The Victor

There was one thing that Franklin Delano Roosevelt did more than every other person in the United States of America: win the presidential election. FDR ran four times and was elected every time.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

But what made FDR such an appealing candidate?

Let’s begin with his first election. In 1932, the United States had sunk into the Great Depression. The incumbent president Herbert Hoover, as discussed in an earlier post, had not been able to fix the problem during his days in office. The struggling nation looked for a solution to the problem elsewhere. FDR was a promising figure in the dark days and reached out to the crowd with a catchy campaign tune. “Happy Days are Here Again” from the 1930 musical Chasing Rainbows became his motto (and eventually the unofficial song of the Democratic Party). Combined with the appeal of the “New Deal” policies, FDR was the savior that the people of America desired.

Mostly importantly, once FDR achieved office and his New Deal was set in motion, it did appear that happy days were around again. His first term did wonders for the economy and many unemployed were back at work. Prosperity was creeping back, but the people of America were certainly appreciative.

From that point onward, FDR didn’t have any official slogans for his campaigns. In his case, actions spoke louder than words. For the second campaign, the Democratic Party used “remember Hoover” as a way to discourage the public from voting for the Republicans again. This reinforced the connection between FDR and “happy days.”

The third term for FDR was not originally planned. The president originally intended on retiring due to his weakening health condition, yet told his party that if the war in Europe were to escalate dramatically, he would run. When the Nazi Blitzkrieg operations began, FDR was persuaded into running. This campaign focused in part in rejecting the claims of the opponent. The president was under fire for being the first to ever have a solid chance at obtaining a third consecutive term. His opponent Wendell Willkie had created numerous anti-third term slogans as shown in the pictures below. The Democratic Party pushed back with “Better a Third Term.”

 

(Image courtesy of Oldpoliticals.com)

The fourth campaign for FDR was particularly taxing. His health continued to weaken while World War 2 raged on. The nation was in no situation to dawdle about petty politics. There was a war going on and something had to be done about it. Roosevelt supporters gathered around the old idea of “don’t swap horses midstream” as they pushed FDR into his fourth term.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt holds the record for the most terms as president. Furthermore, he is regarded as one of the nation’s best leaders. Perhaps the most significant aspect is that FDR didn’t need fancy catchy slogans to win presidency. After leading the nation through the Great Depression and the majority of World War 2, FDR’s dedication to the people, to the common man, shows that actions truly speak louder than words.

Thank you all for reading my blog this semester. There is a very good chance that I will continue this in the spring as I have only made it to the 1940’s. Thanks!

History is Written By the Victors

I know that this week there is no post "due," but I feel like writing one anyways. This post will be briefer than most of the others (after finishing the post, it's just as long as the others) and will be talking about the opposition slogans to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1936 and 1940 presidential races. Because FDR is so well known and won both elections by landslide, these opposition candidates are rarely recognized.

Following the Great Depression and the disastrous reelection campaign for Hoover, the Republican Party sought out a new candidate to gather behind. The final choice was Alfred Landon, governor of Kansas.

By the time the campaigns began for this election, FDR had proven himself a highly functional and effective president. His efforts to help resolve the economic problems of America were working, but not all people agreed that they were the best ways to do it. As a result, the Republicans' campaign focused on two points: the New Deal was bad and "Alf" Landon was good.

The most popular and well known anti-New Deal slogan is "Let's Get Another Deck!" A play on words ("deal" as in dealer/card hand), the slogan was essentially saying, "we don't like what's going on. Let's try something else." This is deeply rooted in the concept of gambling. When a certain game is unfavorable, it is possible that there is some card trickery going on. The best way to get rid of any issues is to get a new deck of cards.

License plate bearing Landon's slogan (source)

Landon's campaign also promoted the candidate heavily. Perhaps the best known example of this is "Life, Liberty, Landon." The alliteration makes this slogan quite appealing. Additionally, it references the Declaration of Independence's "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" suggesting that Landon will bring about happiness.

Unfortunately for Landon, his efforts were in vain and he was defeated by landslide. Landon only managed to secure two states (he didn't even get his home state of Kansas).

Fast-forward four years and the Republican Party is looking for another candidate yet again. This time Wendell Willkie was chosen. Surprisingly enough, Willkie was a Democrat only a year prior. With many similar views to Roosevelt on the World War 2 situation, Willkie's campaign was centered on attacking Roosevelt. "Roosevelt for ex-president," "There is no indispensable man," and "No fourth term either" were the most popular cheers of the Republican camp. It seems by this point, the focus lay on getting FDR out of office. But, as we all know, Willkie lost this race and FDR went into his third term (and eventually a fourth). However, it is interesting to point out that Willkie, following his defeat, endorsed the actions of President Roosevelt, ultimately bringing the nation closer together in the time of war.

Who but Hoover?

You may know Hebert Hoover as the President that resided over the Great Depression (or the namesake of the Hoover Dam). He is arguably one of the most infamous of presidents for reasons that are not directly his fault.

In 1928, when Herbert Hoover started his campaign for presidency, the people of America were enjoying the prosperity of the Roaring Twenties. Hoover saw this and built his platform around spreading wealth and eradicating poverty. This was a solid stance for Hoover to take as his previous office was Secretary of Commerce and he had done his job well. The Hoover campaign had a catchy tagline of “Who but Hoover?” This tag was branded on everything of the campaign. From buttons to posters, Hoover’s face challenged people to come up with reasons why another candidate would be a better choice. Under the promise of “a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage,” Hoover attracted the public garnering 58 percent of the public vote.

1928 campaign button (image courtesy of Tidewater Community College)

This slogan and campaign promise were designed for the people. When the nation’s economy is strong, it makes sense to promise to spread the wealth to the people. While the current appreciation for chickens and cars isn’t the highest, such goods were much less readily available in the 1920’s and were signs of the middle and upper classes. Hoover’s reputation as head of the Food Administration (wartime organization in charge of rationing) and the American Relief Administration (provided food to post-war central Europe) showed that he was more than capable of providing for the needy.

However, Hoover’s bubbly optimism was popped only eight months into his presidency. The stock market crashed and plunged the United States of America into what would become known as the Great Depression. Many people pinned the blame on the unfortunate Hoover (Hoover-villes) while opposing political parties attacked the Republicans of faulty policies. Circumstances such as these made Hoover’s reelection campaign in 1932 a nightmare. He attempted to recapture the optimism of his first campaign by proclaiming that “We are turning the corner!” The past three years of attempts to bring America out of the Great Depression did not impress the American public. The desperate bid for an extension to fix the economy was ignored by the people for the words of the Democratic candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt (“Happy days are here again”).

Hoover’s bad luck did not end with his crushing defeat in 1932. His name had become synonymous with the Depression. When FDR ran for reelection, the Republican Party ran an aggressive campaign against him. Despite all their efforts, the Republican candidate, Alfred Landon, was defeated by Roosevelt who had asked the American people to “remember Hoover.”

Hoover’s involvement in the presidential races showed that credentials make a large difference in winning elections, but any failures in administration can destroy the reputation of an entire political party.