United States presidential election of 1932, American presidential election held on Nov. 8, 1932, in which Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Republican Pres. Herbert Hoover. The 1932 election was the first held during the Great Depression, and it represented a dramatic shift in the political alignment of the country. Republicans had dominated the presidency for almost the entire period from 1860, save two terms each won by Grover Cleveland and by Woodrow Wilson (who benefited from a split in the Republican Party in 1912). And even in 1928 Hoover had crushed Democrat Alfred E. Smith, winning 444 electoral votes to Smith’s 87. Roosevelt’s victory would be the first of five successive Democratic presidential wins.
New Deal pin
Franklin D. Roosevelt New Deal pin, 1932.
Collection of David J. and Janice L. Frent
In the four months between the election and Roosevelt’s inauguration, Hoover sought Roosevelt’s cooperation in stemming the deepening economic crisis. But the two were unable to find common ground, as Roosevelt refused to subscribe to Hoover’s proposals, which Hoover himself admitted would mean “the abandonment of 90 percent of the so-called new deal.” As a result, the economy continued to decline. By inauguration day—March 4, 1933—most banks had shut down, industrial production had fallen to just 56 percent of its 1929 level, at least 13 million wage earners were unemployed, and farmers were in desperate straits. In his inaugural address Roosevelt promised prompt, decisive action, and he conveyed some of his own unshakable self-confidence to millions of Americans listening on radios throughout the land. “This great nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and prosper,” he asserted, adding, “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1928. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1936.
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Results of the 1932 election
The results of the 1932 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.
American presidential election, 1932
presidential candidate political party electoral votes popular votes
Source: Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Franklin D. Roosevelt Democratic 472 22,821,857
Herbert Hoover Republican 59 15,761,841
Norman Thomas Socialist 884,781
William Z. Foster Communist 102,991
William D. Upshaw Prohibition 81,869
William H. Harvey Liberty 53,425
Verne L. Reynolds Socialist Labor 33,276
This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Levy.
Norman Thomas
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Norman Thomas
American politician
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Norman Thomas, (born Nov. 20, 1884, Marion, Ohio, U.S.—died Dec. 19, 1968, Huntington, N.Y.), American socialist, social reformer, and frequent candidate for political office.
Thomas, Norman
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Born: November 20, 1884 Marion Ohio
Died: December 19, 1968 (aged 84) Huntington New York
Founder: American Civil Liberties Union
Political Affiliation: Socialist Party
Following his graduation from Union Theological Seminary, New York City, about 1911, Thomas accepted the pastorate of the East Harlem Church and the chairmanship of the American Parish, a settlement house in one of the poorest sections of New York City. He became a pacifist and opposed U.S. participation in World War I. Then, in 1918 Thomas joined the Socialist Party, and, leaving his East Harlem posts the same year, was appointed secretary of the newly formed Fellowship of Reconciliation, an international pacifist organization. In 1921 he became associate editor of the influential liberal weekly The Nation, and the following year he was made executive codirector of the League for Industrial Democracy—a position he held for more than 10 years. He was also one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Thomas ran for governor of New York on the Socialist Party ticket in 1924; he ran for mayor of New York City twice (1925, 1929) and for president of the United States in six successive elections beginning in 1928. He was generally critical of the Democratic New Deal administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, holding that it stressed solution of economic emergencies to the neglect of moral issues.
In 1935 Thomas severed his connection with the New Leader, a magazine then dominated by the Marxist “Old Guard” of the Socialist Party, and supported the newly founded Socialist Call. This internal factionalism, added to