By , millions of people across the country were condemning Hoover and the Republican Party. This trend of disapproval, which led to a landslide win for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was evident in Seattle.
Looking into the views of such widely circulated public propaganda shows how desperate the nation was for a change of leadership. Before delving into the election and the Seattle newspapers, it is crucial to first understand the climate of the country before the election, which was the driving force in the overwhelming Democratic Party victory. Not only did the people of the country feel the strain of the Depression in almost all areas of life but they also felt a strain from the inadequacy of government efforts to save the country.
The climate in America at the time the Republican National Convention met on June 14, , made the nomination decision a difficult one. Despite his seemingly disastrous first term, Hoover felt obligated to run again to vindicate himself and his policies.
Republicans also felt his nomination was necessary, not because of their belief in his policies or the President in general, but because denying his re-nomination would be admitting failure.
Therefore, by the time the convention had concluded on June 16, Hoover and his Vice-President Charles Curtis had been re-nominated. The Democrats, on the other hand, were in an excellent position to take the presidency.
Roosevelt was the frontrunner and finally, after much deliberation, was nominated to run for the next president of the United States alongside running mate John Garner. He campaign hard despite media expectations that the battle was, for the most part, already won. The violent expulsion of the Bonus Marchers, peaceful veterans who had served their country, gave the public one more reason to prefer the charismatic Roosevelt.
The landslide victory in November of for the Democratic Party,--which won Roosevelt 42 states and 57 percent of the popular vote-- was mirrored in the state of Washington, where votes for the Democratic candidates tallied well over 57 percent. The use of headlines, rhetoric and diction in the articles was a powerful tool of support for Roosevelt and opens a window into the mind of Seattleites during the election.
The Seattle Daily Times had long been Seattle's most conservative newspaper, but in it joined the other dailies in supporting the Democrat candidate. While the paper was indeed reporting the news from the Republican convention, it showed its lack of excitement in its word choice, leaving the news lame and uninteresting. Roosevelt accepting the Democratic nomination for the Presidency rings out over the country with the full clear tone of an unmistakable sincerity and a lofty purpose. This Nation asks for action, and action now… We must act and act quickly.
The speech was broadcast live nationally. While Calvin Coolidge was the first president whose inaugural address was heard on the radio in , by the time FDR took office millions more Americans had radios. Arthur Mallon started working in when he was 14 years old after the death of his father.
He was lucky to have various jobs during the Depression years to help support his family and may even have benefitted from some of the New Deal programs to employ young men.
Mallon joined the Army in , was trained as a medic, and eventually assigned to England where he cared for troops injured in Europe. Demobilized in , he returned to his sales job and raised a family in the New York area. Even later in life after he became a Republican, he retained his regard for FDR.
Stars of the Stage, Screen and Radio for Gov. Roosevelt, Democratic Nominee, October 16, During his almost 9,mile cross-country campaign trip by train, FDR traveled along the California coast to Los Angeles. On September 24, , he spent a long day among cheering crowds, with a parade — viewed by , people — lunch, and finally an afternoon speech at the famous Hollywood Bowl.
Robinson to support the Democratic ticket in the election and those that followed. The disease paralyzed his legs and he never walked again. He was fitted with crutches and steel braces and used a wheel chair in private. He underwent physical therapy and sought a cure in the waters of Warm Springs, Georgia, but experienced no improvement. By the time FDR ran for president he had learned how to move — to appear to be walking — without using crutches.
He would firmly link arms with his oldest son James, or an aide, for support on one side of his body, and then used a cane in his free hand. With the muscles he had developed on his powerful torso, he was able to swing his legs, which were rigidly encased in his steel braces. While FDR was known by most Americans to be crippled, the severity of it was hidden.
From the very first days of his illness, his family, friends, and staff assisted in disguising the extent of his disability. At a time when physical weakness was often perceived as mental weakness too, a political career would have been out of the question without this strategy. FDR was not only known for his cane but also for his cigarette holders.
Like many men of his generation he was a heavy smoker, consuming at least a pack a day. This is one of several holders that he owned and used and is believed to be the one he is holding in this photograph. The holder and its cushioned leather case are both quite worn and show heavy use.
In contrast to his smoking, FDR drank in moderation, favoring martinis before dinner. But Dawson soon seized an opportunity extended by his one-time opponents.
Working with Democratic mayoral incumbent Ed Kelly, Dawson changed parties and became Democratic committeeman in the Second Ward, clearing a path to succeed Mitchell upon his retirement from the House in Additionally, black voters nationwide began leaving the Republican Party because of the growing perception that local Democratic organizations better represented their interests. Local patronage positions and nationally administered emergency relief programs in Depression-era Chicago and other cities, for instance, proved crucial in attracting African-American support.
For those who had been marginalized or ignored for so long, even the largely symbolic efforts of the Roosevelt administration inspired hope and renewed interest in the political process. As the older generation of black voters disappeared, the Democratic machines that dominated northern city wards courted the next generation of black voters.
By only 28 percent of African Americans nationally voted for Republican nominee Alf Landon—less than half the number who had voted for Hoover just four years before. Including Oscar De Priest, just nine black Republicans were elected to Congress between and —about 7 percent of the African Americans to serve in that time span. Despite the growing support from black voters, President Franklin D. Roosevelt remained aloof and ambivalent about black civil rights. His economic policies depended on the support of southern congressional leaders, and FDR refused to risk that support by challenging segregation in the South.
This required a close working relationship with Congresses dominated by racially conservative southern Democrats, including several Speakers and most of the chairmen of key committees. That same year an anti-lynching bill passed the U. House, but died in the Senate. The failure to pass anti-lynching legislation underscored the limitations of reform under FDR. Moreover, Mitchell introduced his own anti-lynching bill in the 74th Congress — , which critics assailed as weak for providing far more lenient sentences and containing many legal ambiguities.
Meanwhile, Mitchell waged a public relations blitz on behalf of his bill, including a national radio broadcast. Instead, Southerners in the Senate effectively buried it in early by blocking efforts to bring it to an up-or-down vote on the floor.
Importantly, it revealed that African-American Members and outside advocacy groups sometimes worked at cross-purposes, confounding civil rights supporters in Congress and providing opponents a wedge for blocking legislation.
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