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Rum, Romanism, And Virginia Democrats: The Party Leaders And The Campaign Of 1928, James R. Sweeney

History Faculty Publications

The 1928 presidential election posed problems for Virginia Democrats, who were traditionally Protestant and prohibitionist. New Yorker Al Smith's nomination split Virginia's party, allowing Republican Herbert C. Hoover to win by a healthy majority. Led by a Methodist Bishop James Cannon, Jr., Virginians who opposed Smith, a Roman Catholic, cited his link with Tammany Hall and his views on prohibition legislations as justifications to vote against him. State party leaders Harry Byrd, Carter Glass, Louis Joffe, and John Garland Pollard mounted a party loyalty campaign for Smith, but the election's central issue was whether or not a candidate's religion merited …