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 ID: 433699
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "The Presidential Election of 1932" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
The Presidential Election of 1932
Gevenny FernandezSlide2
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 majoritySlide3
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 charismaSlide4
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 revenuesSlide5
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 capitalSlide6
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” effectSlide7
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 nominationSlide8
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 wonSlide9
Party Primaries and Nominations
No significant third party nominees
Americans were not interested in third party nominees
They joined the DemocratsSlide10
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 diseaseSlide11
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 Slide12
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 enoughSlide13
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 investorsSlide14
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 insteadSlide15
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”Slide16
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 anthemSlide17
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 tradeSlide18
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 RooseveltSlide19
Election OutcomeSlide20
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%Slide21
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%Slide22
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