Remember why Roosevelt won with BAND (Hoover's failures + FDR's strengths):
Hoover's failures that PUSHED voters away:
- B — Bonus Army disaster (tanks and tear gas against veterans, June 1932)
- A — Attitude of rugged individualism (refused direct relief to unemployed)
- N — Nothing seemed to work (25% unemployment, 5,000 bank failures)
- D — Distant and cold image (while families starved in Hoovervilles)
FDR's strengths that PULLED voters towards him:
- N — New Deal promise: "Relief, Recovery, Reform"
- E — Energetic personality (despite polio disability)
- W — Words of hope: "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"
- D — Direct communication (Fireside Chats on radio)
Key number: 472-59 electoral votes — FDR's landslide. FDR won 42 out of 48 states.
This memory aid covers Memory Aid: Why FDR Won — BAND within FDR and the 1932 Election for GCSE History. Revise FDR and the 1932 Election in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 12 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 9 of 12 in this topic. Use it for quick recall, then test yourself straight afterwards so the memory aid becomes usable in an answer.
Practice questions for FDR and the 1932 Election
How many electoral votes did Franklin D. Roosevelt win in the 1932 presidential election?
Which general did Hoover send to disperse the Bonus Army veterans in June 1932?