When Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for president the first time in 1932, the U.S. was in the depths of the Great Depression, and many Americans had lost faith in the ability of the president to help them. Some even questioned the democratic process itself. The nation was on the brink of chaos. FDR’s optimism, energy, and promises of vast government action to end the Depression cut through the despair and gave Americans hope.
That hope was rewarded during FDR’s first term, when his New Deal programs brought relief, recovery, and reform to banking, finance, big business, labor unions, farmers, and more. The Depression was not over, but FDR had put a dent in it that made Americans see a light at the end of the tunnel of economic hardship. When he ran for re-election in 1936, another landslide victory seemed to be in the bag.
How did the presidential election of 1936 go? Find out by watching this video.
FDR knew he did not have to campaign very hard, but he did it anyway. He was just as energetic on the road in 1936 as he had been in 1932. Here he is in Charlotte, North Carolina. Everywhere he went, FDR reminded people of the progress the nation had made under his leadership. “You look happier than you did four years ago,” he said to one crowd, which roared back its agreement. This election poster in Manchester, New Hampshire says the United Textile Workers union supports Roosevelt and his vice-president, John Garner: “They do not forget their friends.” This Yiddish newspaper, the Forward, tells its Jewish immigrant readers to vote for FDR. The landslide victory came on November 3, 1936, when FDR won the Electoral College vote 523-8. This photo shows Alf Landon, the Republican candidate for president in 1936, going to the White House to meet with the president after Landon’s defeat. Even he is smiling and seems happy about FDR’s win! FDR began his second term ready to get to work continuing the New Deal and his attack on the Great Depression.
FDR enjoyed his victory and the mandate, or permission to continue his policies, that it seemed to give him. But within a year, his presidency was in trouble, and that trouble only got worse as his second term progressed. Why did the nation go from mandate to mistrust when it came to this president? In this lesson, you’ll find out.
Question
Why did Americans support FDR so enthusiastically?
