Difference between revisions of "United States presidential election, 1936"
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The Republicans adopted a platform which did not differ much from the Democratic platform of 1932. When accused of stealing the Democratic platform of 1932, the Republicans replied "Why not? The Democrats have no more use for it. Moreover it is in perfectly good condition, it was never used." Their chief reliance was upon the charge that the President had usurped the powers of Congress, attacked the integrity of the courts, invaded the constitutional prerogatives of the states, attempted to substitute [[corporatism]] and [[economic planning]] for free enterprise, forced through Congress [[unconstitutional]] laws, filled a [[New Deal agencies|vast array of bureaus]] with swarms of bureaucrats to harass the people and breed fear in commerce and industry, discourage new enterprises and thus prolong the depression, had used relief to corrupt and intimidate the voters and made appeals to [[class warfare]] to inflame the people and create dangerous divisions. One contemporary observer recorded, "the President was supported loyally by many men who, far from melting under his charm, hated him."<ref>The Roosevelt Myth, John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Ch. 8.</ref> | The Republicans adopted a platform which did not differ much from the Democratic platform of 1932. When accused of stealing the Democratic platform of 1932, the Republicans replied "Why not? The Democrats have no more use for it. Moreover it is in perfectly good condition, it was never used." Their chief reliance was upon the charge that the President had usurped the powers of Congress, attacked the integrity of the courts, invaded the constitutional prerogatives of the states, attempted to substitute [[corporatism]] and [[economic planning]] for free enterprise, forced through Congress [[unconstitutional]] laws, filled a [[New Deal agencies|vast array of bureaus]] with swarms of bureaucrats to harass the people and breed fear in commerce and industry, discourage new enterprises and thus prolong the depression, had used relief to corrupt and intimidate the voters and made appeals to [[class warfare]] to inflame the people and create dangerous divisions. One contemporary observer recorded, "the President was supported loyally by many men who, far from melting under his charm, hated him."<ref>The Roosevelt Myth, John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Ch. 8.</ref> | ||
| − | Roosevelt's victory was due to government spending. During his first term Congress | + | Roosevelt's victory was due to government spending. During his first term Congress abrograted its power by granting Roosevelt a blank check amounting to nearly 20 billion dollars with which he was able to gratify the appetites of vast groups of people in every county in America, not merely the poor and disconsolate victims of the depression, but the long deferred ambitions of every town, county, city and state for expensive and even grandiose projects otherwise hopelessly out of their reach. Private campaign funds spent on past elections were miniscule compared with the billions of dollars in government funds President Roosevelt could dispense over the course of a single year. Spending enabled Roosevelt to engage in a succession of social and economic experiments, which had the appearance of great daring and captivated the imagination of many young people. |
Revision as of 21:44, July 28, 2007
When the election of 1936 came about, some of President Frankin Roosevelt's programs remained popular. Although the depression dragged on unemployment had been lowered and banks were far more secure. [1] Father Coughlin, who had extolled Roosevelt in the first term as a great leader, now denounced him as a liar.
The Republicans adopted a platform which did not differ much from the Democratic platform of 1932. When accused of stealing the Democratic platform of 1932, the Republicans replied "Why not? The Democrats have no more use for it. Moreover it is in perfectly good condition, it was never used." Their chief reliance was upon the charge that the President had usurped the powers of Congress, attacked the integrity of the courts, invaded the constitutional prerogatives of the states, attempted to substitute corporatism and economic planning for free enterprise, forced through Congress unconstitutional laws, filled a vast array of bureaus with swarms of bureaucrats to harass the people and breed fear in commerce and industry, discourage new enterprises and thus prolong the depression, had used relief to corrupt and intimidate the voters and made appeals to class warfare to inflame the people and create dangerous divisions. One contemporary observer recorded, "the President was supported loyally by many men who, far from melting under his charm, hated him."[2]
Roosevelt's victory was due to government spending. During his first term Congress abrograted its power by granting Roosevelt a blank check amounting to nearly 20 billion dollars with which he was able to gratify the appetites of vast groups of people in every county in America, not merely the poor and disconsolate victims of the depression, but the long deferred ambitions of every town, county, city and state for expensive and even grandiose projects otherwise hopelessly out of their reach. Private campaign funds spent on past elections were miniscule compared with the billions of dollars in government funds President Roosevelt could dispense over the course of a single year. Spending enabled Roosevelt to engage in a succession of social and economic experiments, which had the appearance of great daring and captivated the imagination of many young people.
| candidates | popular vote | electoral vote |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin D. Roosevelt | 27, 752, 869 | 523 |
| Alfred M. Landon | 16, 674, 665 | 8 |
| William Lemke | 882, 479 | 0 |
| Norman Thomas | 187, 720 | 0 |
| Earl Browder | 80, 159 | |
| D. Leigh Colvin | 37, 847 | 0 |
References
- ↑ Encyclopedia of Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, by Alice Osinski, Children's Press, 1987, p. 58.
- ↑ The Roosevelt Myth, John T. Flynn, Fox and Wilkes, 1948, Book 1, Ch. 8.
- ↑ A Pictoral History of the U.S. Presidents, by Clare Gibson, Gramercy Books, 2001, p. 124.
