. Not only did the people of the country feel the strain of the Depression in almost all areas of life but they also felt a strain from the inadequacy of government efforts to save the country.

Despite the overwhelming evidence that it was unrealistic and almost certainly doomed to fail, President Hoover continued to, in the words of historian Thomas Cochran, “adhere to his theory that the primary obligations for relief rested upon the family, the neighbor, the landlord, and the employer—in that order.” [2] By the time of the election, Hoover’s efforts to lend money to banks, industries, and state local governments had “failed to stem the tide of disaster.” [3] This is where the Republican Party stood before the 1932 election, an election that was characterized by the public's hope for a leader who could pull the hard-working American citizens out of poverty. LEARN MORE • Everyday Life during the Depression The climate in America at the time the Republican National Convention met on June 14, 1932, made the nomination decision a difficult one. Despite his seemingly disastrous first term, Hoover felt obligated to run again to vindicate himself and his policies. Republicans also felt his nomination was necessary, not because of their belief in his policies or the President in general, but because denying his re-nomination would be admitting failure.

Therefore, by the time the convention had concluded on June 16, Hoover and his Vice-President Charles Curtis had been re-nominated. At the convention, Hoover and Curtis received “no spontaneous demonstrations, colorful eulogies, or triumphant parades”; the delegates did not even bother posting pictures of the president around the convention hall. [4] The unenthusiastic tone of the convention carried through to the campaign that won Hoover only six states in November. The Democrats, on the other hand, were in an excellent position to take the presidency. Because this was common knowledge at the Democratic National Convention, which met on June 27, 1932, it made the race for the nomination a great prize and “the battle to win it in some ways more exciting than the campaign that followed.” [5] Franklin D. Roosevelt was the frontrunner and finally, after much deliberation, was nominated to run for the next president of the United States alongside running mate John Garner.

Roosevelt projected “confidence, energy, compassion, even joyfulness” in contrast with the “dour president,” and after being stricken with polio, he seemed even “more in tune with the struggling of the people.” [6] Roosevelt went with his party’s platform, based on reducing federal expenditures, a balanced budget, and the repeal of prohibition. In his address to the people after his nomination, the Governor from New York roused the audience to cheers with his promise: “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” [7] This “new deal” that Roosevelt spoke of came to be the foundation of his campaign. He campaign hard despite media expectations that the battle was, for the most part, already won. Garner himself referenced this when he advised the president to “sit down—do nothing—and win the election.” [8] Hoover made this even easier when he used military force against peaceful protesting war veterans in Washington--the Bonus Marchers--after Congress rejected a bill which would have allowed veterans to borrow up to fifty percent of their service benefits. The violent expulsion of the Bonus Marchers, peaceful veterans who had served their country, gave the public one more reason to prefer the charismatic Roosevelt.

The landslide victory in November of 1932 for the Democratic Party,--which won Roosevelt 42 states and 57 percent of the popular vote-- was mirrored in the state of Washington, where votes for the Democratic candidates tallied well over 57 percent. The ballot box numbers demonstrate consistency with the nation’s support for Roosevelt, and local newspapers reflected this political bias. The use of headlines, rhetoric and diction in the articles was a powerful tool of support for Roosevelt and opens a window into the mind of Seattleites during the election. FDR in Seattle, 1932. Click image to enlarge. (Courtesy of the Museum of History and Industry) The Seattle Daily Times had long been Seattle's most conservative newspaper, but in 1932 it joined the other dailies in supporting the Democrat candidate. The Times first started reporting on the election with the June 1932 nomination of President Hoover by referring to the “party’s Chieftains” as not being ecstatic over the victory and that they embarked on the “1932 campaign with extra caution.” [9] The rest of the coverage was based around the Republican stance on prohibition and the easy nomination victory Hoover received.

While the paper was indeed reporting the news from the Republican convention, it showed its lack of excitement in its word choice, leaving the news lame and uninteresting. The dull coverage of Hoover was contrasted by the exuberance with which newspaper greeted Roosevelt’s nomination. The front-page headline of The Times on July 3, 1932 read, “Roosevelt Means Prosperity! Like Moses, He Leads Us Out Of Wilderness: Good Times Are Here Again!” [10] As if the newspaper’s stance was not obvious enough, the opening statement in the article about Roosevelt’s speech made their preference quite clear: [T]he speech of Franklin D. Roosevelt accepting the Democratic nomination for the Presidency rings out over the country with the full clear tone of an unmistakable sincerity and a lofty purpose. It is a speech from the heart of a sound American, coined into convincing words and phrases in the mind of one whose capacity for public service has been amply demonstrated… It is in all respects a great speech. [11] Not only was Roosevelt applauded for his speech, but the article emphasized the importance of printing candidate’s nomination speech, even when Hoover’s speech of less than a month earlier was not printed.

It was obvious that the editors of The Times were ready for change, even without a firm understanding of what that would bring. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer had traditionally been a more moderate newspaper. Owned by the Hearst newspaper chain, it usually endorsed Democratic Party presidential candidates, following the political convictions of owner, William Randolph Hearst. The PI coverage of Hoover’s nomination during the Republican convention was very similar to that of The Times: showcasing the same un-enthusiastic rhetoric and headlines in regards to President Hoover. Much of the coverage reports on the convention’s goals in reference to the prohibition and warns that the party’s effort to straddle the issue will be “not a very successful attempt.” [12] As in The Times, the PI showed a contrasting eagerness in the articles about Roosevelt.

The newspaper published opinion piece by William Randolph Hearst proclaiming that Roosevelt will “make a great President,” and that both men—Roosevelt and Garner—“are eminently qualified for these positions by long years of skillful public work and faithful public service,” and that it will be “an enormous benefit to this nation of ours to have two such men in commanding positions.” [13] By running this article, the PI allowed Hearst to speak for them and explicitly declare their support for Roosevelt. In comparing the attitudes of the Times and the PI, two papers that usually differed when it came to partisan politics, we can see an overwhelming consensus of support for Roosevelt in the Seattle. Evidently, college students, both in Seattle and nationally, did not share in this consensus. The UW Daily conveys the impression that students favored Hoover overwhelmingly. Because the Daily was not published during the summer months when school was not in session, it is difficult to gain their views of the National Convention nominations. However, in the days before the November1932 election, a straw poll was taken on campuses across the country to determine how college students felt about the election.

On November 8, 1932, The Daily came out with findings that paralleled the national poll, reporting that Herbert Hoover had won the majority of votes in the straw poll. [14] At UW the Hoover margin was larger than the national poll. Sixty percent of those participating in the unscientific poll at UW said they supported Hoover. [15] It is not clear that this was an accurate reading of student opinions since students had to make an effort to participate in the straw poll. But the results are still important, demonstrating that despite the huge victory for the Democrats, there was still a decent amount of support in the city. The Times continued its support for Roosevelt on the eve of the election, though at this point the newspaper restrained its previous exuberance for the Democratic Party.

On November 9, after Roosevelt's victory, the editor took space on the front page to congratulate the president-elect but also apologized if The Times does not “at once join in the tumult of rejoicing won in the name of the Democratic Party,” because of its “long held faith in the fixed principles of the Republican Party to be carried away by a shift of breeze in the public opinion.” [16] The statement shows how far the Times had strayed from its usual political position. The Seattle Times had crossed party lines in 1932. The PI did not have to make such a distinction, and on the eve of the election referred to the “humble” nature of Roosevelt’s speech.

The PI also highlighted a comment made by Hoover that underscored his violent actions against the protesting war veterans in Washington: Hoover stated that he was glad “we still have a government in Washington that knows how to deal with a mob.” [17] The writer for the PI used strong language to emphasize the distaste Americans should have for the departing President after this last act, and referred to Hoover’s comment as “cold and calculated venom.” The author went on to say that there is nothing any President has said which can compare with this, which made millions of Americans reel back as if “under a blow in the face.” [18] This was not the first time a PI reporter had highlighted Hoover’s inadequacies to promote Rooseveltian sympathy; however, this was the most blatant. By looking at how these three different Seattle-area newspapers covered the 1932 presidential election, one can begin to define not only the papers’ political hopes for new leadership during depths of the Depression, but also the mood of the people. The University of Washington Daily’s undergraduate base simply represented a demographic that was a small minority in Seattle supporting President Hoover.

However, it is in the widely circulated major newspapers that we find a better representation of the majority opinion, and the true atmosphere of Seattle. Though they often were opposed in issues of partisan politics, the consensus of support for Roosevelt among the PI and the Seattle Times shows how desperately the Seattle public and the nation were looking for a change in leadership during the Depression. Copyright (c) 2009, Nicholas Taylor HSTAA 105 Winter 2009 [1] Thomas C. Cochran. The Great Depression and World War II: 1929-1945. (Scott, Foresman and Company: Glenview, 1968) pp. 14. Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR): 1932 Election Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) NEXT In hindsight, FDR might look like a shoo-in for the 1932 presidential election. The campaign unfolded during the darkest days of the Great Depression , and Roosevelt's opponent, Republican incumbent Herbert Hoover , was the man many Americans (perhaps unfairly) held personally responsible for their misery.

Five thousand banks had failed, and by the end of the 1932, one third of the nation's workers were unemployed. In the countryside, farm income had declined from $12 billion in 1929 to just $5 billion. Children went hungry in both the coal-mining counties of West Virginia and the big cities of the northeast, yet farmers in the midwest were destroying mountains of surplus crops that they couldn't sell on the market because prices had collapsed. The economy had ground to a halt, and America was suffering. The Democrats, who had elected only one president since 1896, knew they had a great chance at victory, and thus competition for the party's nomination was fierce. When FDR emerged victorious, he flew by plane to Chicago to accept the nomination in person, the first candidate ever to do so. In the closing words of his acceptance speech , Roosevelt promised "a new deal to the American people," without specifying exactly what that "new deal" would be. Over the coming months, FDR and his team ran an incredibly well-organized campaign.

He also worked to project a public image of health and vigor, trying to allay the fears that his paralysis had made him physically unfit to serve as president. Nine days after winning his party's nomination, he rented a boat with three of his sons and sailed it up the coast to New England, with a press boat filled with reporters and photographers in tow. 20 The press ate it up, and instead of a crippled man in a wheelchair, the public had an image of a cheerful, vigorous, lively candidate. During the campaign, however, Roosevelt offered few indications of how he would actually govern once elected. While he attacked Hoover over the nation's high deficits and bloated federal bureaucracy, FDR gave few signs that he would preside over one of the largest expansions of the federal government in history. As one economist later observed, "given later developments, the campaign speeches often read like a giant misprint, in which Roosevelt and Hoover speak each other's lines." 21 Regardless, FDR won and did so by a landslide , capturing 57% of the popular vote and forty-two of the forty-eight states.

His optimism, enthusiasm, and the unappealing alternative of another Hoover administration convinced an embattled nation to put a second Roosevelt into the highest office in the land. The Election of 1932 About Watch and Favorite Watch Watching this resources will notify you when proposed changes or new versions are created so you can keep track of improvements that have been made. Favorite Favoriting this resource allows you to save it in the “My Resources” tab of your account. There, you can easily access this resource later when you’re ready to customize it or assign it to your students. The Election of 1932 The Great Depression and thus the economy was the dominant issue during the presidential election of 1932 between Franklin Delano Roosevelt and incumbent Herbert Hoover. Learning Objective Explain how the Great Depression shaped the election of 1932 Key Points The single most important issue, around which the 1932 election evolved, was the Great Depression . Herbert Hoover , widely unpopular incumbent Republican president, run against a well-known and popular governor of New York , Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the campaign, FDR blamed Hoover for the Great Depression but did not offer a specific reform program.

Roosevelt received over 57% of the popular vote. One important outcome of the election was the realignment of interest groups and voting blocs. Labor unions , racial and ethnic minorities, white urban working and middle class, and Southern whites supported the Democratic Party , which became the majority party. Terms Full Text Election in the Midst of the Great Depression As the presidential election of 1932 took place during the Great Depression, the economy was unsurprisingly the dominant issue. With the unemployment rate at nearly 24%, heavy industries barely functioning, and dramatically low prices of farm products, Herbert Hoover, the incumbent Republican president, faced unprecedented challenges. Although the Great Depression hit countries all around the world, Hoover was held largely responsible for the consequences of the crisis in the United States. His reelection became even more questionable when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the successful and popular governor of New York, won the Democratic nomination. FDR In 1930, Roosevelt was reelected governor of New York by a wide margin.

The demonstrated support in the most populous state of the country, substantial political experience, and good connections (voters still remembered the presidency of his fifth cousin and Republican Theodore Roosevelt) convinced many that FDR could win an election where such cultural issues as Catholicism, prohibition , or Ku Klux Klan would not play a decisive role. By the time of the 1932 convention in Chicago, FDR was the leading candidate but was still short of the support of the required two-thirds of the delegates. However, his campaign managers, James Farley and Louis McHenry Howe, convinced House Speaker John Nance Garner of Texas to drop out of the race. Roosevelt won the nomination on the fourth ballot and, as a return favor, named Garner his running mate. Famously breaking the political tradition, he appeared at the convention and personally accepted the nomination. On the Republican side, Charles Curtis remained Hoover's running mate. Campaign Hoover was so unpopular that Roosevelt's campaign revolved cautiously around blaming Hoover for the disastrous economic situation and making vague promises of programs and reforms that would lead the country toward economic recovery.

In a campaign speech in Iowa, FDR accused "the present Administration of being the greatest spending Administration in peacetime in all our history." Garner joined his running mate claiming that Hoover was "leading the country down the path of socialism." While Roosevelt ran on New Deal slogans, he had no clear idea what the program would entail and offered no specific proposals. His team of advisers, known as the Brain Trust , suggested he did not go beyond such general points as aid for farmers, public development of electric power, a balanced budget, or business regulations . Even prohibition, the Democrats' favorite target, was discussed in terms of an economic issue as bringing back alcohol could not be disconnected from the question of associated tax revenues. The optimistic yet vague tone of Roosevelt's campaign was captured in his iconic campaign song "Happy Days Are Here Again," which became one of the most popular songs in American political history and the unofficial anthem of the Democratic Party. Unlike Roosevelt, Hoover was unable to achieve either unity within his party or popularity among voters. Many prominent Republicans vehemently opposed him while others simply refused to support the incumbent. Some went as far as to support Roosevelt. As Hoover's presidency was now defined by the Great Depression, his political attacks on Roosevelt did not convince the voters.

Neither was the Republican candidate himself particularly appealing. Hoover's reportedly grim personality contrasted with Roosevelt's optimism and confidence. The incumbent president was so unpopular that at times, voters threw objects at him when he was campaigning in public. A Landslide Win Predictably, Roosevelt won the election by a landslide. Roosevelt and Garner received over 57% of the popular vote and Hoover and Curtis over 39%. The electoral vote was 472 to 59. Of all the regions, only New England supported Hoover and the Democratic ticket carried 42 states. Democrats also won majority in both houses of Congress. The 1932 election realigned political loyalties and coalitions in the United States. By attracting the wide and diverse base of new voters including organized labor, urban middle and working class, including white ethnic communities (Irish Americans, Polish Americans, Jews, etc.), racial minorities, white Southerners, farmers, and progressive intellectuals, the Democratic party became the majority party. This realignment transformed American politics, creating what is called the New Deal Party System or the Fifth Party System .

Roosevelt's Inaugural Speech On March 3, 1933, Roosevelt addressed the nation in his first inaugural speech. Once again, the Great Depression was the center of everyone's attention. Roosevelt did not avoid difficult topics. He talked about dramatic unemployment, poverty, high taxes, fallen industries, and farmers who could not find markets for their products. "Only a foolish optimist," he noted, "can deny the dark realities of the moment." Yet Roosevelt offered a dose of realistic optimism when he promised government relief and recovery programs in cities and in the countryside as well as regulation of big businesses. He repeatedly compared the Great Depression to war and assured Americans that the massive economic crisis would be treated with the state of emergency typical of war emergencies. He also signaled a more internationalist attitude than most of his isolationist predecessors. Appealing to the sense of national unity and recognition that eventual success would come only with the hard work of all, Roosevelt told his compatriots what would become one of the most inspirational lines in Americans history, "[T]he only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days." United States presidential election of 1932 | United States government | Britannica.com United States presidential election of 1932 United States government United States United States presidential election of 1932, American presidential election held on Nov. 8, 1932, in which Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover . The 1932 election was the first held during the Great Depression , and it represented a dramatic shift in the political alignment of the country. Republicans had dominated the presidency for almost the entire period from 1860, save two terms each won by Grover Cleveland and by Woodrow Wilson (who benefited from a split in the Republican Party in 1912). And even in 1928 Hoover had crushed Democrat Alfred E. Smith , winning 444 electoral votes to Smith’s 87. Roosevelt’s victory would be the first of five successive Democratic presidential wins.

Results of the American presidential election, 1932… Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The nominations At the Republican convention in Chicago in June, Hoover was renominated easily, but there was a battle for the vice presidential slot as Vice Pres. Charles Curtis was challenged unsuccessfully by James Harbord , who had served as John Pershing’s chief of staff in World War I. At the Democratic convention in Chicago two weeks later, Roosevelt had the support of a majority of the delegates, but the Democratic Party rules required a two-thirds majority to win nomination. On the first ballot Roosevelt was shy of victory by more than 100 delegates, with his main opposition coming from Smith and John Nance Garner , who had been elected speaker of the House of Representatives in 1931. After three ballots Garner released his delegates, and on the fourth ballot Roosevelt won the party nomination. Garner was duly selected unanimously as the vice presidential candidate. Roosevelt then broke tradition by appearing in person to accept the party’s nomination. In his speech before the delegates, he said, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.” Herbert Hoover.

United States presidential election of 1988 The depression was the only issue of consequence in the presidential campaign of 1932. The American public had to choose between the apparently unsuccessful policies of the incumbent Hoover, who blamed the depression on external events and alleged that Roosevelt would intensify the disaster, and the vaguely defined New Deal program presented by Roosevelt. While Roosevelt avoided specifics, he made clear that his program for economic recovery would make extensive use of the power of the federal government. In a series of addresses carefully prepared by a team of advisers popularly known as the Brain Trust, he promised aid to farmers, public development of electric power, a balanced budget, and government policing of irresponsible private economic power. Besides having policy differences, the two candidates presented a stark contrast in personal demeanour as well. Roosevelt was genial and exuded confidence, while Hoover remained unremittingly grim and dour. On election day Roosevelt received nearly 23 million popular votes (57.3 percent) to Hoover’s nearly 16 million (39.6 percent); the electoral vote was 472 to 59.

In a repudiation not just of Hoover but also of the Republican Party, Americans also elected substantial Democratic majorities to both houses of Congress. Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal pin, 1932. Collection of David J. and Janice L. Frent In the four months between the election and Roosevelt’s inauguration, Hoover sought Roosevelt’s cooperation in stemming the deepening economic crisis. But the two were unable to find common ground, as Roosevelt refused to subscribe to Hoover’s proposals, which Hoover himself admitted would mean “the abandonment of 90 percent of the so-called new deal.” As a result, the economy continued to decline. By inauguration day—March 4, 1933—most banks had shut down, industrial production had fallen to just 56 percent of its 1929 level, at least 13 million wage earners were unemployed, and farmers were in desperate straits. In his inaugural address Roosevelt promised prompt, decisive action, and he conveyed some of his own unshakable self-confidence to millions of Americans listening on radios throughout the land.

“This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper,” he asserted, adding, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Britannica Stories Election of 1932: Changing the Guard Blog Election of 1932: Changing the Guard In June 1932, Republican delegates convened in Chicago to choose their condidates for the fall election. Spirits were not high. The nation was in the depths of its worst depression and more than 13 million Americans were out of work. Without enthusiasm, the party turned to the incumbents, Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis, who were renominated without meaningful opposition. The 1932 Republican platform reflected Hoover's desire to stay the course and rely primarily on voluntarism to solve the nation's ills. The platform called for the following: Sharp cutbacks in federal expenditures; adherence to the gold standard ; further curbs on immigration; the payment of pensions to war veterans; U.S. participation in a scheduled international monetary conference; on prohibition, no meaningful direction was provided; the party realized that the Eighteenth Amendment was not working as intended, but the platform did not endorse repeal.

Later in June, the Democrats assembled in the same city, but the mood was entirely different. Several prominent figures had been angling for the 1932 nomination, including Alfred Smith , the former governor of New York and the presidential nominee in 1928 , and Texan John Nance Garner, the Speaker of the House and the favorite of newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst . The frontrunner, thanks to skillful maneuvering by campaign manager James A. Farley, was Franklin Delano Roosevelt , sitting governor of the Empire State. Roosevelt had entered easily onto the political stage by capitalizing on his distant relationship to Theodore Roosevelt and gaining further notice by marrying the former president's favorite niece, Eleanor. Franklin Roosevelt had served in the New York assembly and during World War I was selected by Woodrow Wilson to be the assistant secretary of the Navy. In 1920, Roosevelt was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, but was swept under by a Republican tide that continued throughout the decade. His rapid rise was stopped short by infantile paralysis in 1921, an illness that required years of therapy and steely determination to resume political life.

Roosevelt managed to gain the nomination on the 1932 convention's fourth ballot. A disappointed Smith, Roosevelt's former friend and political ally, was unable to overcome his bitterness and would oppose Roosevelt and his programs in the future. "Cactus Jack" Garner was the vice-presidential nominee, but would later remark that the office "wasn't worth a bucket of warm spit." The 1932 Democratic platform, while avoiding many specifics, presented a sharp contrast to their opponents in calling for: A "competitive" tariff designed for revenue, not for protection; a "sound" currency, but no mention was made of adhering to the gold standard; extensive banking and financial reform, including regulation of the stock exchanges; support for veterans' pensions; aid programs for farmers; a reduction of federal expenditures and a balanced budget. In an effort to create an air of urgency, Roosevelt broke with tradition and did not wait for formal notification of his nomination from the convention.

Instead, he boarded a plane and flew to Chicago, where on July 2 he delivered an acceptance speech in which he stated, "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." The "new deal" tag was later applied to his legislative offensive to combat the nation's economic ills and was a grateful nod to TR's "square deal" of 30 years earlier. Throughout the summer and fall, Roosevelt waged a vigorous campaign and traveled more than 25,000 miles by train, hoping to lay to rest any concerns about his health. Crowds gathered in towns and villages to greet the ever-smiling and optimistic candidate, and brass bands played Happy Days Are Here Again at nearly every stop. As the weeks went by, Roosevelt gradually and sketchily laid out the basic form of the New Deal, drawing on the ideas of his closest advisors  dubbed the "brains trust" by reporters. One recurring theme was Roosevelt's pledge to help the "forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid." Hoover began his campaign convinced that the return of prosperity was at hand.

He was initially content to allow surrogates to take his message to the voters, but as fall approached and the economy remained in the doldrums, the president took to the stump. He was sharply critical of Roosevelt's inclination to have the federal government act to solve the nation's problems. He viewed such solutions as contrary to American tradition and believed that only free enterprise would restore prosperity. Shortly before election day, Hoover warned that if Roosevelt were elected, then "the grass will grow in the streets of a hundred cities, a thousand towns; the weeds will overrun the fields of a thousand farms...." Both candidates used the radio to reach the voters during the 1932 campaign. Hoover's addresses were logical and competently delivered, but lacked enthusiasm. Roosevelt, by contrast, had a magnificent radio voice and was able to convey a sense of competence and hope to the listeners. In the end, Hoover had the impossible task of defending failed policies and strategies. The Democratic victory took on landslide proportions, prevailing as expected in the Solid South and the major urban areas, but also doing well throughout the West.

The triumph spread to both houses of Congress, where the Democrats achieved sizable majorities, and to the governors' mansions and assemblies in many states. The electorate had clearly provided the president-elect with a mandate for change. Relations between Hoover and Roosevelt had been and remained chilly. Several times during the campaign, Hoover sought public reassurances from Roosevelt that, if elected, he would not undertake untraditional initiatives. Hoover believed that the business community needed to be reassured and, when Roosevelt refused to commit himself, Hoover believed his opponent was undermining the nation's chances for recovery. In early 1933, Hoover renewed his requests for pledges from the president-elect during the so-called lame duck period prior to the inauguration. A major banking crisis had developed, but Roosevelt again declined to detail his plans for the future. When Inauguration Day arrived on March 4, the president and president-elect rode together down Pennsylvania Avenue in stony silence. Roosevelt waved enthusiastically to the crowds while Hoover stared straight ahead, convinced that a national disaster was about to occur. Election of 1932

Question: Who did Roosevelt defeat when he won the 1932 election?
Answer: Herbert Hoover