Work in progress — cycles are added one at a time. Every quote is machine-verified against an archived source; follow the links to read it.
Alfred E. Smith vs Newton D. Baker
| Issue | Alfred E. Smith | Newton D. Baker |
|---|---|---|
| Overall role and scale of the federal government | War on any candidate who makes 'demagogic appeals to the masses' setting class against class directional_stancenot_applicable Oppose, and refuse to support, any Democratic candidate whose appeal sets 'class against class and rich against poor' — the 'forgotten man' politics of Roosevelt's April 7 broadcast; by implication, a campaign on repeal and business-friendly economics rather than redistribution. |
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| League of Nations and international organizations | — | Do not make the League of Nations a party issue; no entry until a majority of Americans approve specific_pledgenot_applicable Having long advocated American membership in the League, Baker declared (January 26, 1932) that he would not favor a League plank and would not put the United States in the League until convinced a majority approved. |
| National Prohibition | Outright repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment — the issue Roosevelt was downplaying specific_pledgenot_applicable Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, as Smith had urged since 1928; make repeal the central Democratic issue. |
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| Tariff levels | Endorsement of the Smoot-Hawley tariff directional_stancenot_applicable Accept the 1930 tariff rather than campaign against it — the position Raskob tried to write into party policy in March 1931. |
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| European war debts and reparations | A twenty-year moratorium on the war debts, writing them off in proportion to each nation's purchases of American goods specific_pledgenot_applicable Suspend intergovernmental debt payments for twenty years and cancel debt in proportion to the debtor's trade with the United States — converting the debts into an instrument for reviving exports. |
Entry into the World Court and cancellation of the war debts (the record that made him 'politically unpopular') directional_stancenot_applicable American adherence to the League Court and cancellation of the European war debts, positions Baker had advocated publicly before 1932. |