1928 Mock Election

[Rob]

I proudly cast my vote for Al Smith.

[Rob]

Smith did support the repeal of Prohibition, but he advocated excessive governmental involvement in the economy (especially with regard to farming). In any event, the Democratic Party did not support him on the Prohibition issue.

He was further to the right than Hoover.

[Rob]

Hoover's vision was for an expanded federal government that would benevolently manage the economy. Smith held a Jeffersonian position of states' rights and limited federal power. Farm prices are the only "liberal" position he took, and that was only to appeal to farmers in the wheat belt.

[Rob]

State: South Carolina
Vote: Alfred Smith

Awesome. SC will be darkest red just like it really was .

And I hope all people voting for Hoover know he was a big government interventionist who encouraged a disgusting campaign of religious bigotry and wanted to ban alcohol.

[Rob]

THROW IT OUT!

Seriously, I think you should allow it this one time, and not accept any more vote changes.

[Rob]

Point One- Hoover at least had the idea that you can't just say, "Your starving because your lazy." If you wantred a red Revolution by 1932 then go ahead with what you are saying. Hoover had a heart. He hated to see men, women, and most of all children starving. That is why he tried to help durring the Depression.

Hoover's policies didn't help, period. They didn't even boost morale among the populace.

Point Two- Hoover did not encourage the anti-Catholic Bigotry against Smith. In fact, he even attacked it in a speech in Salt Lake City in October 1928. He stated that all men had the right of free ideas and free religion. When brought an anti-Catholic Pamphlet from one of his campaign managers he took it out of the man's hand, tore it up, and told him to stop priniting them. You shouldn't call such a warm hearted and exceptiing man like Herbert Hoover a bigot unless you can back it up with facts.

Your anecdotes may or may not be true. That's not important. Here are the facts: he knew of the hate campaign conducted against Smith; he could have stopped it completely; he didn't. He knew that anti-Catholic sentiment was a useful electoral tool, especially in the South and the depressed farm belt. He was a politician.  He obviously didn't have to personally attack Smith for being a Catholic- his party did it for him.

Prohibition was supported by Hoover because he was a Quaker. It was also supported by a majority of Americans and a majority of democrats. Why the heck do you think they chose Joseph Robenson as Smith's running mate? He was a dry!

Irrelevant. Prohibition was an intrusive government policy that spawned massive amounts of crime. I don't care how popular it was in 1928 .

[Rob]

PBrunsel, racist attacks were made on Smith as well- not by the GOP, but by southern Democrats bolting the party. They claimed he was in favor of "race-mixing", among other things.

That was a nasty campaign all around. When Smith traveled into Oklahoma, the KKK burned crosses by the train tracks. One preacher told his congregation that if they voted for Al Smith, they were "voting for the devil and you'll go to Hell".

I agree that Hoover didn't personally share these prejudices, but his campaign sanctioned them. He disliked the attacks for their style- he thought it was beneath him. As an astute politician, however, he knew that the "religious issue" helped him greatly.

[Rob]

I think Al Smith would have been a fine President. I do not dislike him at all. If American History had played out with Hoover from 1929-1933 and then Smith from 1933-1941 or whenever, that would have been much better than FDR being in office.

I agree. I'm a huge Smith fan, but I would have voted for Hoover in 1932 against FDR.