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1932 › Herbert Hoover (Republican) › Equal rights and opportunity for Black Americans
Maintain equal opportunity and rights for Negro citizens
pledge_forwardvague_gestureparty_platformevidence A Civil Rights & RaceSociety & Rights similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Stand 'pledged to maintain equal opportunity and rights for Negro citizens' and not alter the party's traditional pledge; no specific legislation named.
Rationale
'For seventy years the Republican Party has been the friend of the American Negro.'
The Democratic platform is silent on race; Hoover's own speeches do not mention it. Contrast with the Oct 1 remarks to the Republican committee to get out the Negro vote (not yet archived).
Statements (1)
For seventy years the Republican Party has been the friend of the American Negro. Vindication of the rights of the Negro citizen to enjoy the full benefits of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is traditional in the Republican Party, and our party stands pledged to maintain equal opportunity and rights for Negro citizens. We do not propose to depart from that tradition nor to alter the spirit or letter of that pledge.
Follow-through
not_applicable
Hoover lost the election; the pledge could not be tested in office. No federal civil-rights legislation followed under either party in the 1930s; anti-lynching bills died in Senate filibusters (1935, 1938).
Other positions on this issue
- Economic, political and legal equality for the Negro; a federal anti-lynching law; enforce the First Amendment — Norman Thomas, 1932 specific_pledge
- Equal opportunity for colored citizens: protect their economic status and personal safety; further their employment — Alf Landon, 1936 directional_stance
1932-hoover-negro-equal-rights · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed