The Assassination of Herbert Hoover

Interesting Installment on the actual presidency of Curtis...Can't wait to see how the 36 election turns out, and it will be interesting if Curtis decides 2 run for a second term...However, anway that we can have FDR and Hoover on stage together, possibly in a debate, during the campaign where both of them are killed by the dynamite?And That way we have President Curtis running against Garner of all people?
 
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.




First of all, what happened to the Bonus Army March in D.C during that summer? Did you overlooked that? Secondly, Charles Curtis would have several things going against him: 1. He would would 72 years old, at ths point he would be the oldest person to ever become president-a full 22 years older than FDR. So age,as well as health, would be a issue concerning him. 2. He was half Kansa Indian so technically he would be the first non-white president. The KKK were still influental in other parts of the country outside the deep south. But even without the KKK bringing it up race would still be a factor. With nation's economy in the crapper-to put it mildly-the incumbent party in power will invaribly go down in defeat. Also, how well did Socialist Party candidate Norman Thomas do in this election? In OTL he got over 2% of the popular vote. And fianlly, there would be a 'sympathy bounce' in this ATL and Curtis probably would gain a few more states and a few more electoral votes in the 32 election than Hoover did but there is no way in hell that he would have been able to get 51% of the vote and defeat FDR. At the very most he would have gotten 47% of the popular vote but more realisticlly he probably would have gotten around 44% with 120 to 135 electoral votes and Roosevelt getting around 396 to 417 electoral votes. Interesting scenario but very unlikely historically.
 
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