Free taster
5 of 6 sections open
Setting the Scene
📖 Setting the Scene
The 1932 election was a battle between two completely different visions. Herbert Hoover, the sitting President, believed in "rugged individualism": the idea that government shouldn't help people directly and that Americans should help themselves. But after three years of Depression, 25% unemployment, and "Hoovervilles," Americans were ready for something different. Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a "New Deal", government action to save the economy. He won in a landslide: 472 electoral votes to 59.
Figure 1: FDR's 1932 presidential campaign, fireside chats and Depression breadlines
⭐ The Bonus Army Disaster (summer 1932)
This single event destroyed Hoover's reputation:
Earn the mark scheme marks
🧠 Memory Aid: Why FDR Won, BAND
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, July 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.
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 12
How many electoral votes did Franklin D. Roosevelt win in the 1932 presidential election?
Tap an answer to check it