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.
Issues › Prohibition & Alcohol
National Prohibition
| Cycle | Candidate | Position | Solution | Strength | Attribution | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Albert C. Ritchie (Democratic) | Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment as a matter of states' rights | Repeal national Prohibition and return liquor control to the states; Maryland had refused to enact a state enforcement act. | specific_pledge | reported | not_applicable |
| 1932 | Alfred E. Smith (Democratic) | Outright repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment — the issue Roosevelt was downplaying | Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, as Smith had urged since 1928; make repeal the central Democratic issue. | specific_pledge | reported | not_applicable |
| 1932 | Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic) | Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment by state conventions; legalize beer now; states control liquor and bar the saloon | Congress to propose immediately a repeal amendment to be ratified by state conventions; states to regulate the liquor traffic, promote temperance and prevent the saloon's return, with federal help against importation int… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | kept |
| 1932 | Herbert Hoover (Republican) | Resubmit the Eighteenth Amendment so each state may decide, with constitutional guarantees against the saloon and against interference with dry states; enforce the law meanwhile | Support a constitutional change giving each state the right to deal with liquor as it determines, subject to federal guarantees protecting dry states from invasion and forbidding the saloon's return anywhere; continue en… | specific_pledge | candidate_direct | superseded |
| 1932 | Norman Thomas (Socialist) | Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment — the candidate preferring a binding national referendum | Platform plank for repeal (carried 81–71, then 84–77); Thomas personally favored a national referendum to which parties would pledge themselves, and would vote for repeal in it; a Hoan–Broun–Ameringer proposal for govern… | specific_pledge | party_platform | not_applicable |