PresidentialPositionsIssuesReceptionTimelineDocuments

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.

"A new deal for the American people" — work and security through liberal, planned government action — Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1932

Similar by solution solution · rationale

ScoreCycleCandidateIssuePosition
0.591932Franklin D. RooseveltOverall role and scale of the federal governmentGovernment as a check on concentrated economic power — "individualism" redefined as equality of opportunity
0.521932Franklin D. RooseveltOverall role and scale of the federal governmentAn "economic declaration of rights" — the right to make a living and the right to safe savings
0.511936Franklin D. RooseveltWorking hours and labor standardsRevive the NRA's principles 'by one device or another' (imputed; the President would not say)
0.501932Herbert HooverOverall role and scale of the federal governmentPreserve 'ordered freedom' and equality of opportunity; reject a state-controlled or state-directed economy as 'tyranny'
0.501932Franklin D. RooseveltNational economic planningNational economic planning on the model of the 1917 war mobilization
0.491932Franklin D. RooseveltRegulation of utility rates and holding companiesEight-point federal utility program: publicity, Federal Power Commission control of holding companies, prudent-investment rate base
0.461936Alf LandonNational economic planningEnd federal regimentation: no revival of NRA or AAA controls, no more emergency powers over production, wages and hours
0.461936Franklin D. RooseveltConcentrated economic power vs. the average citizen (rhetorical framing)Take power from the 'economic royalists': the mandate of 1932 is to end economic tyranny
0.451936Alf LandonEqual rights and opportunity for Black AmericansEqual opportunity for colored citizens: protect their economic status and personal safety; further their employment
0.451936Frank KnoxOverall role and scale of the federal governmentFair, honest, economical and efficient government; preserve free enterprise against 'amateur economic planners'
0.441936Alf LandonRight to organize and bargain collectivelyLabor's right to organize in any union it prefers, free from coercion by employer, fellow employee or anyone else; organizers' lawful activity protected
0.441932Franklin D. RooseveltDistribution of national income and purchasing powerA more equitable distribution of national income — higher reward to labor, lower to speculative capital
0.441932Franklin D. RooseveltNational economic planningIndustry leaders to organize cooperatively for the common good; government regulates only as a last resort
0.431936Alf LandonCivil service and patronageRestore, improve and extend the merit system 'virtually destroyed by New Deal spoilsmen'
0.421932Herbert HooverFederal responsibility for reliefRelief through voluntary mobilization and local responsibility, with RFC loans to exhausted states — no federal dole
0.421932Franklin D. RooseveltOverall role and scale of the federal governmentRemove government from private enterprise except public works and natural resources
0.411936Alf LandonAntitrust and concentration of economic powerUse the full power of the federal government to break up private monopolies and enforce the antitrust laws 'without fear or favor'
0.411932Herbert HooverTariff levelsUnconditional most-favored-nation treatment; no reciprocal bargains or preferences
0.411936Alf LandonPolitics and patronage in relief administrationRelief will continue, but purged of politics, administered locally on merit, with economies taken from 'the political exploiters'
0.411932Norman ThomasIndependence of the Supreme CourtA Workers' Rights Amendment; curb the Supreme Court's power over Congress; proportional representation; direct election of the President
0.411932Franklin D. RooseveltLocal government consolidation and the tax burden on landPresidential leadership to consolidate local governments and lift the tax burden on land
0.411932Herbert HooverPublic ownership of electric powerFederal regulation of interstate power; opposition to government operation of the power business
0.401936Frank KnoxHow to finance old-age and unemployment insurance (contributory reserve vs. pay-as-you-go)The Social Security Act is 'unworkable and unsound' -- 'lip service to security'; a Republican administration would offer its own legislation
0.401936Franklin D. RooseveltCivil service and patronageImmediately extend the merit system to all non-policy-making federal positions
0.401932Albert C. RitchieFederal responsibility for reliefStates' rights and business-led recovery — no federal intervention in relief