1932 Election Results/Snapshots of a Nation

FDR won a historic mandate in 1932. After three years of economic depression, Americans decisively rejected President Hoover and the ruling Republican Party. Roosevelt defeated Hoover in a landslide, and Democrats seized control of Congress for the first time in 16 years. They dominated the new Senate by an overwhelming margin of 60 to 35 and enjoyed a 310 to 117 majority in the House.

Voters handed Franklin Roosevelt and the Democrats a blank check. Their only demand was action. What the public - and most Democratic leaders - did not know was what form that action would take.