Happy Days Are Here Again : The 1932 Democratic Convention, the Emergence of FDR--and How America Was Changed Forever

Amazon.com
While contemporary nominating conventions have lost nearly all of their political importance, becoming instead an extended infomercial designed to promote long-ago-selected presidential candidate, such was not always the case. In Happy Days Are Here Again, the late Chicago Sun-Times columnist Steve Neal tells the story of the 1932 Democratic convention which led, after a tumultuous series of machinations and backroom deals, to the nomination of New York Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It may be surprising, given Roosevelt's three terms in the White House and near mythic status in political history, to learn that the nomination was far from a sure thing. Neal details the challenges mounted by Newton Baker, John Nance Garner, and Al Smith, any of who could have just as easily emerged victorious. Although Roosevelt had more delegates than the others candidates entering the Chicago convention, it wasn't enough to lock up the top spot. Gaining the support to put him over the top required Roosevelt's camp giving the vice-presidential post to Garner, with whom Roosevelt shared no special affinity, and making special arrangements with Joseph P. Kennedy and William Randolph Hearst. Plenty of other famous names drift in and out of Neal's narrative, including Amelia Earhart, Duke Ellington, John Dos Passos, and Huey Long. But the most fascinating figure is Roosevelt, severely physically disabled but capable, with the help of a sympathetic and complicit press corps, to create an image of robust health to go with his considerable charisma. Followers of modern politics, not used to seeing such drama played out so late in the campaign season, will be intrigued by the older way of selecting a party nominee and readers of history will be interested to learn how a presidency as legendary as Roosevelt's could arise from a situation as convoluted as the 1932 convention. --John Moe


From Publishers Weekly
This book by recently deceased Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neal (Harry & Ike: The Partnership That Remade America) constitutes an excellent and instructive narrative of the Democrats' 1932 Chicago convention and the complicated personal and political mechanics resulting in the nomination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On the face of it, the story is simple. Governor Roosevelt of New York went into the convention with an early majority of delegates, but not the two-thirds needed to lock up the nomination against opponents Al Smith and John Nance Garner. On the third ballot, Garner allowed his delegates to be thrown to Roosevelt. In return, Garner received the vice-presidential nomination. But many tangled tales of side allegiances and backroom dealing lie behind the apparent quid pro quo, such as Joseph P. Kennedy—a man with presidential aspirations of his own—convincing media mogul William Randolph Hearst to free his bought-and-paid-for delegates and send them over to FDR. Other players in Neal's fascinating text include Will Rogers (who received 22 votes from the Oklahoma delegation on the second ballot), Amelia Earhart (a Democratic national committeewoman) and Bernard Baruch. 16-page b&w photo insert not seen by PW. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
Going into the Democratic Party's 1932 convention in Chicago, putative front-runner Franklin Roosevelt was politically vulnerable, having been defeated in some primaries and lacking the two-thirds majority that a party rule required for nomination. The lease on life these facts lent to the smoke-filled rooms supports this meticulous yet dramatic account of the convention by the late political columnist of the Chicago Sun-Times. In addition to the behind-the-scenes power brokering that went on, Neal conjures the atmosphere in which the convention met, when delegates passed by Hoovervilles, refreshed themselves at speakeasies, and glutted themselves on rousing demonstrations and stentorian speechmaking. Unlike modern conventions, nothing was scripted, and FDR's rivals, 1928 standard-bearer Albert Smith and a host of favorite sons, had the realistic hope that the two-thirds rule would stymie Roosevelt. Neal's strength is discovering the string of talks and hinted promises that prevented this outcome. While this summer's political conventions give the work legs, it will be especially cherished as a valediction for Neal's ample politics-minded audience. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description

Franklin Roosevelt was one of our greatest and most beloved presidents -- and yet he almost didn't get his party's nomination during his first run for the White House. Happy Days Are Here Again re-creates the crazy scheming, backroom plotting, and infighting of the 1932 Democratic convention -- a major historical event that took place over just a few days but determined the course of American politics for generations.

The extraordinary Chicago convention of 1932, rendered so vividly and dramatically by award-winning biographer Steve Neal, was one of the most suspenseful in our nation's history. Roosevelt may have entered the Chicago convention with the highest number of delegates, but the structure and rules of the nomination process prevented him from being a shoe-in. In fact, there were several viable contenders -- among them Al Smith, Newton D. Baker, John Nance Garner, and Albert C. Ritchie -- who also could have faced Herbert Hoover in the upcoming general election. With the Depression under way, it was not lost on those at this particular convention that they were not only selecting a nominee but also a president.

Among the dazzling and influential personalities Neal weaves into this high-stakes drama are Joseph P. Kennedy, William Randolph Hearst, Huey Long, Bernard Baruch, Will Rogers, Clarence Darrow, Amelia Earhart, Duke Ellington, and John Dos Passos. All of these players gathered during a Chicago summer to do battle over the leadership of their party and, consequently, the White House.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Franklin Roosevelt was one of our greatest and most beloved presidents - and yet he almost didn't get his party's nomination during his first run for the White House. Happy Days Are Here Again re-creates the crazy scheming, backroom plotting, and infighting of the 1932 Democratic convention - a major historical event that took place over just a few days but determined the course of American politics for generations." "The Chicago convention of 1932 was one of the most suspenseful in our nation's history. Roosevelt may have entered the Chicago convention with the highest number of delegates, but the structure and rules of the nomination process prevented him from being a shoe-in. In fact, there were several viable contenders - among them Al Smith, Newton D. Baker, John Nance Garner, and Albert C. Ritchie - who also could have faced Herbert Hoover in the upcoming general election. With the Depression under way, it was not lost on those at this particular convention that they were not only selecting a nominee but also a president." Among the personalities Neal weaves into this high-stakes drama are Joseph P. Kennedy, William Randolph Hearst, Huey Long, Bernard Baruch, Will Rogers, Clarence Darrow, Amelia Earhart, Duke Ellington, and John Dos Passos. All of these players gathered during a Chicago summer to do battle over the leadership of their party and, consequently, the White House.

SYNOPSIS

Longtime Chicago Sun-Times political columnist and author of ten books on American politics, Neal (d. 2004) recreates the scheming, backroom plotting, and infighting of the convention, which he finds to have been one of the most suspenseful and most pivotal in US history. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This book by recently deceased Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neal (Harry & Ike: The Partnership That Remade America) constitutes an excellent and instructive narrative of the Democrats' 1932 Chicago convention and the complicated personal and political mechanics resulting in the nomination of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On the face of it, the story is simple. Governor Roosevelt of New York went into the convention with an early majority of delegates, but not the two-thirds needed to lock up the nomination against opponents Al Smith and John Nance Garner. On the third ballot, Garner allowed his delegates to be thrown to Roosevelt. In return, Garner received the vice-presidential nomination. But many tangled tales of side allegiances and backroom dealing lie behind the apparent quid pro quo, such as Joseph P. Kennedy-a man with presidential aspirations of his own-convincing media mogul William Randolph Hearst to free his bought-and-paid-for delegates and send them over to FDR. Other players in Neal's fascinating text include Will Rogers (who received 22 votes from the Oklahoma delegation on the second ballot), Amelia Earhart (a Democratic national committeewoman) and Bernard Baruch. 16-page b&w photo insert not seen by PW. Agent, Deborah Grosvenor. (On sale July 6) Forecast: With A-list blurbers (including Bill Clinton, Edward Kennedy and Scott Turow), this excellent book should have above-average sales for a work of history. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

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