1940: A Third Term?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt won re-election in 1936 by a landslide. His success with the electorate demonstrated how completely the Democrats had unseated the Republicans as the dominant American political party. It also proved that voters looked upon "FDR" as a beloved friend. Americans responded to his personable manner, which was particularly evident in his "Fireside Chats" radio speeches in which he addressed his wide audience as "my friends." He had earned a loyal following through his strong and efficient action during the country’s national economic crisis of the 1930s. In 1939, the country had begun to recover from the Great Depression, only to watch as Europe became embroiled in a savage war. American voters in 1940 sought to elect a President who would keep the country’s domestic affairs in order and keep us out of the war. After concealing his own political designs as long as possible, Roosevelt finally announced at the Democratic Convention that he had been "drafted" for a third term. His quest for a third term drew stinging criticism from Republicans and from some Democrats.
Republicans nominated utilities millionaire Wendell Willkie, a lifelong Democrat who broke with the Party over many aspects of the New Deal and turned Republican. Like FDR, Willkie was charming and personable, and his distance from the mainstream of the Republican Party was a great asset to his campaign. Willkie's candidacy spawned many Willkie "clubs," which appealed to independent voters. The electioneering was largely based on the cult of the two personalities and the question of a third term. As expected, Roosevelt carried the election with 449 electoral votes to Willkie's 82, and went on to win a fourth term, too.
FDR Pipe
Many Roosevelt campaign items celebrated the candidate's personality rather than his allegiance to the Democratic Party, leading to charges that he was trying to establish his own personal party.
Keep FDR Buttons
Franklin D. Roosevelt Campaign Buttons, 1940.
While Willkie's campaign made use of multiple slogans, Roosevelt's campaign relied on the President’s face and initials to advertise the candidate. FDR supporters tended to use catchphrases only to mock those of the Willkie campaign, as in "Better a Third Termer than a Third Rater."
Uncut Buttons
Uncut Sheet of Metal Lapel Pins, ca. 1940.
This sheet of campaign material was never cut into individual lapel pins. Evidently, the campaigns of both candidates were served by one non-partisan company.
Introducing Willkie
Woman’s Division of the Republican State Committee of New York. Campaign Helps in Streamlined Garb, 1940.
Campaign literature encouraged Republican vote-getters to "convert two voters a day and bring back the old American way" with Willkie.
Willkie Buttons
Wendell Willkie Campaign Buttons, 1940.
The Willkie campaign made heavy use of campaign buttons to attack the President's pursuit of a third term. A variety of slogans denounced Roosevelt's precedent-breaking race, comparing him to a dictator and a monarch. More mildly, one button states, "Two good terms deserve a rest." Roosevelt's campaign countered with its own slogan, "Two good terms deserve another."
Alfred E. Newman
The back of this postcard instructs users, "If you are opposed to the Third Term send these to your friends." The character of the toothless fool was used as early as 1914 to advertise products. In 1954, MAD Magazine adapted the same face as its mascot and named him Alfred E. Newman.