Happy Days Are Here Again: The 1932 Democratic Convention, the Emergence of FDR - and How America Was Changed Forever

by Steve Neal

Political conventions in years past were more than pep rallies for preselected candidates -- they were suspenseful, no-holds-barred battles for the nomination. In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the man who would become one of America's most beloved presidents, was far from a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination at the party's convention in Chicago. Using new sources of information, award-winning reporter Steve Neal weaves the compelling story of how FDR finally got the nod along with the personalities of the day who influenced the decision, including Joseph P. Kennedy, Al Smith, Huey Long, and William Randolph Hearst.

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Historical, Presidents

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Born in 1949, Steve Neal earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon and a master’s in journalism from Columbia University. During his career in journalism, he worked for a number of newspapers, most notably as a political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Reviews

[Robert Morrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having enjoyed Steve Neal's bio of Wendell Willkie, I thought I would give this book a shot. I was not disappointed. The narrative is tight, insightful and captures the tension and excitement of the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that put FDR over the top on the fourth ballot. Although to the modern reader some of the major political players of the time may seem like corrupt buffoons (Cermak, Huey Long), the truth is that as strange as it may seem, the political process of power games and compromise was more likely to lead to action than the mess we have in Washington today. This is an insightful book about political process in general as well as a very good period piece of a challenging time in American history.

[Don · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very readable, enjoyable history of the Democratic Party's Presidential nominating convention in 1932. As becomes obvious through the course of the book, FDR's nomination was no sure thing. Neal takes the reader through the build-up to the convention and the convention itself. The high points of this book for me were the descriptions and mini-biographies of all of the key players. I was generally aware of most of the names, but knew very little about most of them. This isn't a 5-star book in my opinion largely because Neal goes a small bit overboard in describing the blow-by-blow of the convention itself. Of course, despite this, the book isn't too long and, as I indicated above, is highly readable.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book that focused on the 1932 Democratic National Convention where FDR won the nomination for president. The book focuses not only on FDR but all the other contenders that have long been lost in history which is one of the reasons why I liked this book. In addition to all the interesting facts and research, there were a great deal of pictures to bring the convention and the people involved to life.

I definitely recommend this to anyone who is interested in American politics and FDR.

[Eugenea Pollock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I might not have selected his book independently, when it came up through Bookbub (?), I was sufficiently interested to buy and read it. And I learned a lot about a piece of history that I knew very little about. I would have rated it higher but for the writing style. It could have been very suspenseful and exciting, but instead it read like an academic submission.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book about the rise of Franklin D. Roosevelt to his nomination in the Democratic Convention in 1932, you will be thoroughly disappointed with this book. In fact, if you are looking for anything about FDR and his run to becoming president in this book you will be disappointed. 'Happy Days Are Here Again' is more about how broken up the Democratic Party was at the time and all of the various candidates that were running against FDR. This book goes much more in-depth about the other candidates and their policies, which helps paint a picture of all of the different platforms within the democrats at the time, but fails to really delve that much into FDR's. In addition, because of all of the different candidates in the running, the book gets very convoluted with all of the various names that had some hand in a candidates campaign. To the point where it becomes very difficult to keep track of all of the names being thrown around. 'Happy Days Are Here Again' also spends quite a bit of time (too much time in my opinion) on the atmosphere of Chicago politics, to the point where you begin to wonder what the goal of the book is. The one and only highlight that I took away from this book, was it does an excellent job of bringing the reader into the confusing and crazy world of politicians. All of the behind the scenes deals and wheeling and dealing by the various candidates and their staff was very interesting to follow along to and really makes one marvel at how FDR gained nomination at all.

[Don Gerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Steve Neal brings yesterday into today as he presents intricate details of how Franklin Delano Roosevelt won the Democratic Party nomination in 1932. Even though FDR possessed a clear majority of votes over his rivals, party rules at that time required that a candidate must receive two-thirds of the votes from attendees at the 1932 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Roosevelt faced the possibility of not being able to gather the necessity votes on the opening ballots, thus opening up the splintering of his support and allowing the nomination to slip to another.

The author describes each potential presidential candidate in depth, and meticulously sketches a thorough picture of the political scene in 1932. We are privy to many of the battles, both public and private. One has to wonder at the thought process that would prompt politicians to debate whether or not the repeal of Prohibition should be part of the party platform, at a time when we look back at the era and consider that the Great Depression should have overshadowed any other subjects...but good ideas, bad ideas, they are all included in this interesting history of the political machinations that were necessary to give FDR a shot at the Presidency. Five stars.

[Michael Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought the paperback edition of this book from Booksale last year for just twenty (20) Pesos (Yes, really). It is an interesting account of the 1932 Democratic Party National Convention. It was interesting to know that President Franklin Roosevelt's nomination as the party's candidate was not easy and was not quickly in the bag. It involved a lot of negotiation, haggling (or even bribery), persuasion, and creativity to persuade delegates and notable figures to throw their support behind Roosevelt.

Although it was a decent narrative of President Roosevelt's rise to the American presidency and a brief pass of his four terms, I could not help but notice that it was all praises for Roosevelt. But then, I noticed that the author was a Democrat, so I think that's why. But I would have preferred a more objective take, like by explaining that Roosevelt's New Deal did not really solve the Great Depression.

[Tony Almquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an excellent account of the 1932 Democratic Convention. The first half of the book has chapter length sketches of the major players, many names lost to history. The second half of the book deals with the wrangling and intrigue in getting FDR nominated, far from a foregone conclusion. What if McAdoo of California had not made it to the convention hall in time after his limo ran out of gas on the streets on Chicago? hmmm

[Deborah A Barck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling

This time in the history of a young child and her and her siblings’ survival was sad and shocking. Her tenacity and will is so well written that I envisioned her struggles and triumphs along the way. Historically speaking, I was informed; humanly speaking, I was touched.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you're not a Roosevelt fan or admirer, this book provides a detailed and comprehensive look at early 20th Century politics and how a crucial time in American history came to be.

[DW Rowlands · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a relatively interesting narrative of the 1932 Democratic National Convention. I hadn't realized that Al Smith had made a run for the presidency in 1932, or how close FDR came to not being nominated by the convention, despite having a simple majority of support, because of the rule, dating back to Andrew Jackson, that nomination required the support of two-thirds of candidates. It was definitely interesting to read about how an old-style "brokered" convention worked.

[Richard Walden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was under the impression that FDR, by virtue of his success as governor of New York, cruised to the Democratic nomination for president in 1932. This page-turner of a book shows how complicated and hair-raising the process actually was. Their are wonderful portraits of the principal and secondary players in the drama. Bravo! This is a great read for anyone but specifically for students who are interested in public service.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It moved slowly at times, but I learned so much about the ins-and-outs of the 1932 Democratic convention. Many of the contenders mentioned are famous, but this book gave some insight to their positions. I also liked that the author included details about Roosevelt's flight to Chicago to accept the nomination. Flying is so commonplace now that it is easy to forget that it could be dangerous, especially for a man who had just won the nomination. It was a visible sign of FDR's willingness to take on whatever was needed.

I would certainly recommend this book if you are interested in the politics of the time. It wasn't always noble, but it produced a result that made history.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incisive account of how of the most influential American presidents ever came to power....

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interesting, political stuff, but sugarcoated FDR to much for my taste