Realignments in American Politics and the Great Depression
The Great Depression brought a realignment – a changing of power from one party to another in response to a national crisis - in American Federal Politics through the Election of 1932. ... The differences between these two parties are exemplified in the policies and reactions each took in response to the greatest economic crisis in American History. ... The federal government was weary of standing in the way of capitalism and free enterprise and Republican response to the Depression epitomizes such ideological stands. ... When such Republican measures failed with wage cuts and disheveled local welfare and charity systems, the American people decided it was time for the “other side” to be given an opportunity at solving America’s economic problems.