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Faykosh Dissertation.pdf (1.81 MB)

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A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924

Faykosh, Joseph D.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4155-2528
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1478211951641714

Abstract Details

2016, Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, History.
The Democratic Party suffered its worst electoral defeat in 1924, when compromise candidate John Davis survived a brutal convention in New York City only to be soundly defeated by Calvin Coolidge. It was a demoralizing defeat for the party, and Franklin D. Roosevelt seized this fraught moment to take the reins as party leader and begin reforming the party to fit his vision. Roosevelt composed a circular letter, listing five fundamental principles that the Democratic Party should unite behind, and sent it to delegates and party leaders throughout the country. Whether he believed that the responses would simply endorse his suggestions and reorient him as party leader or not, he received a variety of feedback, demonstrating the deep fissures within the Democratic Party and a distinct lack of direction or shared vision. This dissertation focuses on the convergence of two fortunes: the Democratic Party, going through one of its darkest periods, and Franklin Roosevelt, recovering from his tragic illness and trying to reclaim his position in the party. My dissertation provides the most significant examination of the Franklin Roosevelt Circular Letter of 1924. Analyzing the Franklin Roosevelt Circular Letter of 1924 provides an opportunity to understand a party and politician in peril: the Democratic Party at its lowest moment since the Civil War; Franklin Roosevelt at a personal and political crossroads; and how Roosevelt's Circular Letter and responses provided a way for both the party and his political career to return to prominence.
Scott Martin, PhD (Advisor)
Michael Brooks, PhD (Committee Member)
Douglas Forsyth, PhD (Committee Member)
Ellen Gorsevski, PhD (Other)
Nicole Kalaf-Hughes, PhD (Committee Member)
310 p.
History; Political Science
Franklin Roosevelt; Circular Letter of 1924; Democratic Party

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Faykosh, J. D. (2016). A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924 [Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1478211951641714

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Faykosh, Joseph. A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1478211951641714.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Faykosh, Joseph. "A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924." Doctoral dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1478211951641714

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1478211951641714
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.