1932 United States presidential election
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![]() Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Hoover/Curtis, Blue denotes those won by Roosevelt/Garner. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The United States presidential election of 1932 took place as the effects of the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression were being felt intensely across the country. President Herbert Hoover's popularity was falling as voters felt he was unable to reverse the economic collapse, or deal with prohibition. Franklin D. Roosevelt used what he called Hoover's failure to deal with these problems as a platform for his own election, promising reform in his policy called the New Deal. Roosevelt won by a landslide, and this "critical election" marked the collapse of the Fourth Party System or Progressive Era. The voters soon were realigned into the Fifth Party System, dominated by Roosevelt's New Deal Coalition.
This was the first election in fifty six years in which the Democratic candidate won a majority of the popular vote.
Nominations
Republican Party nomination
Republican candidates:
- John J. Blaine, U.S. senator from Wisconsin
- Calvin Coolidge, former President of the United States from Massachusetts
- Herbert Hoover, President of the United States from California
- Joseph Irwin France, former U.S. senator from Maryland
- James Wolcott Wadsworth, Jr., former U.S. senator from New York
Candidates gallery
As the year 1932 began, the Republican Party still had hopes that the worst of the Depression was over; in any case President Herbert Hoover controlled the party. Little-known former U.S. Senator Joseph Irwin France ran against Hoover in the primaries, often however, Hoover was unopposed. His primary wins were tempered by two events: first, Hoover entered the Maryland primary and defeated France in his home state; second, few delegates to the national convention were chosen in the primaries.
Hoover's managers at the Republican National Convention ran a tight ship, not allowing expressions of concern for the direction of the nation. Hoover was nominated on the first ballot with 98% of the delegate vote.
The tally was spectacularly lopsided:
Presidential Ballot, RNC 1932 | |
---|---|
President Herbert Hoover | 1126.5 |
U.S. Senator John J. Blaine | 13 |
Former President Calvin Coolidge | 4.5 |
Former U.S. Senator Joseph Irwin France | 4 |
James W. Wadsworth | 1 |
Both the agricultural Republicans and the extreme hard money Republicans (the latter hoping to nominate Coolidge) balked at the floor managers and voted against the renomination of Vice President Charles Curtis, who won with just 55% of the delegate votes.
Democratic Party Nomination
Democratic candidates:
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, governor of New York
- Al Smith, former governor of New York
- John Nance Garner, U.S. Speaker of the House from Texas
- James A. Reed, U.S. senator from Missouri
- Albert Ritchie, governor of Maryland
- William H. Murray, governor of Oklahoma
The leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1932 was New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). By the time the 1932 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago, FDR was believed to have more delegate votes than all of his opponents combined. However, due to the "two-thirds" nominating rule then used by the Democrats, FDR's opponents hoped that he would be unable to obtain the two-thirds majority necessary to win, and that they could gain on later ballots.[citation needed]
On the first three ballots Roosevelt had well over a majority of the delegate vote, but still lacked the two-thirds majority. Before the fourth ballot his managers - James Farley and Louis Howe - struck a deal with House Speaker John Nance Garner, who was also a candidate. Garner agreed to drop out of the race and support FDR, and in return FDR agreed to name Garner as his running mate. With this agreement Roosevelt won the two-thirds majority and with it the presidential nomination.[citation needed]
General election
Campaign
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Hoover_Campaign.jpg)
After making an airplane trip to the Democratic convention, Roosevelt accepted the nomination in person. In this history-making speech, he committed himself to battling the Great Depression in the United States with a "New Deal" when he stated: "I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people." Roosevelt's trip to Chicago was the first of several successful, precedent-making moves designed to make him appear to be the candidate of change in the election. Large crowds greeted Roosevelt as he traveled around the nation; his campaign song "Happy Days Are Here Again" became one of the most popular in American political history.[citation needed]
In contrast, Hoover was widely blamed for the Great Depression; for more than two years, Hoover had been issuing statements that the worst was over, only to have the economy make further downturns. Along with the anti-sentiment from the deaths of veterans in the Bonus Army incident his chances of a second term were slim to none. Hoover's attempts to campaign in public were a disaster, as he often had objects (especially rotten fruit and vegetables) thrown at him or his vehicle as he rode through city streets. In his addresses, Hoover attacked Roosevelt as a dangerous radical who would only make the Depression worse by raising taxes and increasing the federal debt to pay for expensive welfare and social-relief programs. However, with unemployment at 23.6%,[1][2] Hoover's criticisms of the New Deal plan did nothing more than further lower his popularity with the public and it was said that "Even a vaguely talented dog-catcher could have been elected president against the Republicans...." [3][3] Hoover even received a letter from an Illinois man that said "Vote for Roosevelt and make it unanimous".
Hoover called Roosevelt a "chameleon in plaid" and Roosevelt called Hoover a "fat, timid capon."[4] In the last days of campaigning, Hoover criticized Roosevelt's "nonsense ... tirades ... glittering generalizations ... ignorance" and "defamation".[4]
The election was held on November 8, 1932. Maine held separate state elections in September.
1932 was a realigning election. Roosevelt and the Democratic ticket won a sweeping victory over Hoover and the Republicans, extending their control over the U.S. House and gaining control of the U.S. Senate. Twelve years of Republican leadership came to an end, and 20 consecutive years of Democratic control of the White House would ensue.[4] Until 1932, the Republicans had controlled the Presidency for 56 of the previous 72 years, dating to Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860. After 1932, the Democrats would control the Presidency for 28 of the next 36 years, until the 1968 presidential election created a new alignment which favored the Republicans (cemented in 1980). The vote for Roosevelt was nearly eight million higher than that for Smith in 1928, an increase of 52%. Hoover's popular vote was reduced by 26% from his result in the 1928 election. In addition, the vote for most minor parties rose dramatically: increases of 230% for the Socialist Party (Norman Thomas's highest raw vote total of his campaigns); an increase of 112% for the Communist Party; an increase of 305% for the Prohibition Party; and an increase of 57% for the Socialist Labor Party.
Hoover's 17.76% margin of loss is the largest-ever margin of defeat for an incumbent President to date. He lost 42 of 48 states.[4]
Results
Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Popular vote | Electoral vote |
Running mate | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Count | Percentage | Vice-presidential candidate | Home state | Electoral vote | ||||
Franklin D. Roosevelt | Democratic | New York | 22,821,277 | 57.4% | 472 | John Nance Garner | Texas | 472 |
Herbert Hoover | Republican | California | 15,761,254 | 39.7% | 59 | Charles Curtis | Kansas | 59 |
Norman Thomas | Socialist | New York | 884,885 | 2.2% | 0 | James H. Maurer | Pennsylvania | 0 |
William Z. Foster | Communist | Illinois | 103,307 | 0.3% | 0 | James W. Ford | Alabama | 0 |
William D. Upshaw | Prohibition | Georgia | 81,905 | 0.2% | 0 | Frank S. Regan | Illinois | 0 |
William Hope Harvey | Liberty | Arkansas | 53,425 | 0.1% | 0 | Frank Hemenway | Washington | 0 |
Verne L. Reynolds | Socialist Labor | New York | 33,276 | 0.1% | 0 | J.W. Aiken | Massachusetts | 0 |
Other | 12,569 | 0.1% | — | Other | — | |||
Total | 39,751,898 | 100% | 531 | 531 | ||||
Needed to win | 266 | 266 |
Source (Popular Vote): Leip, David. "1932 Presidential Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections. Retrieved July 31, 2005.Source (Electoral Vote): "Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 31, 2005.
Close States
Margin of victory less than 5%:
- Connecticut, 1.1%
- New Hampshire, 1.4%
- New Jersey, 1.9%
- Delaware, 2.4%
- Ohio, 2.9%
- Massachusetts, 4.0%
Results by state
Franklin Roosevelt Democratic |
Herbert Hoover Republican |
Norman Thomas Socialist |
Other | State Total | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | % | electoral votes |
# | ||
Alabama | 11 | 207,910 | 84.7 | 11 | 34,675 | 14.1 | - | 2,030 | 0.8 | - | 739 | 0.3 | - | 245,354 | AL | |
Arizona | 3 | 79,264 | 67.0 | 3 | 36,104 | 30.5 | - | 2,618 | 2.2 | - | 265 | 0.2 | - | 118,251 | AZ | |
Arkansas | 9 | 189,602 | 86.0 | 9 | 28,467 | 12.9 | - | 1,269 | 0.6 | - | 1,224 | 0.6 | - | 220,562 | AR | |
California | 22 | 1,324,157 | 58.4 | 22 | 847,902 | 37.4 | - | 63,299 | 2.8 | - | 32,608 | 1.4 | - | 2,267,966 | CA | |
Colorado | 6 | 250,877 | 54.8 | 6 | 189,617 | 41.4 | - | 13,591 | 3.0 | - | 3,611 | 0.8 | - | 457,696 | CO | |
Connecticut | 8 | 281,632 | 47.4 | - | 288,420 | 48.5 | 8 | 20,840 | 3.5 | - | 3,651 | 0.6 | - | 594,183 | CT | |
Delaware | 3 | 54,319 | 48.1 | - | 57,073 | 50.6 | 3 | 1,376 | 1.2 | - | 133 | 0.1 | - | 112,901 | DE | |
Florida | 7 | 206,307 | 74.7 | 7 | 69,170 | 25.0 | - | 775 | 0.3 | - | not on ballot | 276,252 | FL | |||
Georgia | 12 | 234,118 | 91.6 | 12 | 19,863 | 7.8 | - | 461 | 0.2 | - | 1,148 | 0.5 | - | 255,590 | GA | |
Idaho | 4 | 109,479 | 58.7 | 4 | 71,417 | 38.3 | - | 526 | 0.3 | - | 5,203 | 2.8 | - | 186,625 | ID | |
Illinois | 29 | 1,882,304 | 55.2 | 29 | 1,432,756 | 42.0 | - | 67,258 | 2.0 | - | 25,608 | 0.8 | - | 3,407,926 | IL | |
Indiana | 14 | 862,054 | 54.7 | 14 | 677,184 | 42.9 | - | 21,388 | 1.4 | - | 16,301 | 1.0 | - | 1,576,927 | IN | |
Iowa | 11 | 598,019 | 57.7 | 11 | 414,433 | 40.0 | - | 20,467 | 2.00 | - | 3,768 | 0.4 | - | 1,036,687 | IA | |
Kansas | 9 | 424,204 | 53.6 | 9 | 349,498 | 44.1 | - | 18,276 | 2.3 | - | not on ballot | 791,978 | KS | |||
Kentucky | 11 | 580,574 | 59.1 | 11 | 394,716 | 40.2 | - | 3,853 | 0.4 | - | 3,920 | 0.4 | - | 983,063 | KY | |
Louisiana | 10 | 249,418 | 92.8 | 10 | 18,853 | 7.0 | - | not on ballot | 533 | 0.2 | - | 268,804 | LA | |||
Maine | 5 | 128,907 | 43.2 | - | 166,631 | 55.8 | 5 | 2,489 | 0.8 | - | 417 | 0.1 | - | 298,444 | ME | |
Maryland | 8 | 314,314 | 61.5 | 8 | 184,184 | 36.0 | - | 10,489 | 2.1 | - | 2,067 | 0.4 | - | 511,054 | MD | |
Massachusetts | 17 | 800,148 | 50.6 | 17 | 736,959 | 46.6 | - | 34,305 | 2.2 | - | 8,702 | 0.6 | - | 1,580,114 | MA | |
Michigan | 19 | 871,700 | 52.4 | 19 | 739,894 | 44.4 | - | 39,205 | 2.4 | - | 13,966 | 0.8 | - | 1,664,765 | MI | |
Minnesota | 11 | 600,806 | 59.9 | 11 | 363,959 | 36.3 | - | 25,476 | 2.5 | - | 12,602 | 1.3 | - | 1,002,843 | MN | |
Mississippi | 9 | 140,168 | 96.0 | 9 | 5,180 | 3.4 | - | 686 | 0.5 | - | not on ballot | 146,034 | MS | |||
Missouri | 15 | 1,025,406 | 63.7 | 15 | 564,713 | 35.1 | - | 16,374 | 1.0 | - | 3,401 | 0.2 | - | 1,609,894 | MO | |
Montana | 4 | 127,286 | 58.8 | 4 | 78,078 | 36.1 | - | 7,891 | 3.7 | - | 3,224 | 1.5 | - | 216,479 | MT | |
Nebraska | 7 | 359,082 | 63.0 | 7 | 201,177 | 35.3 | - | 9,876 | 1.7 | - | 2 | 0.0 | - | 570,137 | NE | |
Nevada | 3 | 28,756 | 69.4 | 3 | 12,674 | 30.6 | - | not on ballot | 41,430 | NV | ||||||
New Hampshire | 4 | 100,680 | 49.0 | - | 103,629 | 50.4 | 4 | 947 | 0.5 | - | 264 | 0.1 | - | 205,520 | NH | |
New Jersey | 16 | 806,394 | 49.5 | 16 | 775,406 | 47.6 | - | 42,988 | 2.6 | - | 4,719 | 0.3 | - | 1,629,507 | NJ | |
New Mexico | 3 | 95,089 | 62.7 | 3 | 54,217 | 35.8 | - | 1,776 | 1.2 | - | 524 | 0.4 | - | 151,606 | NM | |
New York | 47 | 2,534,959 | 54.1 | 47 | 1,937,963 | 41.3 | - | 177,397 | 3.8 | - | 38,295 | 0.8 | - | 4,688,614 | NY | |
North Carolina | 13 | 497,566 | 69.9 | 13 | 208,344 | 29.3 | - | 5,591 | 0.8 | - | not on ballot | 711,501 | NC | |||
North Dakota | 4 | 178,350 | 69.6 | 4 | 71,772 | 28.0 | - | 3,521 | 1.4 | - | 2,647 | 1.0 | - | 256,290 | ND | |
Ohio | 26 | 1,301,695 | 49.9 | 26 | 1,227,319 | 47.0 | - | 64,094 | 2.5 | - | 16,620 | 0.6 | - | 2,609,728 | OH | |
Oklahoma | 11 | 516,468 | 73.3 | 11 | 188,165 | 26.7 | - | not on ballot | 704,633 | OK | ||||||
Oregon | 5 | 213,871 | 58.0 | 5 | 136,019 | 36.7 | - | 15,450 | 4.2 | - | 3,468 | 0.9 | - | 368,808 | OR | |
Pennsylvania | 36 | 1,295,948 | 45.3 | - | 1,453,540 | 50.8 | 36 | 91,223 | 3.2 | - | 18,466 | 0.7 | - | 2,859,177 | PA | |
Rhode Island | 4 | 146,604 | 55.1 | 4 | 115,266 | 43.3 | - | 3,138 | 1.2 | - | 1,162 | 0.4 | - | 266,170 | RI | |
South Carolina | 8 | 102,347 | 98.0 | 8 | 1,978 | 1.9 | - | 82 | 0.1 | - | not on ballot | 104,407 | SC | |||
South Dakota | 4 | 183,515 | 63.6 | 4 | 99,212 | 34.4 | - | 1,551 | 0.5 | - | 4,160 | 1.4 | - | 288,438 | SD | |
Tennessee | 11 | 259,473 | 66.5 | 11 | 126,752 | 32.5 | - | 1,796 | 0.5 | - | 2,235 | 0.6 | - | 390,256 | TN | |
Texas | 23 | 760,348 | 88.1 | 23 | 97,959 | 11.4 | - | 4,450 | 0.5 | - | 669 | 0.1 | - | 836,426 | TX | |
Utah | 4 | 116,750 | 56.5 | 4 | 84,795 | 41.1 | - | 4,087 | 2.0 | - | 946 | 0.5 | - | 206,578 | UT | |
Vermont | 3 | 56,266 | 41.1 | - | 78,984 | 57.7 | 3 | 1,533 | 1.1 | - | 197 | 0.1 | - | 136,980 | VT | |
Virginia | 11 | 203,979 | 68.5 | 11 | 89,637 | 30.1 | - | 2,382 | 0.8 | - | 1,944 | 0.7 | - | 297,942 | VA | |
Washington | 8 | 353,260 | 57.5 | 8 | 208,645 | 33.9 | - | 17,080 | 2.8 | - | 35,829 | 5.8 | - | 614,814 | WA | |
West Virginia | 8 | 405,124 | 54.5 | 8 | 330,731 | 44.5 | - | 5,133 | 0.7 | - | 2,786 | 0.4 | - | 743,774 | WV | |
Wisconsin | 12 | 707,410 | 63.5 | 12 | 347,741 | 31.2 | - | 53,379 | 4.8 | - | 6,278 | 0.6 | - | 1,114,808 | WI | |
Wyoming | 3 | 54,370 | 56.1 | 3 | 39,583 | 40.8 | - | 2,829 | 2.9 | - | 180 | 0.2 | - | 96,962 | WY | |
TOTALS: | 531 | 22,821,277 | 57.4 | 472 | 15,761,254 | 39.7 | 59 | 884,885 | 2.2 | - | 284,482 | 0.7 | - | 39,751,898 | ||
TO WIN: | 266 |
Bibliography
- Kristi Andersen, The Creation of a Democratic Majority: 1928-1936 (1979), statistical
- James McGregor Burns, Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1956)
- Frank Freidel, Franklin D. Roosevelt: The Triumph (1956)
- Frank Freidel, "Election of 1932", in Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., ed., The Coming to Power: Critical Presidential Elections in American History (1981),
- Harold F. Gosnell, Champion Campaigner: Franklin D. Roosevelt (1952)
- Herbert Hoover, The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: The Great Depression, 1929-1941 (1952)
- Roy V. Peel and Thomas C. Donnelly, The 1932 Campaign: An Analysis (1935)
- Donald A. Ritchie, Electing FDR: The New Deal Campaign of 1932 (2007)
- Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. The Crisis of the Old Order (1957),
- Jeff Campbell USA 2004.
See also
- United States Senate election, 1932
- United States House election, 1932
- History of the United States (1918-1945)
- Timeline of the Great Depression
References
- ^ "Overall Unemployment Rate in the U.S. Civilian Labor Force, 1920–2007 — Infoplease.com". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ "Timeline of the Great Depression". Hyperhistory.com. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ a b Cambell, Jeff (November 19, 2008). "Hoover's Popularity". Lonely Planet.
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(help) - ^ a b c d Gibbs, Nancy (November 10, 2008). "When New President Meets Old, It's Not Always Pretty". TIME.
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External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 1932 popular vote by counties
- How close was the 1932 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology