How far was Roosevelt himself responsible for his election victory in 1932? Explain your answer.

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HISTORY I.G.C.S.E – COURSEWORK 2

How far was Roosevelt himself responsible for his election victory in 1932? Explain your answer.

        The Great Depression brought an end to the era of Republican dominance, as Herbert Clark Hoover was overwhelmed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt from the Democratic Party in the 1932 election. Franklin Delano Roosevelt won complete favour in this election, which gave him 57.4 percent of the total vote. About 22 million people voted for him while Hoover only received votes little less than 16 million. He won 472 out of the total 531 electoral votes. There are many reasons as to why Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the election in a vast majority.

The upbringing, background and character of the two candidates were very different. Herbert Hoover was orphaned at the age of eight. He studied mine engineering and worked as a gold miner after graduation. Gradually, he was promoted and traveled around the world working as a mining engineer. By the age of 40 he was a multi-millionaire. Roosevelt on the other hand came from a rich family. He was brought up and educated at home and was pampered by his mother. He became a Senator in 1910 but in 1921, Roosevelt caught polio which shattered his political career. He gradually recovered and came back on track in 1928, successfully becoming the Governor of New York State. Roosevelt was given comfort and luxury from the day he was born whereas Hoover was a self-made multi-millionaire. The only similarity between the two is that they both went through a time in their life when they were equal to the ordinary people; Hoover who was poor, and Roosevelt who suffered polio. ‘Why did Franklin Delano Roosevelt win in such a vast majority?’ is a question which needs to be asked.  

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        In many ways, Roosevelt himself was responsible for winning the election in 1932.When he was the Governor of New York, he believed his main task was to ‘make life better for ordinary Americans’. He wanted to help the farmers and the unemployed and to provide old age pensions. He always fulfilled his promises to the people. He said in a radio broadcast, “These unhappy times call for the building of plans…. that put their faith once more in the forgotten man at the bottom of the economic pyramid”. ‘The forgotten man’ were the laborers. If they did not work, ...

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