The United States' 1932 Election Many historians believe that the 1932 election was a popularity competition, with the prize being the chief of the white house. This is because they thought that Hoover's inability to revive the depressed economy, and his lack of a personality that reaches out to the average American, provided Roosevelt (who was very popular) with a path to victory. I shall discuss this view, with points in favour and points that argue Roosevelt had an appealing policy and opinions that ensured his triumph which did not rely on Hoover's incompetence and lack of charm. Beginning with the points in favour, it becomes easy to understand the principle behind the aforementioned statement. According to the historian Roger Smalley, Hoover's election campaign was based on his criticism of other parties. Hoover dwelled on the argument that things would get worse under the democrats rather than introducing innovative new policies that would tackle the poverty and unemployment in the USA. Another factor of Hoover's loss of the election was that he was not a 'man of the people'. Whilst Roosevelt would smile and strive to meet people and shake their hands; generally creating a sociable atmosphere, Hoover would, quite ironically, take up his 'laissez faire' policy on Americans, basically leaving them alone and not interacting with them. For example, in source 1, Roosevelt can be seen meeting two lowly farmers ijn Georgia, 1932, whilst in source 2, Hoover looks glum and stiff. To alleviate the public's spirit and hopes, Hoover often lied about the recovery: In may 1930, he said, "I am convinced that we have now passed the... ... middle of paper ... ...nist revolution. What is significant about the incident was that it cast Hoover in a very bad light and he emerged looking cruel and, insensitive and incapable. In my opinion, it was Roosevelt's public image that boosted the enthusiasm for his election. The 2 candidates had the same policies; for example, government support for businesses and job-creation schemes, so this could not have been what decided their futures. Roosevelt's victory was his exposure of the failures of the republican government, as well as his interaction with the average American. Roosevelt won the election because he won the people's hearts. As well as the instability of Hoover's approaches, these were the reasons that made Roosevelt win. So in theory, Hoover lost the election but Roosevelt offered himself as a friendlier option and so he won.
...pression. It was this that created Hoover’s conservative image. Moreover, Hoover's opinions changed from being against any government interference in the economy to being in support of the government encouraging employment by creating more jobs. Hoover differed from most presidents represented in Schlesinger's theory because touched upon private interest, transition, and public purpose, all within the one term of his presidency. Roosevelt was falsely credited with ending the Great Depression as a result of the success of his many programs instituted with the purpose of fighting against unemployment. He is therefore recognized by many as the more effective of the two presidents, which would then indicate that liberalism was more effectual than conservative ideas. However, in reality, Roosevelt was little more successful than Hoover in ending the Great Depression.
Tom Gatenby To what extent did the Conservatives lose the election rather than the Liberals win the election? “The election of 1906 was a significant watershed in the political history of Britain” Kenneth Owen Fox The election of 1906 was a landside victory for the Liberal Party. This is due to many factors, it could been influenced by the manifesto of the Liberal Party, or perhaps even more strongly the failure of the Conservative Party to unify on such reforms as the Tariff Reform. The lack of a strong unified Conservative government clearly had a large effect upon the outcome of the 1906 election, to what extent this is true will be explained in the essay.
Thus, while Roosevelt can definitely be characterized as a liberal by today's standards and the standards of the 1930's, Hoover's characterization changed as the public's view of a liberal quickly became a conservative during the depression. Furthermore, Hoover's ideas changed from opposing government intervention in the economy to supporting government incentives for employment. Unlike most presidents (under Schlesinger's theory) Hoover experienced private interest, transition, and public purpose within the one term of his presidency.
Herbert Hoover was sworn into office when the economic status of the country stood at its highest and the nation was accustomed to a prosperous way of living. When the stock market plummeted and took its toll on the citizens from coast to coast, it was out of his control. The approach however that was taken to deal with the matter is what will ultimately separate Hoover and Roosevelt when the debates to categorize the greatest and worst presidents the nation has seen begin. Hoover was known for false promises as he would speak optimistically to his audience and never deliver. The people began to resent his words knowing they would all fall through eventually. Roosevelt in his inaugural address knew the people were tired of hearing speeches that never pulled through and only spoke with truth as he stated:
“The United States emerged from a virulent, intense, and inhumane civil war and evolved into a new nation during this period. This transition was the culmination of political, economic, social, and cultural movements which transformed the nation. E Pluribus Unum - out of many United States, one nation; the United States was forged in the cauldron of these revolutions." -Arnold Toynbee, A Study of History
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 marked the start of the great depression which hit America and much of the industrialised world during the 1930’s. The cycle of prosperity turned into a spiral of depression as consumer spending fell by almost half, unemployment rose to over 12 million and there was widespread poverty and homelessness. The Hoover government’s ‘rugged individualism’ meant that people did not receive any relief from the federal government and led to a loss in support for Hoover as people blamed him for their problems. After his landslide victory in 1932, President Roosevelt vowed that through his reforms and economic policies, America would return to the road of prosperity. In 1933 he set out the ‘New Deal’ which sought to deliver relief, recovery, and reform. It could be argued that although the New Deal was effective in certain aspects such as short term relief, it did not end the depression; rather the war was the decisive factor.
The election of 1896 was a race between William McKinley, the Republican, and William Jennings Bryan, the Democrat. McKinley was the governor of Ohio and Bryan was the an attorney from Lincoln, Nebraska. This election is seen as the start of a new era in American politics, also known as the “realignment” election. (“The Election of 1896”). This election was mostly the city against the country and their battle for dominance in American politics. In the 1800s, American presidential contests had been a vote on whether the country should be governed by agrarian or industrial interests. This election marked the end of trying to win the White House with agrarian votes and definitely shifted where the country was heading.
President Herbert Hoover tried to use governmental power to check the economic downfall but did so without success. Critics of Hoover claimed that his policies were too conservative and lacked imagination. His defenders maintained that, regardless of the president's efforts, the depression just had to run its course. But millions of Americans could not afford to wait for the economic system to correct itself. The depression had caused not only financial disaster but also and perhaps the most important, a loss of personal pride, status and sense of self-respect. Many Americans demanded prompt and immediate action. As a result all indications pointed to a sweeping Democratic victory in the 1932 presidential election.
Every four years that a Presidential election comes to pass the Electoral College is responsible for the formal election of both the President and Vice President of the United States. As an example of an indirect election, where people in each state at large vote in order to decide which individuals will be delegated the responsibility of casting votes for President and Vice President in accordance with the popular vote of the state which has entrusted them to provide such representation, the Electoral College works to ensure that smaller states are not denied the right to have the equal power of influence in our national election for President (Neale, 2004). The Electoral College itself has been in existence since it was introduced within the framework of various proposals introduced at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 (Neale, 2004). The Mcgovern-Fraser Commission in 1969, which was known formally as the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, played a crucial role in amending the practices of political parties in their work within the Electoral framework, in particular changing the way in which states were allowed to select delegates to national conventions (Stricherz, 2003). This would result in candidates having to develop broader campaigns that would need to appeal to voters across any state in which they desired that states delegation officially support their candidacy.
"The U.S. presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John Anderson."(USPE1980, 1) By the beginning of the election season, the lengthy Iran hostage crisis sharpened public perceptions of a crisis. In the 1970s, the United States was experiencing a wrenching episode of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, intermittent energy crises. This added to a sense of discomfort that in both domestic and foreign affairs the nation was headed downward. With candidates and their reasons why they should be president, who would win the 1980 presidential election?
With Herbert Hoover in office at the time of the crash of 1929, he believed it was not the government’s responsibility to get involved in helping the millions of Americans affected by this national crisis. However with elections coming up, Americans believed in a time for change. Franklin D. Roosevelt saw a chance to help save the American people and bring this nation of suffering back to a once thriving, prospering nation. With his election in 1932, he brought with him his plan, and this plan was the New Deal. He implemented twenty-five programs to aid Americans get back on their feet. Banks were closing, millions were out of jobs, and housing markets were closing. I saw three programs he developed helping millions of Americans with jobs. Through the lack of jobs created the lack of revenue which in turn was needed for the banks to survive to furnish loans for houses. The people needed a fresh start, and FDR, along with his cabinet members, facilitated a new beginning.
their vote, and a hole is punched into a ballot where the space for the
Immediately following Herbert Hoover in the presidency line, Mr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) became America’s 32nd president. This democrat, inaugurated on March 4, 1933, won the 1932 election against Hoover by a landslide. The new president made a promise to his citizens, “I pledge you, I pledge myself, a new deal for the American people.” He reassured Americans that he would change their lives. He promised to get people back to work and back in their homes (“New Deal Timeline 1).
He quickly moves from the panic of 1929 to the ‘30’s and how many of the popular governmental sentiments during the election were no longer so. Hoover quickly moved from a position of public acceptance and admiration to that of a scapegoat. That the Depression was his fault is not entirely true, though. Hoover did not have much of the information needed to foretell the economic situation. In the laissez-faire form of government he prescribed, there was no place for a department that would document these things for the use of the president’s office.
The Strike of 1934 On May 9th 1934 a organized labor strike started in San Francisco that would snowball into a city crippling strike. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) declared a strike for all longshoremen on the west coast, until they received better wages, a union-administered hiring hall, and union membership as a prerequisite for employed longshoremen. The Strike of 1934 lasted for three months, stopping maritime trade in the ports of the Western United States, from San Diego to Seattle. The clash was between the Industrial Association (IA), composed of big business and employers wanting to break the strike, and the ILA, along with other unions that dealt with maritime trades.