Henry Edwards, who was born to Detroit factory workers in 1874, eventually becoming a lawyer, and the Attorney of Wayne County in 1899, and later a State Representative and Senator, was elected to the US Senate for Michigan in 1918, running as an anti-war progressive who opposed the League of Nations.
He unseated Truman Handy Newberry in an upset, and became one of the most vocal progressives in the chamber, unsuccessfully writing an average of twelve bills for year estabilishing public pensions for the elderly, a minimum wage, a ban on child labor, unemployment insurance, farm subsidies, public works, paid sick leave financed by corporations, and greater funding for the Prohibition Bureau; all of which failed to pass, or were vetoed by presidents Harding and Coolidge.
Edwards was considered as a running mate for Robert La Follette in 1924, eventually being rejected due to his support for Prohibition. Instead, he was reelected to the Senate, and prepared a bid for the presidency in 1928.
Edwards became a spokesman for farmers and the poor, saying the fruits of the Roaring Twenties should have been shared among all Americans, not just the rich and middle class.
The Senator announced his candidacy on October 3, 1927, highlighting his fight for the American people in the Senate, and promising to implement a federal system of public pensions for the elderly, a federal minimum wage of 25 cents per hour, unemployment insurance lasting for five months, farm subsidies, public works in the South to soften the impact of floods, paid sick leave of up to one week paid for by corporations, banking reform, and stricter enforcement of Prohibition. Edwards narrowly defeated Al Smith in the Democratic National Convention, on the fourth ballot after scores of minor candidates switched over to him.
Edwards gave a memorable speech in the Democratic National Convention, known as the "Prosperity for All speech", due to the line frequently used in it. The Democratic nominee called for the principles in the Declaration of Independence to be honored, and outlined his agenda.
In the general election, Edwards indeed focused on these programs, framing them as not socialistic in any way, but necessary reforms meant to make the United States "truly" prosperous. Like William Jennings Bryan, the Senator directly campaigned in the Midwest and Northeast, focusing on attracting factory workers and farmers. He was most successful with the latter. His running mate was Senator James A. Reed of Missouri.
Herbert Hoover, on the other hand, played up the United States' economic growth in the decade to contradict claims it was artificial, and attacked Henry Edwards as a socialist; an attack refuted by the Senator, with partial success.
The Edwards campaign frequently used radio commercials, which focused on the programs the Democratic nominee was fighting for. They were moderately successful, but the Senator bungled it by challenging Hoover to a radio debate; a claim that was widely ridiculed.
Herbert Hoover won by a landslide, winning all of the Northeastern and Great Lakes states, while Henry Edwards kept the Solid South and flipped several struggling Plains states.
Edwards eventually won the Presidency in 1932 and 1936. He did not run for a third term.
