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1932 › Alfred E. Smith (Democratic) › National Prohibition
Outright repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment — the issue Roosevelt was downplaying
pledge_forwardspecific_pledgereportedevidence C Prohibition & Alcohol⚡ National Prohibition similar solutions · similar reasoning
Solution
Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment, as Smith had urged since 1928; make repeal the central Democratic issue.
Rationale
Prohibition breeds lawlessness and corruption; the urban Democratic base demands repeal.
Statements (2)
An early test of Roosevelt's strength came when Democratic National Committee chairman John Jakob Raskob floated a proposal to have the party endorse the repeal of Prohibition and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
Raskob, Smith's ally, pressed the party to commit to repeal in March 1931; Roosevelt blocked it.
At the convention, Smith gave a speech advocating for the repeal of prohibition. The speech was energetically received.
Follow-through
not_applicable
Repeal was adopted as the platform's plank and completed in December 1933.
Enacted by others
| 1933-12-05 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | other Twenty-first Amendment | source |
Other positions on this issue
- Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment as a matter of states' rights — Albert C. Ritchie, 1932 specific_pledge
- Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment by state conventions; legalize beer now; states control liquor and bar the saloon — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932 specific_pledge
- 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 — Herbert Hoover, 1932 specific_pledge
- Repeal the Eighteenth Amendment — the candidate preferring a binding national referendum — Norman Thomas, 1932 specific_pledge
1932-smith-repeal-prohibition · created by claude-fable-5-1 · review: unreviewed