THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1932
Gevenny Fernandez
HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Republicans controlled the White
House In 1930, the Democrats took over the
House of Representatives with a majority of 51%, for the first time in over a decade
They were also one seat away from gaining Senate majority
INCUMBENT NOMINEE- HERBERT HOOVER 8 negative keys according to The Keys to the
White House According to the keys, need 6 or more
negative keys for the incumbent president to be defeated
Negative keys: 1- incumbent-party mandate, 5- short-term economy, 6- long-term economy, 7- policy change, 8- social unrest, 11-foreign/military success, 12- incumbent charisma, 13-challenger charisma
HISTORICAL CONTEXT- ISSUES The Great Depression was the biggest
issue of that time From 1921-1929: many economic
advances, which Hoover expected to continue
However, over the next 3 years, the economy and market declined steadily
Prohibition was also a prominent issue People wanted to bring back alcohol for the
tax revenues
HISTORICAL CONTEXT- SOCIAL CLIMATE Social Unrest
Protests by farmers, unemployed workers, and displaced individuals (“wandering population”) in 1931 and 1932
“Bonus Expeditionary Force”- veterans demanding to be allowed to cash in their veterans’ bonuses set up camp in the capital
HISTORICAL CONTEXT Incumbent president Hoover’s
popularity had fallen greatly since his victory in 1928 and people did not think he could handle the economic crisis or prohibition
The Republican party had been dominant for decades Fourth Party System
Result: “Time for a change” effect
PARTY PRIMARIES AND NOMINATIONS- DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Roosevelt had the support of the majority of delegates at the Democratic convention
However, he did not have the 2/3 majority to win the nomination
Main opposition- Smith and John Nance Garner (Speaker of the House in 1931)
First ballot- short by 100 delegates After 3 ballots, Garner released his
delegates Fourth ballot, Roosevelt won the party
nomination
PARTY PRIMARIES AND NOMINATIONS- REPUBLICAN PARTY
Hoover was easily re-nominated as the Republican candidate
However, there was a battle over the vice presidential nominee Vice President Charles Curtis was
challenged by James Harbord Curtis won
PARTY PRIMARIES AND NOMINATIONS
No significant third party nominees Americans were not interested in third
party nominees They joined the Democrats
CANDIDATES- ROOSEVELT Well known for being the governor of New
York He had been reelected governor in a landslide in
1930 People still remembered his cousin,
Theodore Roosevelt FDR had been the losing vice presidential
nominee in 1920 Downplayed his polio so that the public
would think he was fit to run the country Polio was seen as a lower class disease
CANDIDATES- ROOSEVELT Although not that well-known, he was
very charismatic Tried to avoid controversial issues like
religion and the KKK Tried to appeal to everyone, even some
republicans Tried to unite the Democratic party
The Democratic Party was more united during the 1932 election than they had been throughout the whole Fourth Party System, partly due to Roosevelt’s efforts
CANDIDATES- HOOVER Just months after his inauguration, the Stock
Market Crash of 1929 occurred and caused the Great Depression Most of his presidential term was spent in the
depression Considering Hoover’s commitment to limited
government, his policies demonstrated boldness Hoover did more to fight the economic depression
than any previous president However, it was not enough
Many democratic leaders, including Roosevelt criticized him for not taking it far enough
CANDIDATES- HOOVER His programs:
Federal loans to businesses and banks Purchases of farm commodities Selected increases in federal spending Banking reform
His policies did little to help the economic situation. Some actually made it worse
1930- Republicans enacted the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, which raised import duties to the highest rates ever
Hoover also imposed a major tax increase, which reduced funds to consumers and investors
CANDIDATES- HOOVER Very unpopular, to the point where people
threw rotten vegetables at him during his speeches around the country, during his campaign
Also unpopular among his own party His party was divided
Many of the more prominent Republicans did not support him and some even strongly opposed him
Some of them even supported Roosevelt instead
GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN- ROOSEVELT
Roosevelt accused Hoover of being a socialist for his protectionist policies
Roosevelt attacked Hoover for not improving the economic situation and blamed him for the Great Depression
Roosevelt’s strategy was very successful because of Hoover’s overwhelming unpopularity
Candidate of Change FDR made a historically significant speech when he
personally accepted the Democratic party nomination Famous words: “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new
deal for the American people”
GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN- ROOSEVELT
In the same speech, Roosevelt promised to "abolish useless offices" and "eliminate unnecessary functions of Government"
Also promised to restore international trade – as opposed to Hoover’s protectionist trade policies
His campaign song was “Happy Days are Here Again” and became the most popular in American political history, while also becoming the Democratic Party’s unofficial anthem
GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN- HOOVER
He promised recovery, but this quickly became a joke when no improvement was seen throughout his presidency
Hoover could not do much more than to defend himself and promise recovery
Hoover increased taxes and restricted trade Hoover criticized Roosevelt and said he
would only worsen the Depression by decreasing taxes, reducing government intervention in the economy, and promoting international trade
ELECTION OUTCOME FDR won by a landslide
Broke records by winning 472 electoral votes
The region that held the most support for Hoover was the northeast and the New England area
Most of the Rest of the United States, especially in the electoral vote, supported Roosevelt
ELECTION OUTCOME
ELECTION OUTCOME Popular Vote Franklin Roosevelt 22,821,277 57.41% Herbert Hoover 15,761,254 39.65% Norman Thomas 884,885 2.23% William Foster 103,307 0.26% Other (+) 181,175 0.46%
ELECTION OUTCOME Electoral Vote Franklin Roosevelt 472 88.9% Herbert Hoover 59 11.1% Norman Thomas 0 0.0% William Foster 0 0.0% Other (+) 0 0.0%
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Realigning election Many states which were previously Republican
became Democratic states Ended a long era of Republican dominance
and started a streak of Democratic dominance (Shift from Fourth Party System to Fifth Party System) The republicans would not return to the White
House until the nomination of war hero Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952
For all but 6 years after 1932, the democrats controlled the House of Representatives, too