Election of 1940-U.S. Presidency

The Presidential Election of 1940

War , controversy and the new deal

Table of Contents

Introduction .3

The United States in 1940 .4

The Republican Candidates .10

The Republican Convention .12

The Democrats .13

The Campaign .14

Impact of 1940 Election .16

The 2008 Election .18

Analysis and Conclusion .20

Notes .24

Sources .25

The Presidential Election of 1940

War , controversy and the new deal

In modern-day America elections have become routine and , to a certain degree , taken for granted . All elections are important

to the future of our country . Every once in a while an election comes along that promises to reshape the very nature of America . Some would argue that the election of 2008 is one such election . We tend to think of the major issues our elections are built around as being unique to our time in history . They are not

Our economy is arguably in recession . Our nation is struggling with terrorism and how much power we should allow the government to protect us from it . In 1940 Americans grappled with an uncertain world , as well The country was only just emerging from the worst times of the Great Depression , an economic and human calamity we can scarcely imagine today . A country still fatigued from the long-term consequences of the First World War was now being asked to prepare for another war . Victory would be anything but certain . Some Americans were getting uneasy to the unprecedented Presidential power wielded by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his first two terms

Sometimes the events of history conspire to remind us of the importance of participation in our Democracy . The 1940 election was destined to be history making , as is the upcoming election of 2008 . At the outset of the 1940 campaign the stakes for the United States could not have been much higher . The Second World War had erupted in Europe . Americans had suffered tremendously in the ten years since the stock market crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression . Looking back , Roosevelt was the right man at the right time . The public sensed this and chose to return him to office even when it broke one hundred and fifty years of tradition . Who will be the right person in 2008 ? In November , once again , the voters will have the chance to craft American history for generations to come

The United States in 1940

By , 1940 , the worst of the Great Depression had passed . Times were still difficult , though . The peak of unemployment was about 25 in 1933 . At the time of the 1940 campaign the rate was still above 10 .1 Two recessions took place during the depression era . The second of the , in 1937-38 , was dangerously close to the start of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt 's (FDR 's ) reelection campaign

The U .S gross national product (GNP ) was rising again but had still not reached pre-depression levels . It had not been that long since the Hooverville ' tent cities occupied Washington . The second recession aroused fears of a return...