The U.S. Presidential Elections of 1932 and 2008

The Economy and National Morale

Gurtej Singh

Context

A crowd gathers on wall street after the 1929 crash.

Former President George W. Bush

The Candidates:Herbert Hoover

• Incumbent President

• Nominated at Republican Convention on the first ballot with 98% of the vote.

• Wanted to stay the course

• Depended on volunteers to get through the Depression

Running Mate:Charles Curtis

• Served as Vice President during Herbert Hoover's first term in office

• Received 55% of delegate votes at Republican Convention

The Candidates:Franklin Roosevelt

• Former governor of New York

• Wanted extensive financial and banking reform

• Flew to Chicago to accept Democratic nomination in person

Roosevelt's Illness

• Roosevelt suffered from infantile paralysis in 1921

• Kept his weak physical condition secret from the public

One of the few pictures available of Roosevelt in a wheelchair

Running Mate:John Nance Garner

• Also known as “Cactus Jack”

• Originally an opponent to Roosevelt for the nomination

• Made a deal to be Vice-President

The Candidates:Barrack Obama

• Democratic Candidate

• Senator from Illinois

• Had a bitter primary campaign with Hillary Clinton

Running Mate:Joe Biden

• Democratic Senator from Delaware

• Originally ran against Obama for nomination but did not win enough primaries

The Candidates:John McCain

• Republican Candidate

• Senator from Arizona

• Previously ignored by pundits during summer of 2007 for faltering campaign

Running Mate:Sarah Palin

• Governor of Alaska

• Aimed to be first female Vice-President

• Attracted large crowds

• Lampooned by Tina Fey

Democratic Policies• 1932

• “competitive” tariff

• “sound” currency

• Financial and banking reform

• Reduction of federal spending and a balanced budget

2008

$500 tax credit to low/middle class

Requiring new government spending to be paid for by revenue increases or cuts in other programs

Providing other immediate tax cuts

Creating a $10 billion fund to help homeowners avoid foreclosure

Republican Policies• 1932

• Minimal government involvement

• Sharp cutbacks in spending

• High tariffs

• Gold standard

• Curb immigration

• Participate in an international monetary conference

• 2008• Stopping excessive

borrowing • by the federal

government,• supplementing Social

Security with personal accounts,

• Adding and maintaining many tax cuts

• Such as President Bush's tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers

1932 Campaign• Roosevelt and Hoover traveled

across the country

• Attempted to look like champions of common man

• Hoover was met with overwhelming disdain

• Roosevelt was embraced my large crowds

2008 Campaign• Obama included themes of hope

and change in his campaign

• Attracted 100,000 supporters at a rally in St. Louis, MO

• McCain participated in town hall meetings across the counry

• A handful of people became heated in their criticisms of Obama at the meetings

Roosevelt's Nomination

Hoover on the Campain Trail

Winners

1932

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

2008

President Barrack Hussein Obama

Works CitedElection of 1932.” U-S-History.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h894.html>.Kangas, Steve. “Timelines of the Great Depression.” HyperHistory Online. World History Online, n.d. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/connections_n2/great_depression.html>."United States Presidential Election of 2008." Encyclopædia Britannica.Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, 2010. Web. 14 Jan. 2010  <http://www.library.eb.com/eb/article-9444175>. “United States presidential election, 1932.” AbsoluteAstronomy.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/United_States_presidential_election,_1932>.Ydstie, John. “2008 Election Issues: Economy.” NPR. N.p., 2010. Web. 31 Jan. 2010. <http://www.npr.org/news/specials/election2008/issues/economy.html>.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Crowd_outside_nyse.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Official_painting_of_George_W._Bush.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HerbertHoover.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Curtis-portrait.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FDR_in_1933.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rooseveltinwheelchair.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Nance_Garner.jpghttp://www.library.eb.com/eb/art-101288/Barack-Obamahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_official_portrait_crop.jpghttp://www.library.eb.com/eb/art-101279/John-McCain-2007http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sarah_Palin_portrait.jpghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV2jCJRkJSAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbkMh-XcY88http://www.library.eb.com/eb/art-67684/Results-of-the-American-presidential-election-1932-Presidential-Candidate-Politicalhttp://www.library.eb.com/eb/art-120764/Results-of-the-American-presidential-election-2008