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Guest Essayist: Professor Joerg Knipprath

 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, running for re-election in 1936, received 60.8% of the popular vote, second-highest popular vote percentage since that method of selecting presidential electors became dominant in the 1830s. Only Lyndon Johnson’s 61.1% over Barry Goldwater in 1964, Richard Nixon’s 60.7% over George McGovern in 1972, and Warren Harding’s 60.3% over James Cox in 1920 are on a similar scale. The electoral vote was even more lopsided, as Roosevelt defeated Kansas Governor Alf Landon 523 votes to 8 (46 states to 2). Only Ronald Reagan in 1984 (525 votes to 13; 49 states to 1 plus D.C.) and Richard Nixon in 1972 (520 votes to 17; 49 states to 1 plus D.C.) enjoyed similarly impressive margins since the modern two-party system emerged.

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Guest Essayist: Scot Faulkner

 

How Urbanism Forever Changed America

The 1928 Presidential Election remains the zenith of Republican political power.  Republican Herbert Hoover crushed Democrat Al Smith, winning 58 percent of the popular vote and 83 percent of the electoral vote. [1] The landslide was fueled by years of prosperity, affection for outgoing President Calvin Coolidge, and deep seated concerns over Smith’s Catholicism. Republicans also amassed majorities in the House and Senate not seen again until 2014.

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Guest Essayist: Professor Joe Postell

 

From today’s standpoint, the presidential election of 1924 might appear to be an oddity or an outlier.  In 1924 the nominees of both parties ran on a conservative domestic agenda of limited government and tax cuts.  For this reason author Garland Tucker calls 1924 “The High Tide of American Conservatism.”

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Guest Essayist: Juliette Turner

 

Twenty-Ninth President of the United States

Nickname: Charming Harding

Terms in Office: 1921-1923

Fast Stats

  • Born November 2, 1865, in Blooming Grove, Ohio
  • Parents: George Tryon and Phoebe Elizabeth Dickerson Harding
  • Died August 2, 1923, in San Francisco, California; age 57
  • Age upon Start of Term: 55; Age upon Death: 57
  • Religious Affiliation: Baptist
  • Political Party: Republican
  • Height: 6 feet
  • Vice President: Calvin Coolidge

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