+

15.4:The Election of 1932

pp. 524-529

+15.4:The Election of 1932

Key Terms: Hawley-Smoot Tariff Bonus Army

Key Questions: #1) How did Hoover attempt to end the Depression & its

hardships? #2) Describe FDR’s appeal to voters in 1932. #3) Why was the election of 1932 a significant turning point in

American politics?

+1932 Campaign Songs

Roosevelt—”Happy Days Are Here Again!”

“Happy days are here again,

The skies above are clear again

Let us sing a song of cheer again

Happy days are her again.”

Hoover—”Brother Can You Spare a Dime?”

“Once I built a railroad

I made it run

Made it race against time.

Once I built a railroad

Now it’s done

Brother, can you spare a dime?”

+Hoover’s Limited Strategy

The key to recovery was confidence

Depression was due to problems “beyond our control” & conditions would improve soon

Hoover banked on voluntary action

Republicans took a beating in 1930 mid-term elections

By 1931 many companies were cutting wages

People started to blame Hoover for misery

Hoover was forced to take action

+The Government Acts

Funded dams, roads, buildings, parks, etc. Construction began on Boulder Dam (later Hoover Dam) in

1930

Congress passed Hawley-Smoot tariff in 1930 Highest import tax in history Hoped to protect domestic industries from imports, but

backfired as European countries also raised their tariffs International trade stalled & European economies weakened

Est. Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) in 1932 Gave gov’t credit to industries, RRs, insurance companies,

banks, etc. Idea was that prosperity at the top would help the economy as

a whole Resented b/c seemed like gov’t helped bankers & big

business leaders while others were hungry

Hoover Dam today

+Hoover’s Unpopularity Grows

Hoover insisted that state & local gov’ts could handle relief

Didn’t want too much gov’t bureaucracy

Seemed cold-hearted

People went hungry as newspapers showed Hoover feeding his dog

More Americans started buying into ideas of John Maynard Keynes (Brit. economist) ideas Massive gov’t spending would help

collapsing economy & encourage more private spending

+Veterans March on Washington

Hoover’s low point

Jobless WWI vets & families camped out in Washington, DC; 40K+ in # Nicknamed Bonus Army Wanted immediate payment of pension bonus (not

supposed to get it until 1945) Rejected by Senate (controlled by GOP) Thousands of the of the Bonus campers stayed put in

their shacks

Hoover called in the army Led by Douglas MacArthur to clear out Pennsylvania Ave MacArthur used tanks & guns against bricks & stones 1K+ inured, 4 killed; Bonus Army shoved out of Washington

+A “New Deal”

“I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people.”—FDR @ Democratic National Convention in Chicago in July 1932

FDR’s Bio Born in 1882 Graduated from Harvard NY State Senate Assistant Secretary of the Navy under Wilson Ran as VP in ’20, but lost Struck w/ polio in ’21; spent much of ‘20s recovering @ Warm Springs, GA Governor of NY, 1929-1932 Wealthy background, but concern for ordinary people

Eleanor’s bio Niece of TR & distant cousin to FDR Very active politically—gov’t reform, birth control, better work conditions for

women

+The Election of 1932

“This campaign is more than a contest between two men…It is a contest between two philosophies of government.”—Hoover, October 1932

Hoover on the Democratic platform if its ideas were adopted, “this will not be the America which we have known in the past.”

*See sidebar on p. 528

FDR called for a “reappraisal of values” and controls on big business

Contrast of ideologies

Gov’t should NOT fix people’s problems vs. large-scale problems, like the Depression, required gov’t help

+Election of 1932

Roosevelt wins easily

Wins by 7 million popular votes & 400+ electoral votes

Supporters: urban workers, coal miners, immigrants of Catholic & Jewish descent

Roosevelt on inauguration day, “This nation asks for action and action now.”

Sweeping changes would soon come

“So first of all let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

+15.4:The Election of 1932

Key Terms: Hawley-Smoot Tariff Bonus Army

Key Questions: #1) How did Hoover attempt to end the Depression & its

hardships? #2) Describe FDR’s appeal to voters in 1932. #3) Why was the election of 1932 a significant turning point in

American politics?