Herbert Hoover, the thirty-first president, was only eight months into his first term when the stock market crashed in 1929. His failure to stabilize the nation in the following years ensured that his reelection was unlikely. Even so, Hoover remained the Republican nominee in the 1932 election, up against Democrat Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945), the cousin of former president Theodore Roosevelt.

Roosevelt began his political career in 1910, when he was elected to the New York State Senate. His charisma and sharp mind—plus his famous name—helped propel Roosevelt to political fame. Only two years later, in 1912, Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy under president Woodrow Wilson. His popularity as a Democratic politician led Roosevelt to twice be nominated to the vice presidency, though the Democrats lost both elections.

In 1921, Roosevelt suffered a severe bout of polio, leaving him confined to a wheelchair. Despite these struggles, Roosevelt remained active in the Democratic Party, and in 1928, he was elected governor of New York, where his plans to fight the economic crisis during the early years of the Great Depression led him to be called the "reform governor." When he accepted the Democratic nomination, Roosevelt laid out his plans:

Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth.... I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms. (http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=75174)

While Hoover had centered his Depression-era policies on supporting and rebuilding businesses in the hopes that money would trickle down, Roosevelt believed that the federal government should provide programs that would directly help the poor and unemployed. These programs focused on the "three Rs": relief, recovery, and reform. Considering Hoover's poor reputation and the failures of his business-first, trickle-down economic plans, Roosevelt won the 1932 presidential election in a landslide, promising change through people-first policies.

Franklin Roosevelt began his political career in 1910 when he won a seat in the New York State Senate.  He rose quickly from that post to become a prominent national figure, helped in part by his family name.

After only two years as a state senator, Roosevelt was appointed assistant secretary of the Navy in Woodrow Wilson's first administration.  He used this post to make himself well-known and well-connected in Democratic circles.  This led to him being chosen as the vice presidential candidate in the 1920 election (which the Democrats lost).

After being paralyzed by polio in 1921, Roosevelt did not hold office for some time.  However, he remained active in the Democratic Party.  He won election as the governor of New York in 1928 and was seen as the most likely presidential candidate for 1932.  When the Depression hit, his path to the presidency was made easier.  President Hoover became so unpopular due to the Depression that it was relatively easy for Roosevelt to rise to the presidency.