Prohibition Party in the first FDR Administration
The four years since the presidential election of 1932 had been particularly difficult for the Prohibition Party. The lame duck session of the 72d Congress passed the 21st Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification; this amendment called for repeal of the 18th Amendment outlawing the manufacture and sale of alcohol. Throughout 1933, the states took action on the amendment, and on 12/5/1933 it was declared to be part of the Constitution. In many states, however, local legislation outlawing alcohol remained in effect even though the federal law had changed.
The movement to repeal the 18th Amendment brought many converts to the Prohibition Party. Its congressional vote increased dramatically. In fact, the party's all-time highest vote winner was Robert P. Shuler, who won 26% of the vote in the U.S. Senate race in California in 1932. In general, Prohibition Party candidates won four times the vote they had won in the 1920s.
1936 National Convention
The 17th Prohibition Party National Convention was held in the State Armory Building, Niagara Falls NY, on 5/5-7/1936. There were 150 delegates present on the first day, but by the end of the convention there were nearly 200 delegates present.
The week before the convention, it was becoming clear that sentiment in the party on non-alcohol related issues varied widely. National Chairman Edward E. Blake, who was politically liberal, held a press conference on 5/2/1936 in which he outlined the history of the party. He mentioned that the Prohibition Party had called for several reforms long before the Democrats or Republicans, including women's suffrage, civil service reform, and direct election of U.S. Senators in 1872, the federal income tax in 1896, old age pensions and unemployment insurance in 1916, and federal economic planning in 1932. Blake also mentioned the effort among many delegates to change the name of the party [NYT 5/3/1936]. The next day, Howard L. Holmes of Michigan held his own press conference. He said that changing the name of the party was a liberal move and stated that Harley W. Kidder of Vermont, the party's national secretary, was organizing the opposition to the party's conservatives [NYT 5/4/1936].
On the first day of the convention, Harold C. Mason was chosen as the chairman. Mason was the president of Huntington College in Indiana. George D. Harger of Pennsylvania gave a long speech in which he railed against "wet Catholics" who undermined the 18th Amendment. Harger also called for a 30-hour work week to help ease unemployment. [Buffalo Evening News, 5/6/1936].
D. Leigh Colvin of New York City gave the keynote speech in the evening. He pointed out that one major change resulting from the repeal of the 18th amendment was the increase use of alcoholic beverages by women, which he called "the alcoholizing of vast numbers of women." In addition to restoring the 18th Amendment, Colvin offered five major problems the party needed to discuss: 1) economic recovery; 2) a social security program; 3) a new law enforcement program; 4) clean politics; and 5) constitutional, progressive government [New York Times, 5/6/1936].
The second day of the convention was mainly taken up with a discussion of the proposed platform. As presented, the platform suggested that the name of the party be changed to the Commonweal Party. This came as a surprise to the delegates and party leaders, and they debated the proposal for three hours before rejecting it. [New York Times, 5/7/1936]
Nominations were the main event of the third day. Ethel Hubler of California placed Colvin in nomination, followed by 12 seconds. Ohio offered Harry E. Woolover of Washington DC, the editor-in-chief of a Methodist periodical, but he declined to run. C.J. Anderson of Illinois placed Roland S. Casad of California in nomination, but the California delegation protested that he was not a member of the party (and in the balloting, no one supported him). The insurgents supported Harley Kidder. Colvin won the roll call with 166 votes to just 12 for Kidder.
The vice presidential choice followed. Chairman Blake placed Alvin York, a hero from the World War, in nomination. York was nominated with 154 votes to 18 for Kidder and three for Claude Watson of California. [Buffalo Evening News and New York Times, 5/8/1936].
The Campaign
Immediately after the convention, news reporters travelled to Pall Mall, Tennessee, to ask Alvin York if he would run for vice president. He told the New York Times, "I'm not running for anything." Prohibition Party leaders had not notified him yet of his nomination, and action was not taken for some time to find a replacement [New York Times, 5/8/1936]. At some time in the fall, Claude Watson was chosen as the replacement candidate.
Colvin made the largest effort for the party since Faris's campaign of 1924. He travelled 25,000 miles, campaigning in 31 states. He appeared on the ballot in 25 states (including Michigan, where Presidential Electors were filed under the Commonwealth Party label). Colvin emphasized eleven states where local party candidates were on the ballot. When travelling along the west coast, Watson accompanied him; Watson's work limited his ability to campaign. National chairman Blake said that the party had collected more donations since 1916 [New York Times, 11/1/1936].
16th Prohibition National Convention [1932]
18th Prohibition National Convention [1940]
Popular Vote of 1936
Electoral Vote of 1936
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166 (93.26%)