geeky
By mid-1931 few objective observers thought that Hoover had much hope of winning a second term because of the ongoing economic crisis. It is somewhat surprising that in light of this, Hoover faced little opposition for re-nomination. In 1932 the Republican Party held primaries in only 13 states. Hoover won in only four of these, and in three (New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California) he ran unopposed.
The man who gave Hoover his only challenge (and the man who won a majority of the Republican Primaries in 1932) was a former one-term Senator from Maryland named Joseph Irwin France. France was born in Cameron, Missouri, who graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He also attended the University of Leipzig in Germany and in 1897, he graduated from the medical department of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. France taught natural science at the Jacob Tome Institute of Port Deposit, Maryland in 1897, but resigned later to practice medicine in Baltimore after his graduation in 1903.
Dr. France was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1906, serving until 1908. He left the Senate in 1908 for the world of finance, but later served as the secretary to the medical and surgical faculty of Maryland from 1916–1917. He returned to politics in 1916 and was elected to the United States Senate. During the 65th Congress, he served in the Senate as the chairman of the Committee on Public Health and National Quarantine. France attempted to introduce an amendment to the Sedition Act of 1918 that would have ensured limited free speech protections, but the amendment was defeated. A free speech advocate, he called the legislation "criminal, repressive, and characteristic of the Dark Ages." In March 1920 he introduced a joint resolution calling for the dissenters that were imprisoned during World War I to be pardoned.
France had a good record generally when it came to civil rights. He spoke at a 1920 meeting of the NAACP to support the enactment of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. He fought against voter disenfranchisement for African-Americans, and proposed an amendment to a railroad bill so that black train passengers paying a first-class fare could get first-class accommodations. France lost his bid for re-election to the Senate in 1922, losing his seat to Democratic rival William Cabell Bruce. After his defeat, France became President of the Republic International Corporation. He also resumed the practice of medicine in Port Deposit.
In 1931 France decided to challenge opposed Herbert Hoover in Republican primaries during the Presidential campaign of 1932.
Civil rights. He was successful in winning Republican Primaries in North Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New Jersey and Oregon. Hoover defeated him in his home state of Maryland. In the Ohio primary, France finished second to populist Jacob Coxey, leader of the famous "Coxey's army" that had marched on Washington in 1894.
Even though he did not win many of the primaries, this was an era when it was the party establishment and not voters in primaries, that had the greatest influence on who the candidate would be. At the 1932 Republican National Convention, a number of prominent Republicans, including former President Calvin Coolidge. all passed on the opportunity to challenge Hoover. France gave a speech at the Republican Convention in Chicago. The microphone malfunctioned, leaving France continuing his speech unamplified while the sound system was repaired. Few delegates were selected in the primaries and France was heavily defeated at the convention.
Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidential nomination on the fourth ballot of the 1932 Democratic National Convention, defeating the 1928 Democratic nominee, Al Smith. The Democrats attacked Hoover as the cause of the Great Depression, and for being indifferent to the suffering of millions. During the election campaign, progressive Republicans like George Norris and Robert La Follette Jr. deserted Hoover.
In his campaign trips around the country, Hoover was faced with perhaps the most hostile crowds ever seen by a sitting president. His train and motorcades were pelted with eggs and rotten fruit and he was often heckled while speaking. On several occasions, the Secret Service intervened in attempts to kill Hoover by angry citizens, including capturing one man who was approaching Hoover while carrying sticks of dynamite. Another man was arrested already he removed several spikes from the rails in front of the Hoover's train.
In the end, the public blamed Hoover's administration for the depression. In the electoral college vote, Hoover lost 59–472, winning only six states. He received 39.7 percent of the popular vote, down 26 percentage points from his result in the 1928 election. Roosevelt's performance in the popular vote made him the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the presidency with a majority of the popular vote since the Civil War.
As for France, in 1934 he attempted to win back his senate seat, but was unsuccessful. He died in 1939.