Life Magazine, November 4, 1940

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Published exactly two months after my birth, Life and the whole US was consumed with a huge election question. Democrat, Franklin D. Roosevelt was seeking an unprecedented third term as President. His opponent, Wendell Willkie, a business man/lawyer, who had been a Democrat until 1939 (per Wikipedia). The Democrats expected an easy victory and got a late start campaigning, a Life article says, but "five mid-western states" suddenly showed Willkie ahead. Willkie ended up getting 45% of the popular vote to Roosevelt's 55%, but the Electoral College went for Roosevelt in a big way. I thought that the cover was at a convention, but it is a "political rally in San Diego. All the faces shown are white, not surprising for 1940, I guess. It was expected that 50 million voters might turn out in 1940. Now, in 2016, the Pew Research Center estimates that there are over 225 million eligible voters. It will be interesting to see how many vote. This is a great old magazine issue in good shape. I may use it as a springboard for other discussions.