1928 Presidential Elections: Hoover And Republican Candidate Al Smith

The 1928 Presidential elections was a contest between Republican nominee Herbert Hoover and Democratic nominee Al Smith. It marked the first time that a Roman Catholic, Al Smith, became a major party's nomination for US President. Despite a rather landslide victory by Herbert Hoover, 60% of the popular vote and over 80% of the electoral returns, this was a heated election pitting wets verses drys, immigrants versus natives, city vs. country, blacks verses whites, and most notably Catholics verses Protestants. According to many, religion was the most sensitive emotional issue of the 1928 election. Differences between Catholics and Protestants were the biggest factor in determining the outcome of this election. It created more interest, excitement, and tension than any other issue of this campaign. The nomination of a Catholic by one of the nation's two major party's rekindled religious strife in the United States (Lichtman 40). Most Protestants did not want a Catholic as president and were willing to do what they could to make sure that Al Smith was defeated. Protestants who were against the election of a Catholic to public office felt that the church was an organized political force seeking to dominate America both spiritually and politically. Both Protestant clergy and laymen thought Catholics were unfit
Public statements by Hoover and other Republican politicians seem to reflect a strategic decision to risk only mild repudiations of religious bigotry, while shifting the onus of intolerance to the Democratic Party (Lichtman 62). In his acceptance speech at the Republican Convention, Hoover endorsed religious tolerance. However, evidence suggests that Hoover and other Republican leaders probably took part in efforts to gain anti-Catholic votes. Further evidence suggests that the Republican leadership deliberately set out to exploit Protestant opposition to the election of a Catholic