1932 United States presidential election

presidential election, 1932

November 8, 1932

Nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt Herbert Hoover Party Democratic Republican Home state New York California Running mate John Nance Garner Charles Curtis Electoral vote 472 59 States carried 42 6 Popular vote 22,821,277 15,761,254 Percentage 57.4% 39.7%

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.

President before election Herbert Hoover Republican Elected President Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic

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

Main article: 1932 Republican National Convention

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

• 
  Senator John J. Blaine of Wisconsin
• 
  former President Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts
• 
  President Herbert Hoover of California
• 
  former Senator Joseph Irwin France of Maryland

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

Main article: 1932 Democratic National Convention

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.

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.

General election

Campaign

Hoover addresses a large crowd in his 1932 campaign.

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.

Election results by county.

  Franklin D. Roosevelt

  Herbert Hoover

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%, 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...." 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." In the last days of campaigning, Hoover criticized Roosevelt's "nonsense ... tirades ... glittering generalizations ... ignorance" and "defamation".

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. 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.

Results

Electoral 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%:

1. Connecticut, 1.1%
2. New Hampshire, 1.4%
3. New Jersey, 1.9%
4. Delaware, 2.4%
5. Ohio, 2.9%
6. 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)
• Nicolaides, Becky M. "Radio Electioneering in the American Presidential Campaigns of 1932 and 1936," Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, June 1988, Vol. 8 Issue 2, pp 115–138
• 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),

See also

• United States Senate election, 1932
• United States House election, 1932
• History of the United States (1918-1945)
• Timeline of the Great Depression

External links

• 1932 popular vote by counties
• How close was the 1932 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology