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The Politics of Hard Times

• Leuchtenburg sets the stage for the 1932 election, describing the turmoil created by the 1929 stock market crash.

• Chapter 1 discusses the economic chaos and the plight of homeless and jobless Americans.
• Hoover and the Republicans seem impotent in the face of economic disaster, thus nearly ensuring defeat in the 1932 election.

• After a semi-divided convention, the Democratic party nominates Roosevelt.

• Roosevelt bucks precedent and flies to Chicago to accept the nomination, rather than pretending ignorance until formally notified weeks later.

• The term "New Deal" comes from Roosevelt's nomination acceptance speech. He didn't think anything of it, but a cartoonist heard it and latched on.
• Roosevelt and Hoover waged an odd campaign in 1932, where each side seemed to speak each others' lines.

• Roosevelt lambasted Hoover for spending too much.

• Hoover grossly mismanages the Bonus Army situation.

• Hoover was badly defeated in the 1932 election.

Winter of Despair

• Roosevelt...

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