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FDR - Jean Edward Smith [462]

By Root 1958 0
platform proclaimed, “America is in peril. The welfare of American men and women and the future of our youth are at stake. We dedicate ourselves to the preservation of their political liberty, their individual opportunity and their character as free citizens, which today for the first time is threatened by the Government itself.” Landon, by contrast, was generally sympathetic to the New Deal. “From the very first, I advocated granting of unusual powers to the President because of the national emergency.” He also found little to object to in New Deal economics. “I do not think there is anything new or revolutionary about the redistribution of wealth theory. Every wise statesman in every period of history has been concerned with the equitable distribution of property in his country.” Landon to Raymond Clapper, quoted in Olive Ewing Clapper, Washington Tapestry 119 (New York: Whittlesey House, 1946).

27. Schlesinger, Politics of Upheaval 529.

28. Ibid. 560.

29. Farley, Jim Farley’s Story 57.

30. In 1912, House Speaker Champ Clark led the voting for twenty-eight ballots and commanded a majority for eight but ultimately lost the nomination to Woodrow Wilson.

31. James F. Byrnes, All in One Lifetime 95 (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1958).

32. Alben Barkley, That Reminds Me 152 (New York: Doubleday, 1954).

33. Raymond Clapper, Watching the World 86–87 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1944); The New York Times, June 28, 1936.

34. Schlesinger, Politics of Upheaval 583.

35. Ibid. 584.

36. “Acceptance of the Renomination for the Presidency,” June 27, 1936, 5 Public Papers and Addresses 230–236.

37. Schlesinger, Politics of Upheaval 585.

38. Charles W. Hurd, “Roosevelt Starts Cruise as Skipper,” The New York Times, July 15, 1936.

39. Robert F. Cross, Sailor in the White House 97 (Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2003).

40. The New York Times, July 25, 1936.

41. James Roosevelt and Sidney Shalett, Affectionately, F.D.R. 284 (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1959).

42. Lord Tweedsmuir was the celebrated novelist John Buchan. In his chatty opening remarks, Roosevelt playfully demurred being addressed as a foreign ruler. “I say this because, when I have been in Canada, I have never heard a Canadian refer to an American as a ‘foreigner.’ He is just an ‘American.’ And, the same way across the border in the United States, Canadians are not ‘foreigners,’ they are ‘Canadians.’ ” FDR interlaced his speech with several paragraphs of flawless French, paying homage to the valor and heroism of the Quebecois. (Roosevelt was the only president, Mr. Jefferson and J. Q. Adams included, who spoke French fluently.) 5 Public Papers and Addresses 276–279.

43. Roosevelt’s 1936 campaign speeches are in ibid. 285–581.

44. Nathan Miller, FDR: An Intimate History 384–385 (New York: Doubleday, 1983).

45. Farley, Behind the Ballots 305–306.

46. Ibid.

47. Quoted in Schlesinger, Politics of Upheaval 603.

48. Ibid. 627. Union party publicists originally touted Lemke as “Liberty Bell” Lemke. Democrats whooped with delight. “Both are cracked,” said a party spokesman.

49. The New York Times, September 26, 1936.

50. Ibid., November 1, 1936.

51. Campaign Address, October 31, 1936. 5 Public Papers and Addresses 566–573.

52. Farley, Behind the Ballots 324–325. Farley was correct about New Hampshire, which FDR carried with a razor-thin margin of 3,818 votes, 49.7 percent to Landon’s 48.0 percent. But Kansas went for Roosevelt 54–46 percent; Connecticut 55–40; and Michigan 56–39. Congressional Quarterly, Guide to U.S. Elections 290 (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1975).

53. Rosenman, Working with Roosevelt 137.

54. Other minor-party candidates included Earl Browder (Communist) 79,211; David Leigh Colvin (Prohibition) 37,668; and John W. Aiken (Socialist Labor) 12,790. Congressional Quarterly, Guide to U.S. Elections 304.

55. Quoted in Kenneth S. Davis, FDR: The New Deal Years 647 (New York: Random House, 1979).

56. Monroe received 231 of 235 electoral votes in 1820. One elector each in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee did

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