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Norman Thomas · 1932 · Socialist third_party
Presbyterian minister and Socialist Party nominee for President six times (1928–1948); his 1932 run (about 884,000 votes, 2.2%) was the party's strongest since 1920.
Nominated by acclamation at Milwaukee (May 22) on a platform built after the nomination. Ran a national speaking campaign on unemployment insurance, public works, old-age pensions, public ownership of utilities and banks, and repeal — much of which the New Deal later enacted in modified form.
Positions (15)
| Issue | Position | Kind | Strength | Attribution | Ev. | First | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farm and home mortgage relief | Government aid to farmers and small home-owners against foreclosure and tax sales; moratorium on interest debated | pledge_forward | directional_stance | party_platform | B | 1932-05-24 | not_applicable |
| Equal rights and opportunity for Black Americans | Economic, political and legal equality for the Negro; a federal anti-lynching law; enforce the First Amendment | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| European war debts and reparations | Cancel the war debts (against cancellation of reparations) and raze the tariff wall | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| League of Nations and international organizations | Join the League and World Court; lead general disarmament; free the Philippines; withdraw from Nicaragua, Haiti and China; recognize the Soviet Union | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Independence of the Supreme Court | A Workers' Rights Amendment; curb the Supreme Court's power over Congress; proportional representation; direct election of the President | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-24 | not_applicable |
| Sickness and health insurance | National health insurance | pledge_forward | directional_stance | party_platform | B | 1932-05-24 | not_applicable |
| Public ownership of major industries | Transfer the principal industries — banking, natural resources, utilities — to social ownership by compensation, not confiscation | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Public works as employment policy | A $5 billion federal public-works program — roads, reforestation, slum clearance, workers' housing — and idle factories and land turned over to the unemployed | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Child labor | Abolition of child labor | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Working hours and labor standards | The six-hour day and five-day week without reduction in wages | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| National Prohibition | Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment — the candidate preferring a binding national referendum | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-24 | not_applicable |
| Unemployment insurance | Compulsory unemployment insurance funded by employers and by higher income and inheritance taxes | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Federal responsibility for relief | A $5 billion federal appropriation for immediate relief of those in need | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Old-age pensions and social insurance | Old-age pensions for men and women sixty and over | pledge_forward | specific_pledge | party_platform | B | 1932-05-22 | not_applicable |
| Income and inheritance tax progressivity | Steeply increased income and inheritance taxes | pledge_forward | directional_stance | party_platform | B | 1932-05-24 | not_applicable |