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Part I: It all happened so fast…

No one could have predicted that the Presidency of Herbert Hoover would end violently when he was elected in 1928. Riding 2 terms of Republican success, a booming economy, and facing an unpopular opponent, Hoover was elected with 58% of the popular vote. In mid 1929 he went so far as to announce that America “was on the verge of overcoming poverty”. Unfortunately for Hoover, this announcement would be premature as in October 1929 the Stock Market crashed ushering America into a deep depression.

“The Great Depression” as it came to be known, was a death knell, literally for Hoover’s presidency. Despite constant claims that “the worst was over”, things kept on getting worse for the American people, Hoover’s popularity began to plummet faster than the US economy. Though many expected Hoover to opt out of the Republican National Convention in 1932, Hoover sought re-nomination in hopes of ensuring a “sane approach” to recovery from the Great Depression. Despite attempts to replace Hoover, the incumbent President won re-nomination by a wide margin.

Having secured the Republican nomination, Hoover immediately hit the campaign trail. Yet numerous things had changed since his last attempt to be elected as president. By the Summer of 1932, Herbert Hoover was one of the most unpopular presidents to date. While on campaign he was jeered at, heckled, and frequently pelted with rocks and rotten fruit. Yet on July 21st all of Hoover’s campaigning would come to an end.

In what would later be deemed “a monumental oversight” the President’s secret service contingent, well versed in protecting the president from unhappy citizens, were distracted at a key moment during one of Hoover’s speeches in Charleston West Virginia. As Hoover explained to the people of West Virginia their choice between “Two Philosophies of Government”, a disgruntled miner Henry Lefferts, pushed his way through the crowd and despite the best efforts of the Secret Service, lobbed a lit stick of dynamite at the President.

In the end, the success of Leffert’s assassination attempt depended upon the length of the fuse. Had the disgruntled West Virginian chosen a longer fuse, Hoover would most likely have survived the attempt. However Leffert’s choices regarding his bomb were inadvertently perfect. The stick of dynamite landed directly in front of the podium and before the Secret Service could react, it exploded shattering the podium killing the President and 23 others.
News of Hoover’s death spread like wildfire throughout the country. Lefferts was promptly apprehended by the Secret Service and interrogated. It was discovered that Lefferts was not only a staunch Union supporter, but he also had ties to various Communist and Socialist groups. The backlash was intense. Many called for a state of emergency to be declared, a repeat of the infamous “Red Scare” undertaken in 1919 as well as other extreme reactionary measures.

Key to this decision would be the actions of President Charles Curtis. Despite some dissent within the Republican Party, on July 22nd 1932, Charles Curtis assumed the mantle of both President of the United States and the Republican Presidential Candidate for the 1932 election nominating Maryland Senator, Joseph France as his running mate. Curtis would begin an aggressive campaign, capitalizing on “Law and Order” policies all the while initiating a “Second Red Scare” to assuage public opinion.

Curtis was also adamant about maintaining the election schedule, Americans would head to the polls in November regardless of the events of July 21st. All told, the assassination of Herbert Hoover would have a net positive effect on the Republican campaign. The trauma of losing a president, coupled with aggressive campaigning from newcomer Charles Curtis, and a string of legislation passing through congress would see opinion polls jump in favour of the GOP. However Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt was unwilling to give up and would prove a formidable foe to the nascent Curtis campaign.

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