The American Presidential Election of 1928

The 36th episode in a very long series about the American presidential elections from 1788 to the present. In 1928, the economy is still ridiculously strong, and Herbert Hoover has all the momentum in the world.

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The 36th Presidential election in American history took place on November 6, 1928, the day I turned negative 53. Calvin Coolidge had a smooth second term. The economy remained strong, and the federal government even had a huge surplus. If he wanted to run for another full term, he probably would have been easily re-elected. However, Coolidge had announced the previous summer that he had no intention of running by cutting out strips of paper with the statement, “I do not choose to run for president in 1928” on them, and handing them out to reporters at the press conference. Coolidge said after the slips of paper were handed out, “There will be nothing more from this office today,” and he walked out.

So this left the Republican nomination wide open. The leading candidates were Herbert Hoover, the Secretary of Commerce, Frank Orren Lowden, the former governor of Illinois, and Senate Majority Leader Charles Curtis, who was from my home state of Kansas. Not impressed by these choices, many Republicans tried to draft Coolidge, but Coolidge turned it down. Hoover ended up getting the nomination, with Charles Curtis as his running mate.

The Democratic Party nominated Al Smith, the governor of New York who was running for President a third time. Smith was the first Roman Catholic to be a major party’s candidate for President. The Democrats nominated Joseph Taylor Robinson, a U.S. Senator from Arkansas, as his running mate. Robinson and Smith seemed like the odd couple, but actually complimented each other well.

No third parties really stood out during this election at all, and so we had another class two-way battle. Hoover had the momentum due to the fact that things were going pretty darn well overall in the country. In fact, at Hoover’s nomination acceptance speech, he 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.”

Little did Hoover know that soon those words would come back to bite him in the butt. However, things were looking pretty good for him, especially since Al Smith’s religion became a major issue during the campaign. Many Protestants feared that Smith would take orders from the Pope if he led the country. In addition to anti-Catholicism, Smith’s opposition to Prohibition and his association with the corruption of Tammany Hall likely would cost him votes.

[andysorensen]

Calvin Coolidge was an interesting guy. A young woman approached him at a dinner party saying she had made a bet that he would say more than three words to her that night. His response? “You lose.”

[Westportlad]

Interesting fact: After Herbert's presidency he went on many road trips. He used to visit small towns but he wasn't recognised very often .

[Benjifan]

For anyone curious, Coolidge decided not to run again because he became depressed after the death of his son.

[SiVlog]

In hindsight, Coolidge not running in 1928 was probably a good thing for his legacy, considering how Hoover's administration panned out

[nickhueper]

The way Coolidge said he wasn’t going to run for a President was really funny 😂😂😂

[hermitman]

Worth mentioning as well, Charles Curtis (Hoover's VP) is the first/only Vice-President with signficant Native American heritage! Curtis was 3/8 Native American, and a member of the Kaw nation! Debatable whether he "passed" as white or not in his time, but could be considered the first (and so far only) non-white Vice President of the United States!

[abrahamlincoln]

Fun fact: Herbert Hoover was the first Republican to ever win Texas in a presidential election. In 1932 however Hoover had the worst performance for a Republican in Texas in a presidential election.

[charliewallace]

Fun fact: Charles Curtis was the first POC to be VP. He was a Native American from Kaw Nation.

[StJimmy]

I think one of the reasons Coolidge is one of my favorite Presidents is because he was such an introvert yet still had this charisma about him to do things like the strips of paper and the “You Lose” story 😂

[donaldmelvin]

This Hoover guy must be amazing right.
1932: 6 states

[morgankingsley]

You should have mentioned how in the elections of 1920, 1924, and 1928, Smith won the worst in terms of electoral votes (87 compared to 128 and 136) but did the BEST in terms of popular vote (40 percent compared to 34 and 28). I just find that fact interesting

[kayzeaza]

I’d love to see you do a series on Vice Presidents. Almost every time I hear who the Vice President pick is I’m always like ‘who??’.

[evanswart]

Not running in 1928 was probably the smartest decision Calvin Coolidge ever made.

[dwrussell]

Not only was Al Smith a catholic, he also opposed the KKK, which cost him a few states in the south. The late 1920's was when the Democrats started becoming progressive.

[ColinElkin-ce]

It was also the last time a sitting cabinet member was elected. Due to the Hatch Act, that can't be accomplished again in the future.

[maxdurk]

Perfect time to get out for Coolidge, really.

[newvgaming]

Democrats 1928: We will run a Catholic presidential candidate
People at 1928: we are not ready for a Catholic President.

Democrats 1960: We run another Catholic Presidential candidate
People: We are ready.
JFK: *assassinated in 1963*

[sneezyg]

OH LORD THE IRONY OF THE QUOTE FROM HOOVER 😂😂😂

[ninapatalo]

Al Smith's loss is at least not as bad as Herbert Hoover's loss in 1932.

[ioliverproductions]

Fun Fact: at 3:18 the person on the left, inaugurating Hoover is Chief Justice and former president William H Taft