Franklin Roosevelt's Political Party: Democratic Party
Franklin Roosevelt's Opponent(s):
HERBERT HOOVER- Republican Party
Election Facts:
The Democrats
Franklin Roosevelt was favored to win the presidential nomination. He had two opponents. They were Alfred E. Smith and John Nance Garner. (Smith had been the party's nominee in 1928. Garner was a congressman from Texas. He was speaker of the House of Representatives.) Smith led a stop-Roosevelt movement. It failed.
Roosevelt was nominated on the first ballot. He won 666 1/4 votes. John Nance Garner was nominated for vice president.
The Republicans
President Hoover was favored to win renomination. The economic depression cast a pall over the Republicans' convention. But Hoover was renominated on the first ballot. Vice President Curtis was also renominated.
The General Election Campaign
In the fall campaign, the major issue was the economic depression. The candidates' views did not differ much. Roosevelt promised an economic program similar to President Hoover's. In other ways, his platform also resembled the president's. Roosevelt was the first Democratic presidential candidate to oppose U.S. membership in the League of Nations.
The campaign became a personality contest. President Hoover often slipped into angry tirades against his opponents. The aristocratic Roosevelt sparkled and never lost his poise. Hoover's campaign slogan was "Play Safe with Hoover." Roosevelt's theme was "Happy Days are Here Again." Roosevelt was endorsed by several prominent Republicans.
The Election Results
Roosevelt defeated Hoover by more than 7 million votes. He won 472 electoral votes and carried 42 states. Hoover won 59 electoral votes and carried 6 states. Roosevelt also had "coattails." Democrats won control of both houses of Congress.
ELECTION (1936)
Franklin Roosevelt's Political Party: Democratic Party
Franklin Roosevelt's Opponent(s):
Alf Landon- Republican Party
Election Facts:
The Democrats
President Roosevelt was easily renominated for president. Vice President Garner was also renominated.
The Democrats changed an important party rule. Before 1936, the party required a two-thirds majority of the delegate votes for the presidential nomination. After 1936, a candidate could be nominated with a simple majority.
The 1936 convention was not televised. American voters never saw the most stunning event of the proceedings. During his acceptance speech, one of Roosevelt's braces gave way. He fell to the floor. If voters had seen the incident on television, Roosevelt may never have been reelected.
The Republicans
The Republicans needed a popular nominee to win the presidential election. They favored Alf Landon, the governor of Kansas. Landon had overcome the Roosevelt tide twice and won elections in Kansas. (Landon was Senator Nancy Kassebaum's father. She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978.)
Landon was nominated on the first ballot. Frank Knox was nominated for vice president. He was an Illinois newspaper publisher.
The General Election Campaign
In the fall campaign, President Roosevelt ignored Landon. The president used the "Rose Garden" strategy. (President THEODORE ROOSEVELT invented it in his 1904 campaign.)
Landon toured the country four times. He attacked Roosevelt for violating the Constitution. (Landon was not alone in his view that some New Deal programs were unconstitutional.) Before the campaign ended, a telephone poll showed Landon winning a landslide victory. But the poll was wrong. Pollsters had overlooked voters who did not own telephones. Most of them apparently voted for Roosevelt.
The Election Results
Roosevelt defeated Landon by more than 11 million votes. He carried 46 states and won 523 electoral votes. Landon won 8 electoral votes and carried two states (Maine and Vermont).
ELECTION (1940)
Franklin Roosevelt's Political Party: Democratic Party
Franklin Roosevelt's Opponent(s):
Wendell Willkie- Republican Party
Election Facts:
The Democrats
Before the nominating convention, President Roosevelt disclaimed any interest in renomination. Two other candidates entered the race. They were Vice President John Nance Garner and James Farley. (Farley was Roosevelt's postmaster general.) Roosevelt declined to endorse either candidate.
Roosevelt was renominated on the first ballot. He won 946 votes. Farley won 72 votes. Garner won 61 votes.
Roosevelt had manipulated the Democrats into drafting him. Once he was renominated, the president dumped Garner. He wanted Henry Wallace to be vice president. (Wallace was the secretary of agriculture.) When the delegates voted, Wallace won 626 votes. William Bankhead of Alabama won 330 votes.
The Republicans
There were three favorites for the presidential nomination. They were Robert Taft, Thomas Dewey (New York), and Arthur Vandenberg (Michigan). (Taft was a U.S. senator from Ohio. He was WILLIAM TAFT's son. Dewey was governor of New York. He won the Republican nomination in 1940. Vandenberg was a U.S. senator from Michigan.)
Wendell Willkie of Indiana was the dark-horse candidate. He had been a Democrat. He was a utility executive. He broke with Roosevelt over the Tennessee Valley Authority. Willkie did not want his company to have to compete with a public corporation.
Dewey led on the 1st ballot, but he fell short of a majority. Willkie picked up support after the 4th ballot. Willkie was nominated on the 6th ballot. The vote was unanimous. Charles McNary was nominated for vice president. He was a U.S. senator from Oregon.
The General Election Campaign
President Roosevelt did not campaign until the last two weeks of the campaign. For the most part, he ignored Willkie. He concentrated his attack on the Republican Party. Willkie campaigned vigorously. He traveled over 30,000 miles. He gave roughly 500 speeches.
The Election Results
Roosevelt defeated Willkie by more than 4 million votes. (Roosevelt had done better in 1936. He won 7 million fewer votes in 1940.) He carried 38 states and won 449 electoral votes. Willkie carried 10 states and won 82 electoral votes.
ELECTION (1944)
Franklin Roosevelt's Political Party: Democratic Party
Franklin Roosevelt's Opponent(s):
Thomas E. Dewey- Republican Party
Election Facts:
The Democrats
President Roosevelt was favored for renomination. He was opposed by Harry Byrd, the U.S. senator from Virginia.
Roosevelt was renominated on the first ballot. He won 1,086 votes. Byrd won 89 votes.
Party leaders could not ignore Roosevelt's poor health. They forced him to drop Vice President Wallace from the ticket. The bosses believed Wallace was too liberal to be a successful president. HARRY TRUMAN was nominated for vice president.
The Republicans
John E. Dewey was favored to win the presidential nomination. He was a well-known prosecutor in New York City. His opponents withdrew from the race. (Wendell Willkie withdrew after the Wisconsin primary. He had been the presidential nominee in 1940. General Douglas MacArthur withdrew in the spring. John Bricker withdrew during the convention. He was the governor of Ohio.)
Dewey was nominated on the first ballot. John Bricker was nominated for vice president.
The General Election Campaign
In the fall campaign, President Roosevelt's poor health became an important issue. He campaigned actively to dispel fears about his ability to run the country. Dewey avoided raising the health issue. But he repeatedly mentioned "tired old men." Democrats had the issue of World War II on their side. The Democratic campaign theme was "Don't Change Horses in Midstream."
War and Roosevelt's health cast a pall over the campaign. But it had its humorous side. The Republicans said Roosevelt had sent a Navy destroyer to the Aleutians to retrieve his dog (Fala). Roosevelt attacked the Republicans for attacking his dog. Voters laughed when the president said: "...I don't resent attacks,...my family doesn't resent attacks, but Fala does resent them."
The Election Results
Roosevelt defeated Dewey by more than 3.5 million votes. (It was his smallest victory in four presidential races.) He won 432 electoral votes and carried 36 states. Dewey won 99 electoral votes and carried 12 states.
FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT'S VICE PRESIDENT(S)
FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1933-1937):
John Nance Garner, Texas
Vice President (1933-1937)
Birth- 1868
Death- 1967
Profession- Lawyer
Offices- U.S. representative (1903-1930);
speaker, U.S. House of Representatives
(1931-1933).
Other Facts-
Garner was vice president for two terms. But he made the mistake of challenging Roosevelt for the nomination in 1940. Roosevelt dropped him from the ticket.
SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1937-1941):
John Nance Garner, Texas
Vice President (1937-1941)
(See First Administration.)
THIRD ADMINISTRATION (1941-1945):
Henry A. Wallace, Iowa
Vice President (1941-1945)
Birth- 1888
Death- 1965
Profession- Farmer/ Editor
Offices- Secretary of agriculture (1921- 1924;
1933-1940); secretary of commerce
(1945-1946).
Other Facts-
Wallace was originally a Republican. He switched parties to support Al Smith in 1928 and Roosevelt in 1932. Early in his career, Wallace was editor of Wallace's Farmer. The paper was a farm journal founded by his grandfather.
In 1940, some Democrats tried to block Wallace's nomination for vice president. His liberal views left him open to charges that he was a communist. In 1944, party regulars forced Roosevelt to drop Wallace from the ticket. Roosevelt liked Wallace and made him secretary of commerce. President HARRY TRUMAN forced Wallace out of his job at the Commerce Department in 1946.
