Memory Bank: Crowd gathers on the Circle for FDR’s first run in 1932

In his first presidential campaign, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was governor of New York at the time, made a stop in Indianapolis on Oct. 20, just days before the 1932 election, which was taking place in the middle of the Great Depression. His visit to the state lasted seven hours and included a parade to Monument Circle and a speech from the balcony of the English Hotel and Opera House. It’s estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 people crowded onto the circle that day to hear him. Roosevelt won the election on Nov. 8 against incumbent Republican President Herbert Hoover. By the time Roosevelt took office in March 1933, 13 million people were unemployed and most banks were closed. He promised to stabilize the economy. Roosevelt was the first and only U.S. president to be reelected more than once. He was reelected three times, serving a total of 12 years. FDR died in 1945, just a couple of months into his fourth term.

Sources: Indiana Historical Society, Whitehouse.gov and Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum

Credit: This photo is courtesy of the Indiana Historical Society and is part of the Bretzman Collection. More images are available at images.indianahistory.org.