Why did Roosevelt win the 1932 presidential election

Roosevelt won because the majority of the people of America voted for him.

There are many reasons why they voted for Roosevelt instead of Hoover.In 1928 there was a presidential election. Herbert Hoover was a republican candidate. Nobody doubted the republicans could ever lose again seeming as the American economy was still booming from 'the roaring 20's'.The American economy was growing rapidly and businesses were booming.

Many people saw this as a brilliant chance to invest in the stock market and as a quick and easy way to get rich. In 1920 there had been only 4 million shareholders, a, by 1929 there were 20 million. Many of the new investors were speculators. This means, they borrow money and invest it into the stock market, then when its worth more they take it out, pay of their loan and have a small profit at the end of it. More and more people became speculators.

Even banks got involved in speculation and they were holding nothing back. In 1929 American banks lent out 9 billion dollars for speculation. The demand for shares had risen dramatically. The prices of shares were rising at an unheard-of rate. This means that people have to be confident that prices will keep going up so there will be more buyers than sellers, however if people are not confident in the prices increasing then all of a sudden there will be more sellers and .

.. crash, the whole structure will come down. This is exactly what happened in 1929.The impact of the Wall Street crash caused many people to lose a lot of money.

The rich lost the most because they had invested the most. The speculators lost most of their money, and so they couldn't pay the banks back, so the banks went bankrupt.President Hoover reassured the nation that "prosperity was just around the corner". However the worst of the depression was "just around the corner" because the crash had destroyed the one thing that was crucial to prosperity in the 20's: confidence. In 1929, 659 banks failed which meant people stopped trusting them and many withdrew their savings. In 1930 another 1352 banks went bankrupt.

To make matters worse, in 1931 the European banks saw escalating problems. Panic set in. A billion dollars was withdrawn around the country. People felt that hard currency was the only security. Another 2294 banks went under in 1931.All the while Hoover talked optimistically about the return of prosperity.

This was constantly worsening his image and many people lost faith in Hoover as he sat idly by, doing nothing to help the country. They now kept their money instead of buying goods or shares and the downward spiral had set in.People stopped buying goods so company's went bankrupt and layed off workers. The average wage in the America went down by a staggering 60% causing people to spend even less. This was the downward spiral that had been firmly established.

Many people were fed up. They had no power any more. They could do nothing with the wages they received. Many people looked to the government for an answer or more specifically, Hoover.

However Hoover did nothing. The only thing he did do was cut taxes a little to try and regain a little production. But the depression was too far in. Farmers of America were furious, as they had no money to pay for their mortgages. Banks had to evict them because they were not paying.

And eventually the sheriffs had to get them out. Which forced them to live on the road picking up work wherever they can find it."Farmers are just ready to do anything to get even with the situation. I almost hate tom admit it, but I honestly belive that if some of them could buy airplanes they would come down here to washigton to blow you fellows up ..

."President of the Farmers Union of Wisconsin, AN young, speaking to a senate committee in 1932.Obviously Hoover's image was bad and wasn't getting any better. Iowa farmers said "In Hoover we trusted and now were busted".Hoover believed in self help and rugged individualism. Hoover was regarded as the "do nothing president".

This was not entirely true. He did try tax cuts and urged business leaders to not cut wages. He set up a reconstruction Finance Company which propped up banks to stop them going bankrupt. He also tried to encourage the US export trade, although without much success.

Hoover, however, and many other republicans where still reluctant to change their basic policies. They blamed the weakness in the economy in Europe for the depression and said that businesses should be left alone to bring back prosperity. They argued government help was not needed.Even more damaging to Hoover's reputation, was how little he tried to help those who are suffering because of the depression. He believed that help should be provided by local charities or the local government.

The republicans believed that if they helped people, they would become less independent and less willing to work.Hoover appeared to be heartless and indifferent to the suffering American people.And to make matters even worse. In 1932, thousands of servicemen who had thought in the world war marched on Washington asking for their war bonuses to be paid early. How did Hoover react? The bonus marchers were accused of being communists and criminals. They were dispersed by troops armed with machine guns, tanks and tear gas.

During all this 2 babies were killed. Hoover thanked god America still knew how to deal with a mob. For many people, the government had lost all sense of proportion.The mayor of New York was the complete opposite of Hoover.

Hoover appeared uncaring; he believed in self help far too much, his image was tough and unsympathetic. On the other hand you got Roosevelt, he appeared energetic, had a positive image, he was aware of peoples problems and he believed the government should help.Roosevelt was a candidate for the 1932 presidential election. Roosevelt knew that he would probably win with Hoover being so unpopular around those times, but Roosevelt took no chances.

He went on a grand train tour of the USA in the weeks before the election and mercilessly attacked the attitude of Hoover and the republicans. This was further strengthening his reputation and making Hoover's reputation even worse."Millions of our citizens cherish the hope that their old standards of living have not gone forever. Those millions shall not hope in vain. I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign; it is a call to arms.

Give me your help, not to win votes alone, but to win this crusade to restore America... I' am waging a war against destruction, delay, deceit and despair...

"Roosevelt's pre election speech, 1932.Roosevelt already had plans to spend public money on getting people back to work. As governor of New York he had already started doing this in his own state. He was not afraid to ask for advice on important issues from a wide range of experts as factory owners, union leaders or economists.

This all appealed to the public in this time of need.Roosevelt won the election easily. I think it was because he was an energetic man, he was determined. He had policies that would appeal to the people. He helped people get back to work. He helped the poor.

He went on a grand train tour of the country gaining favour across the states all of which strengthened his reputation. The opponent, Hoover. Already had a very bad reputation, he had done hardly anything for the people of America and he had delt with the war campaigners mercilessly. He had most of the contry against him and people were getting fed up of him doing nothing about the depression.

"A chinaman or a monkey could have won the election".1932 quoteThis quote tells us that people were fed up of him and just wanted him out of Washington. Hoover believed in rugged individualism too much. This may have been suitable before the depression because people were confidant and happy in the stock market and banks. But when the depression came along his beliefs were of no use the American people and people voted him out because of it.