Part II: The Election of 1932
The United States Presidential Election of 1932 would be a groundbreaking one in which for the first time, a President was assassinated during the course of an election campaign. Almost immediately following the assassination of incumbent President Herbert Hoover, panic gripped the nation, fears of revolution and civil war abounded as the country looked apprehensively to the future. Yet following the tradition of American history, the great dilemma of 1932 was met by the actions of great men.
One of those men would be none other than Vice President Charles Curtis. Following the death of Hoover, Curtis would assume the mantle of both President of the United States and the Republican candidacy for President. Curtis moved quickly in attempting to consolidate his position, nominating Former Maryland Senator Joseph France as his running mate and rallying Republican support behind him. 1932 would be an incredibly busy year for Curtis as he would enact several major pieces of legislation as well as campaign aggressively against his opponents.
Within days of the death of Herbert Hoover, Curtis made it apparent to the people that the election timetable would not be altered. “We will not let the running of our country be subject to the whims of vagrants and revolutionaries” was his statement. The months of July and August 1932 were crucial ones to the Curtis campaign, the new Republican candidate for president hit the campaign trail hard, forming a new platform of “Law, Order, and the American Way”.
Meanwhile, in Washington, the Democratic majority in Congress was forced to pass legislation initiating the “Second Red Scare” lest they be branded Communists by the resurgent Republican party. The Sedition Act of 1932 was passed by an emergency session of Congress on July 29th 1932 and marked the beginning of the Second Red Scare. This movement would be spearheaded primarily by two men, United States Attorney General William D. Mitchell, and head of the Bureau of Investigation J. Edgar Hoover. Under their leadership thousands of people were arrested and detained. The Communist and Socialist parties of the United States were outlawed and forced to go underground with their leadership arrested. Unions also came under vigorous attack during the Second Red Scare and many were broken up and disbanded.
Yet despite all this, support for the Republican party not only remained high, but continued to grow. Indeed, the assassination of Herbert Hoover had left a deep imprint on the psyche of the American people. The actions of Henry Lefferts on July 21st 1932 had alienated many Americans from the pro-socialist views many espoused as the solution to the Great Depression.
Furthermore, the actions collectively known as “The Second Red Scare” devastated the extreme left of American politics, but also served to radicalize Roosevelt as many supporters of the Socialists and Communists (those not in jail...) gravitated towards Roosevelt and his party. Despite Roosevelt’s attempts to distance himself from said radicals, an aggressive campaign by Charles Curtis coupled with intense mudslinging, and a deeply divided party would lead to the Democrat party losing momentum as the days edged nearer to Election Day.
To his credit, Franklin Roosevelt campaigned hard and by distancing himself from the left wing faction of the party managed to slow the haemorrhaging of Democratic support. Indeed had the campaign been a bit longer, Roosevelt may have been able to secure the long hoped for Democratic victory in 1932. Branded as a front for Socialistic and Revolutionary agents, Roosevelt was unable to shake the paranoia that had settled in amongst the American people in 1932. Rather than choosing the nebulous “New Deal” Americans across the country seemed to be turning to Curtis resounding message of “Law, Order, and the American Way”.
In September Maine held separate State Elections in which the Republican party won over 60% of the vote. On November 8th the rest of the Country went to the polls and made the choice between Roosevelt and Curtis. The result was an incredibly close victory for Curtis both in the Electoral College and the Popular Vote. Charles Curtis would receive 51% of the Popular vote and 271 electoral college votes to Roosevelt’s 260.
The Electoral College Results for 1932
For Curtis For Roosevelt
Maine
New York
Vermont
Virginia
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Massachusetts
South Carolina
Rhode Island
Georgia
Pennsylvania
Florida
West Virginia
Tennessee
Delaware
Mississippi
Ohio
Louisiana
Indiana
Arkansas
Illinois
Missouri
Michigan
Oklahoma
Kentucky
Texas
Iowa
Colorado
Kansas
New Mexico
Wyoming
Arizona
Utah
Nevada
California
Montana
Oregon
North Dakota
Washington
South Dakota
New Jersey
Idaho
Alabama
Despite claims of electoral fraud in several states, the general prevailing attitude within the United States prevented any such investigation from gaining momentum. Furthermore, the Democratic party actually took a slight hit in the elections within the Congress and the House of Representatives. The Republicans would win slim majorities in both houses giving Charles Curtis a firm mandate to help deal with the events of the Great Depression and the Second Red Scare.