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US President National Vote

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> United States > U.S. Executive > Popular Vote

Office

President

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

June 01, 1940 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

November 05, 1940 - 06:00am

Polls Close

November 05, 1940 - 08:00pm

Term Start

January 20, 1941 - 12:00pm

Term End

January 20, 1945 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Thomas Walker

Last Modified

Chronicler November 09, 2008 03:24pm

Data Sources

Congressional Quarterly Guide to U S Elections, third edition

Description

FDR faced a new set of difficulties in his second term. The U.S. Supreme Court was composed of justices who had been appointed prior to his election as President, and their political views reflected the public opinion of the 1920s. When court cases arose over New Deal programs, the Supreme Court was willing to declare the programs unconstitutional. Among the alphabet soup victims were the AAA and NRA; other victims were the Railroad Retirement Program, the farm mortage program, and the Municipal Banking Act. Roosevelt responded by asking Congress to add some additional justices to the Court. While this request from Roosevelt was not unusual in theory, it was interpreted as an attempt to pack the court with his supporters. Congress balked at the idea, but the Court did become more friendly to FDR’s programs.

In the midterm elections of 1938, Roosevelt took the bold step of campaigning for primary election challengers to some of the Democratic Senators who were uneasy with his programs. His efforts were unsuccessful in GA, MD, and NC. In the general election, the Republicans rebounded, gaining six U.S. Senate seats and 80 U.S. House seats. Among the new Republican office holders were Gov. John Bricker and U.S. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio.

The last of the New Deal programs were approved in 1938. Among the more important programs were the Farm Security Administration to provide more relief to farmers, the Agriculture Adjustment Act to provide subsidies for crops, and the Fair Labor Standards Act to limit workweeks to 40 hours and set the minimum wage at 40 cents per hour.

As Roosevelt’s second term drew to a close, Europe began a second major war. A large sector of the American population believed a Congressional investigation into the first World War, which decided that the war was engineered by arms manufacturers. This committee helped to bolster the isolation instinct that characterized Americans in the first half of the 20th century. The Allies against Hitler were able to hold their own until just prior to the national nominating conventions in America; at that time, the Germans overran France.

The Republican National Convention met two days after the fall of France. The front runners were Sen. Taft and New York District Attorney Thomas E. Dewey. A late entry into the race was Wendell L. Willkie, a utilities executive who had served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio in 1924 and became a Republican in 1939. On the first ballot, Dewey led with 36% to Taft’s 19% and Willkie’s 11%. Over the next ballots, Dewey’s delegates gradually shifted to the other two candidates. By the fifth ballot, Willkie led with 43% to Taft’s 38% and Dewey’s 6%. Willkie won the nomination on the sixth ballot.

There was an element of opposition to FDR at the Democratic National Convention. Two members of his adminstration had defected from him and challenged his renomination. They were James A. Farley and VP John N. Garner. Neither of the two performed well in the primaries, and FDR won the nomination with 86% of the delegate vote. Henry Wallace was FDR’s choice for Vice President, and he was challenged by William B. Bankhead of Alabama. Eleanor Roosevelt made an appearance at the convention and spoke in favor of Wallace (who had been criticized for being a closet Republican). When the roll was called, Wallace received the nomination with 57% of the delegate votes.

Wendell Willkie’s campaign for President was a difficult one, as the two men agreed on most important issues. Willkie campaigned against a third term for FDR, as not even President Grant served a third term.

When the votes were counted, FDR had easily earned a third term as President. Eight states defected from FDR’s 1936 vote, which still left him with a 449–82 electoral vote margin. The Democratic Party gained five seats in the U.S. House but lost three seats in the Senate. As it became increasingly likely that the United States was headed for war, the populace granted Franklin Roosevelt the nod to lead the nation.

LAST GENERAL ELECTION
	Party	Democratic	Won	11/03/1936
	Name	Franklin D. Roosevelt	Votes	27,757,333 (60.80%)
	Term	01/20/1937 - 01/20/1941	Margin	11,073,102 (+24.25%)