1928

Herbert Hoover and the 1928 map

Republican Herbert Hoover won in a landslide over Democrat Al Smith, the first Catholic presidential nominee of a major party. Anti-Catholic prejudice, Smith's opposition to Prohibition, and Coolidge-era prosperity all worked against Smith, who lost several traditionally Democratic Southern states. Hoover promised continued prosperity but the stock market crashed in October 1929, just eight months into his term, triggering the Great Depression that would doom his presidency.