United States presidential election, 1936
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. 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 [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."[1]
Democrats said Roosevel had restored prosperity to agriculture and business, and provided hope and relief for people business refused to hire.
General election
Roosevelt scored a tremendous landslide, carrying all but two small states and pulling the entre Democratic ticket to victory in most states.
| 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 |
See also
Further reading
- Allswang, John M. New Deal and American Politics (1978), statistical analysis of votes
- Jensen, Richard. "The Last Party System: Decay of Consensus, 1932-1980," in The Evolution of American Electoral Systems (Paul Kleppner et al. eds.) (1981) pp 219-225,
- Ladd Jr., Everett Carll with Charles D. Hadley. Transformations of the American Party System: Political Coalitions from the New Deal to the 1970s (2nd ed. 1978).
- McCoy, Donald. Landon of Kansas (1966)
- Sundquist, James L. Dynamics of the Party System: Alignment and Realignment of Political Parties in the United States, (1983)
References
- ↑ 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.
