Use Source A and your knowledge of the period to explain why people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election.

Roosevelt displays his determination to make life better in his electoral speech when he states “This is more than a political campaign: it is a call to arms.” This shows that he feels the election is no longer about earning votes and party policies anymore, the country is now at war with the Great Depression and all Americans must work together with Roosevelt to fight this war. He goes on to say he needs everyone’s help “…to win in this crusade to restore America” which emphasizes his determination to win and this gave Americans confidence that with his plan of the New Deal, they will “win”. He calls this election a “crusade to restore America” which tells us that he believes it is God’s mission for him to restore America through the idea of his New Deal which further increased Americans’ confidence in him. Roosevelt further increases his popularity when we went out and toured the country giving around 20 speeches a day and shook hands with local farmers and people who were regarded as the “forgotten men”, which gained him more support from most of the poor Americans who felt he cared about their current situation and was willing to improve their life. Roosevelt also possessed optimism when he gave his regular “Fireside Chats” and this gave many Americans the confidence to believe that he would improve their lives.  Thus, many people supported Roosevelt in the 1932 election because he possessed the optimism and dynamism to make ordinary Americans trust in him to make their current lives better.

Hoover on the other hand, was seen as a “do nothing” president. He was a poor public speaker and strictly obeyed the Republican policy of laissez-faires. After the Wall Street Crash, there was 3 years of the Depression, 3 years of Hoover’s ineptitude and 3 years of despair amongst the American people before the presidential election of 1932 and since Hoover was the current president, most, if not all, Americans hated him for being inactive during the Depression. Hoover was naively optimistic and kept promising that “Prosperity is just around the corner” and pursued the fact that the Depression was only temporary and things would get better soon. Ultimately, life did not get better for people living in poverty due to the Depression so many Americans turned against Hoover and voted for the more active and enthusiastic Roosevelt. The final straw came when Hoover had a group of Bonus Marchers killed when they asked to be paid early. This was when many Americans lost all of their faith in Hoover and therefore, voted for Roosevelt in the election.

Thus, it can be seen that there are major differences between the more active and determined Roosevelt and the “do nothing” president Hoover. Therefore, many people supported Roosevelt in the election because he was more active and promised to improve their lives which led to his landslide victory in the 1932 election.

(Word Count: 583 words)