Donald A. Ritchie

5526. Electing FDR The New Deal Campaign of 1932, by Donald A. Ritchie (read 14 Jan 2018) This book by the Historian of the United States Senate, was published in 2007 and while the main focus is on what happened in 1932 it covers events leading up to that election year and also events since then. It is carefully done and is full of fascinating details. It does pretty convincingly indicate that if FDR had not won the needed two-thirds vote on the fourth ballot at the 1932 Democratic Convention he might not have been nominated, though in hindsight it is hard to see who could have beaten him since he had a healthy majority of the delegate vote on the third ballot. The book shows that Hoover came to realize that he would not be re-elected as the election date drew near but he never realized how badly he would lose. The book is a great read and I enjoyed it thoroughly. .… (mais)