The Buying of the Presidency?: Franklin D. Roosevelt, the New Deal, and the Election of 1936 (Praeger Series on American Political Culture)

This groundbreaking work tells the true story behind Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 reelection, drawing upon never-before-published personal files to expose a nexus of patronage and power that changed America forever.

• Presents the first published study dedicated explicitly to the presidential election of 1936

• Incorporates never-before-made-public primary archival research from Roosevelt's own files (including his communication with such notorious big-city bosses as Frank Hague); from the files of his political "fixer," Democratic Party Chairman James A. Farley; and from the files of GOP Chairman John Hamilton

• Reveals the working relationship between Roosevelt and his key lieutenants, shedding new light on the administration of one of America's greatest presidents

• Exposes the role played by Farley in channeling New Deal money to shape partisan political outcomes by paying off debts, delivering on promises, rewarding allies, settling factional disputes, expanding party authority, and buying votes

• Analyzes key transitions in the evolution of the Republican and Democratic parties that brought them to their current values and ideologies

• Includes never previously printed period photographs that add personality to the colorful cast of characters brought to life in the text