United States presidential election, 1928
Encyclopedia
The United States presidential election of 1928 pitted Republican
Herbert Hoover
against Democrat
Al Smith
. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, whereas Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from Anti-Catholic
prejudice, his anti-prohibitionist
stance, and the legacy of corruption of Tammany Hall
, with which he was associated. Hoover won a landslide victory.
choosing not to enter the race, the race for the nomination was wide open. The leading candidates were Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover
, former Illinois Governor Frank Orren Lowden
and Senate Majority Leader
Charles Curtis
. A draft-Coolidge movement failed to gain traction with party insiders and failed to persuade Coolidge himself.
In the few primaries that mattered, Hoover did not perform as well as expected, and it was thought that the president or Vice-President
Charles G. Dawes
might accept a draft in case of a deadlock, but Lowden withdrew just as the convention was about to start, paving the way for a Hoover victory.
The Republican Convention, held in Kansas City, Missouri
from June 12 to June 15, nominated Hoover on the first ballot. With Hoover disinclined to interfere in the selection of his running mate, the party leaders were at first partial to giving Dawes a shot at a second term, but when this information leaked, Coolidge sent an angry telegram saying that he would consider a second nomination for Dawes, whom he hated, a "personal affront." To attract votes from farmers concerned about Hoover's pro-business orientation, it was instead offered to Senator Curtis, who accepted. He was nominated overwhelmingly on the first ballot.
In his acceptance speech a week after the convention ended, Secretary Hoover said: "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of this land... We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this land."
rapidly fading, and the current state of prosperity making that year's presidential nomination not worth all that much, most of the major Democratic leaders, such as William Gibbs McAdoo
, were content to sit this one out. One who did not was New York Governor Al Smith
, who had tried twice before.
The 1928 Democratic National Convention
was held in Houston, Texas on June 26 to June 28, and Smith became the candidate on the first ballot.
The leadership asked the delegates to nominate Sen. Joseph Taylor Robinson
of Arkansas, who was in many ways Smith's political polar opposite, to be his running mate, and he was nominated for vice-president.
Smith was the first Roman Catholic to gain a major party's nomination for president, and his religion became an issue during the campaign. Many Protestants feared that Smith would take orders from church leaders in Rome in making decisions affecting the country.
Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (March 10, 2011).
was held in Chicago
from July 10 through July 12. Smith openly opposed Prohibition
. Some members of the Prohibition Party wanted to throw their support to Hoover, thinking that their candidate would not win and that they didn't want their candidate to provide the margin by which Smith would win. Nonetheless, William F. Varney
was nominated for president over Hoover by a margin of 68–45.
The election was held on November 6, 1928.
Republican candidate Herbert Hoover won election by a wide margin on pledges to continue the economic boom of the Coolidge
years. Smith won the electoral votes only of the traditionally Democratic Southern United States
and two New England
states with a large proportion of Catholic voters (Massachusetts and Rhode Island). Hoover even triumphed in Smith's home state of New York
by a narrow margin. The inroads made by the Republican ticket in the South were indeed rather stunning. Texas had never been carried by a Republican before, whereas the electoral votes of North Carolina and Virginia had not been awarded to a Republican since 1872, nor those of Florida since 1876. In all, Smith carried only six of the eleven states of the former Confederacy.
Anti-Catholicism
was a significant problem for Smith's campaign. Protestant ministers warned that he would take orders from the pope who, many Americans sincerely believed, would move to the United States to rule the country from a Washington, D.C., fortress if Smith won. According to a popular joke, after the election he sent a one-word telegram advising Pope Pius XI
to "Unpack". Beyond the conspiracy theories, a survey of 8,500 Southern Methodist Church
ministers found only four who supported Smith, and the northern Methodists, Southern Baptists, and Disciples of Christ
were similar in their opposition. Many Americans who sincerely rejected bigotry and the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan
justified their opposition to Smith on their belief that the Catholic Church as an "un-American", "alien culture" that opposed freedom and democracy.
An example was a statement issued in September 1928 by the National Lutheran Editors' and Managers' Association that opposed Smith's election. The manifesto, written by Dr. Clarence Reinhold Tappert, warned about "the peculiar relation in which a faithful Catholic stands and the absolute allegiance he owes to a 'foreign sovereign' who does not only 'claim' supremacy also in secular affairs as a matter of principle and theory but who, time and again, has endeavored to put this claim into practical operation." The Catholic Church, the manifesto asserted, was hostile to American principles of separation of church and state and of religious toleration. Smith's opposition to Prohibition, a key reform promoted by Protestants, also lost him votes, as did his association with Tammany Hall
. Because many anti-Catholics used these issues as a cover for their religious prejudices, Smith's campaign had difficulty denouncing anti-Catholicism as bigotry
without offending others who favored Prohibition or disliked Tammany's corruption.
Due to these issues, Smith lost several states that had been members of the Solid South
since Reconstruction. However, in many southern states with sizable African American populations (and where the vast majority of African Americans could not vote at the time), many believed that Hoover supported integration, or at least was not committed to maintaining segregation
, which in turn overcame opposition to Smith's campaign. During the race, Mississippi
Governor Theodore G. Bilbo
claimed that Hoover had met with a black member of the Republican National Committee
and danced with her; Hoover's campaign quickly denied the "untruthful and ignoble assertion". Smith's religion helped him with New England immigrants, which may explain his narrow victories in traditionally Republican Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as his narrow loss in New York (which previous Democratic presidential candidates lost by double digits, but which Smith only lost by 2%).
Source (Popular Vote):
Source (Electoral Vote):
History of the United States Republican Party
The United States Republican Party is the second oldest currently existing political party in the United States after its great rival, the Democratic Party. It emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act which threatened to extend slavery into the territories, and to promote more vigorous...
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
against Democrat
History of the United States Democratic Party
The history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
. The Republicans were identified with the booming economy of the 1920s, whereas Smith, a Roman Catholic, suffered politically from Anti-Catholic
Anti-Catholicism in the United States
Strong political and theological positions hostile to the Catholic Church and its followers was prominent among Protestants in Britain and Germany from the Protestant Reformation onwards. Immigrants brought them to the American colonies. Two types of anti-Catholic rhetoric existed in colonial society...
prejudice, his anti-prohibitionist
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
stance, and the legacy of corruption of Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
, with which he was associated. Hoover won a landslide victory.
Republican Party nomination
Republican candidates:- Herbert HooverHerbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, U.S. Secretary of Commerce from CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Frank Orren LowdenFrank Orren LowdenFrank Orren Lowden was a Republican Party politician from Illinois, who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representatives from Illinois...
, former governor of IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... - Charles CurtisCharles CurtisCharles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
, U.S. Senate Majority Leader from KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
Candidates gallery
With President CoolidgeCalvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
choosing not to enter the race, the race for the nomination was wide open. The leading candidates were Secretary of Commerce
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States Secretary of Commerce is the head of the United States Department of Commerce concerned with business and industry; the Department states its mission to be "to foster, promote, and develop the foreign and domestic commerce"...
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, former Illinois Governor Frank Orren Lowden
Frank Orren Lowden
Frank Orren Lowden was a Republican Party politician from Illinois, who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representatives from Illinois...
and Senate Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States Senate
The Senate Majority and Minority Leaders are two United States Senators who are elected by the party conferences that hold the majority and the minority respectively. These leaders serve as the chief Senate spokespeople for their parties and manage and schedule the legislative and executive...
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis
Charles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States...
. A draft-Coolidge movement failed to gain traction with party insiders and failed to persuade Coolidge himself.
In the few primaries that mattered, Hoover did not perform as well as expected, and it was thought that the president or Vice-President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Charles G. Dawes
Charles G. Dawes
Charles Gates Dawes was an American banker and politician who was the 30th Vice President of the United States . For his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served in the First World War, was U.S...
might accept a draft in case of a deadlock, but Lowden withdrew just as the convention was about to start, paving the way for a Hoover victory.
The Republican Convention, held in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
from June 12 to June 15, nominated Hoover on the first ballot. With Hoover disinclined to interfere in the selection of his running mate, the party leaders were at first partial to giving Dawes a shot at a second term, but when this information leaked, Coolidge sent an angry telegram saying that he would consider a second nomination for Dawes, whom he hated, a "personal affront." To attract votes from farmers concerned about Hoover's pro-business orientation, it was instead offered to Senator Curtis, who accepted. He was nominated overwhelmingly on the first ballot.
In his acceptance speech a week after the convention ended, Secretary Hoover said: "We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of this land... We shall soon with the help of God be in sight of the day when poverty will be banished from this land."
| Presidential Ballot | Vice Presidential Ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Herbert Hoover Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business... | 837 | Charles Curtis Charles Curtis Charles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States... | 1,052 |
| Frank Orren Lowden Frank Orren Lowden Frank Orren Lowden was a Republican Party politician from Illinois, who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representatives from Illinois... | 74 | Herman Ekern Herman Ekern Herman L. Ekern was a Wisconsin politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin. He was one of the founders of Lutheran Brotherhood.-Background:... | 19 |
| Charles Curtis Charles Curtis Charles Curtis was a United States Representative, a longtime United States Senator from Kansas later chosen as Senate Majority Leader by his Republican colleagues, and the 31st Vice President of the United States... | 64 | Charles G. Dawes Charles G. Dawes Charles Gates Dawes was an American banker and politician who was the 30th Vice President of the United States . For his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served in the First World War, was U.S... | 13 |
| James Eli Watson James Eli Watson James Eli Watson was a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Indiana. He was the Senate's second official majority leader. While an article published by the Senate gives his year of birth as 1862, this is most probably incorrect.He was born in Winchester, Indiana, one of six children... | 45 | Hanford MacNider Hanford MacNider Hanford “Jack” MacNider was a United States diplomat and United States Army General, serving in both World War I and World War II. He was a Scottish Rite Freemason.-Biography:... | 2 |
| George W. Norris | 24 | ||
| Guy D. Goff | 18 | ||
| Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state... | 17 | ||
| Charles G. Dawes Charles G. Dawes Charles Gates Dawes was an American banker and politician who was the 30th Vice President of the United States . For his work on the Dawes Plan for World War I reparations he was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served in the First World War, was U.S... | 4 | ||
| Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and... | 1 |
Democratic Party nomination
Democratic candidates:- Al SmithAl SmithAlfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
, governor of New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... - Cordell HullCordell HullCordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
, U.S. representative from TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... - James A. ReedJames A. ReedJames Alexander Reed was an American Democratic Party politician from Missouri.-Biography:Reed was born on a farm in Richland County, Ohio. He moved with his family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the age of 3. He went to public schools and attended Coe College...
, U.S. senator from MissouriMissouriMissouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... - Atlee PomereneAtlee PomereneAtlee Pomerene was a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1911 until 1923.-Early life and career:...
, former U.S. senator from OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
Candidates gallery
With the memory of the Teapot Dome scandalTeapot Dome scandal
The Teapot Dome Scandal was a bribery incident that took place in the United States in 1922–23, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low...
rapidly fading, and the current state of prosperity making that year's presidential nomination not worth all that much, most of the major Democratic leaders, such as William Gibbs McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo
William Gibbs McAdoo, Jr. was an American lawyer and political leader who served as a U.S. Senator, United States Secretary of the Treasury and director of the United States Railroad Administration...
, were content to sit this one out. One who did not was New York Governor Al Smith
Al Smith
Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928...
, who had tried twice before.
The 1928 Democratic National Convention
1928 Democratic National Convention
The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas from June 26 – June 28, 1928. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for President and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for Vice-President.The convention was...
was held in Houston, Texas on June 26 to June 28, and Smith became the candidate on the first ballot.
The leadership asked the delegates to nominate Sen. Joseph Taylor Robinson
Joseph Taylor Robinson
Joseph Taylor Robinson was an American politician from Arkansas, of the Democratic Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S...
of Arkansas, who was in many ways Smith's political polar opposite, to be his running mate, and he was nominated for vice-president.
Smith was the first Roman Catholic to gain a major party's nomination for president, and his religion became an issue during the campaign. Many Protestants feared that Smith would take orders from church leaders in Rome in making decisions affecting the country.
| Presidential Ballot | Vice Presidential Ballot | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Smith Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith. , known in private and public life as Al Smith, was an American statesman who was elected the 42nd Governor of New York three times, and was the Democratic U.S. presidential candidate in 1928... | 849.17 | Joseph Taylor Robinson Joseph Taylor Robinson Joseph Taylor Robinson was an American politician from Arkansas, of the Democratic Party. He was a state representative, U.S. Representative, 23rd Governor of Arkansas, U.S... | 1,035.17 |
| Cordell Hull Cordell Hull Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II... | 71.84 | Alben W. Barkley Alben W. Barkley Alben William Barkley was an American politician in the Democratic Party who served as the 35th Vice President of the United States , under President Harry S. Truman.... | 77 |
| Walter F. George Walter F. George Walter Franklin George was an American politician from the state of Georgia. He was a long-time United States Senator and was President pro tempore. He was a Democrat.-Early years:... | 52.5 | Nellie Tayloe Ross Nellie Tayloe Ross Nellie Tayloe Ross was an American politician, the 14th Governor of Wyoming from 1925 to 1927, and director of the United States Mint from 1933-1953. She was the first woman to serve as governor of a U.S. state. To date, she remains the only woman to have served as governor of Wyoming... | 31 |
| James A. Reed James A. Reed James Alexander Reed was an American Democratic Party politician from Missouri.-Biography:Reed was born on a farm in Richland County, Ohio. He moved with his family to Cedar Rapids, Iowa at the age of 3. He went to public schools and attended Coe College... | 52 | Henry Tureman Allen Henry Tureman Allen Henry Tureman Allen was a United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing 1,500 miles of wilderness. His trek was been compared by General Nelson A. Miles to that of Lewis and Clark.Henry was born in... | 28 |
| Atlee Pomerene Atlee Pomerene Atlee Pomerene was a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1911 until 1923.-Early life and career:... | 47 | George L. Berry George L. Berry George Leonard Berry was president of the International Pressmen and Assistants' Union of North America from 1907 to 1948 and a Democratic United States Senator from Tennessee from 1937 to 1938.-Early life:... | 17.5 |
| Jesse H. Jones | 43 | Dan Moody Dan Moody Daniel James Moody, Jr. , was a Democratic political figure, originally from Taylor, Texas, USA. He served as the 30th Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan... | 9.33 |
| Evans Woollen Evans Woollen -External links:... | 32 | Duncan U. Fletcher Duncan U. Fletcher Duncan Upshaw Fletcher was an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. Senator Fletcher was the longest serving U.S. Senator in Florida's history.-Early life and career:... | 7 |
| Pat Harrison Pat Harrison Byron Patton "Pat" Harrison was a Mississippi politician who served as a Democrat in the United States House of Representatives from 1911 to 1919 and in the United States Senate from 1919 until his death.... | 20 | John H. Taylor John H. Taylor (Mormon) John Harris Taylor was one of the seven presidents of Seventy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints .... | 6 |
| William A. Ayres | 20 | Lewis Stevenson Lewis Stevenson Lewis Green Stevenson was the Illinois Secretary of State from 1914 to 1917 and a member of Illinois' political Stevenson family.Stevenson's father, Adlai Ewing Stevenson I, was the Vice President of the United States from 1893 to 1897... | 4 |
| Richard C. Watts | 18 | Evans Woollen Evans Woollen -External links:... | 2 |
| Gilbert Hitchcock Gilbert Hitchcock Gilbert Monell Hitchcock was a Representative and a Senator from Nebraska, and the founder of the Omaha World-Herald.-Biography:... | 16 | Joseph Patrick Tumulty Joseph Patrick Tumulty Joseph Patrick Tumulty was an American attorney and politician from New Jersey.-Biography:Tumulty was born in Jersey City, New Jersey to Philip and Alicia. He attended St. Bridget's school and graduated from Saint Peter's College, New Jersey in 1901. Tumulty was active in Democratic state politics... | 1 |
| A. Victor Donahey A. Victor Donahey Alvin Victor Donahey was a Democratic Party politician from Ohio. Donahey was the 50th Governor of Ohio and a United States Senator from Ohio.Donahey was born in Cadwallader, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. His parents were John C... | 5 | ||
| Houston Thompson | 2 | ||
| Theodore G. Bilbo Theodore G. Bilbo Theodore Gilmore Bilbo was an American politician. Bilbo, a Democrat, twice served as governor of Mississippi and later was elected a U.S. Senator . A master of filibuster and scathing rhetoric, a rough-and-tumble fighter in debate, he made his name a synonym for white supremacy... | 1 |
Source: US President - D Convention. Our Campaigns. (March 10, 2011).
Prohibition Party nomination
The Prohibition ConventionProhibition Party
The Prohibition Party is a political party in the United States best known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages. It is the oldest existing third party in the US. The party was an integral part of the temperance movement...
was held in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
from July 10 through July 12. Smith openly opposed Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
. Some members of the Prohibition Party wanted to throw their support to Hoover, thinking that their candidate would not win and that they didn't want their candidate to provide the margin by which Smith would win. Nonetheless, William F. Varney
William F. Varney
William Frederick Varney was an American politician.-Life:He was the son of Rev. F. W. Varney ....
was nominated for president over Hoover by a margin of 68–45.
Results
Republican candidate Herbert Hoover won election by a wide margin on pledges to continue the economic boom of the Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
years. Smith won the electoral votes only of the traditionally Democratic Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
and two New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
states with a large proportion of Catholic voters (Massachusetts and Rhode Island). Hoover even triumphed in Smith's home state of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
by a narrow margin. The inroads made by the Republican ticket in the South were indeed rather stunning. Texas had never been carried by a Republican before, whereas the electoral votes of North Carolina and Virginia had not been awarded to a Republican since 1872, nor those of Florida since 1876. In all, Smith carried only six of the eleven states of the former Confederacy.
Anti-Catholicism
Anti-Catholicism in the United States
Strong political and theological positions hostile to the Catholic Church and its followers was prominent among Protestants in Britain and Germany from the Protestant Reformation onwards. Immigrants brought them to the American colonies. Two types of anti-Catholic rhetoric existed in colonial society...
was a significant problem for Smith's campaign. Protestant ministers warned that he would take orders from the pope who, many Americans sincerely believed, would move to the United States to rule the country from a Washington, D.C., fortress if Smith won. According to a popular joke, after the election he sent a one-word telegram advising Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI
Pope Pius XI , born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti, was Pope from 6 February 1922, and sovereign of Vatican City from its creation as an independent state on 11 February 1929 until his death on 10 February 1939...
to "Unpack". Beyond the conspiracy theories, a survey of 8,500 Southern Methodist Church
Southern Methodist Church
The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States...
ministers found only four who supported Smith, and the northern Methodists, Southern Baptists, and Disciples of Christ
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
The Christian Church is a Mainline Protestant denomination in North America. It is often referred to as The Christian Church, The Disciples of Christ, or more simply as The Disciples...
were similar in their opposition. Many Americans who sincerely rejected bigotry and the anti-Catholic Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
justified their opposition to Smith on their belief that the Catholic Church as an "un-American", "alien culture" that opposed freedom and democracy.
An example was a statement issued in September 1928 by the National Lutheran Editors' and Managers' Association that opposed Smith's election. The manifesto, written by Dr. Clarence Reinhold Tappert, warned about "the peculiar relation in which a faithful Catholic stands and the absolute allegiance he owes to a 'foreign sovereign' who does not only 'claim' supremacy also in secular affairs as a matter of principle and theory but who, time and again, has endeavored to put this claim into practical operation." The Catholic Church, the manifesto asserted, was hostile to American principles of separation of church and state and of religious toleration. Smith's opposition to Prohibition, a key reform promoted by Protestants, also lost him votes, as did his association with Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall
Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society...
. Because many anti-Catholics used these issues as a cover for their religious prejudices, Smith's campaign had difficulty denouncing anti-Catholicism as bigotry
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
without offending others who favored Prohibition or disliked Tammany's corruption.
Due to these issues, Smith lost several states that had been members of the Solid South
Solid South
Solid South is the electoral support of the Southern United States for the Democratic Party candidates for nearly a century from 1877, the end of Reconstruction, to 1964, during the middle of the Civil Rights era....
since Reconstruction. However, in many southern states with sizable African American populations (and where the vast majority of African Americans could not vote at the time), many believed that Hoover supported integration, or at least was not committed to maintaining segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
, which in turn overcame opposition to Smith's campaign. During the race, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
Governor Theodore G. Bilbo
Theodore G. Bilbo
Theodore Gilmore Bilbo was an American politician. Bilbo, a Democrat, twice served as governor of Mississippi and later was elected a U.S. Senator . A master of filibuster and scathing rhetoric, a rough-and-tumble fighter in debate, he made his name a synonym for white supremacy...
claimed that Hoover had met with a black member of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
and danced with her; Hoover's campaign quickly denied the "untruthful and ignoble assertion". Smith's religion helped him with New England immigrants, which may explain his narrow victories in traditionally Republican Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as well as his narrow loss in New York (which previous Democratic presidential candidates lost by double digits, but which Smith only lost by 2%).
Source (Popular Vote):
Source (Electoral Vote):
Primary sources
- Hoover, Herbert. The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: The Cabinet and the Presidency, 1920-1933 (1952),
- Smith, Alfred E. Campaign Addresses 1929.
See also
- President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
- United States Senate elections, 1928
- History of the United States (1918-1945)
External links
- 1928 popular vote by counties
- How close was the 1928 election? — Michael Sheppard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology