1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee explained

See main article: 1940 United States presidential election.

Election Name:1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee
Country:Tennessee
Type:presidential
Ongoing:no
Previous Election:1936 United States presidential election in Tennessee
Previous Year:1936
Next Election:1944 United States presidential election in Tennessee
Next Year:1944
Votes For Election:All 11 Tennessee votes to the Electoral College
Election Date:November 5, 1940[1]
Image1:FDRoosevelt1938.png
Nominee1:Franklin D. Roosevelt
Party1:Democratic Party (United States)
Home State1:New York
Running Mate1:Henry A. Wallace
Electoral Vote1:11
Popular Vote1:351,601
Percentage1:67.25%
Nominee2:Wendell Willkie
Party2:Republican Party (United States)
Home State2:New York
Running Mate2:Charles L. McNary
Electoral Vote2:0
Popular Vote2:169,153
Percentage2:32.35%
Map Size:350px
President
Before Election:Franklin D. Roosevelt
Before Party:Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:Franklin D. Roosevelt
After Party:Democratic Party (United States)

The 1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 5, 1940, as part of the 1940 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 11[2] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

For over a century after the Civil War, Tennessee was divided according to political loyalties established in that war. Unionist regions covering almost all of East Tennessee, Kentucky Pennyroyal-allied Macon County, and the five West Tennessee Highland Rim counties of Carroll, Henderson, McNairy, Hardin and Wayne[3] voted Republican – generally by landslide margins – as they saw the Democratic Party as the "war party" who had forced them into a war they did not wish to fight.[4] Contrariwise, the rest of Middle and West Tennessee who had supported and driven the state's secession was equally fiercely Democratic as it associated the Republicans with Reconstruction.[5] After the disfranchisement of the state's African-American population by a poll tax was largely complete in the 1890s,[6] the Democratic Party was certain of winning statewide elections if united,[7] although unlike the Deep South Republicans would almost always gain thirty to forty percent of the statewide vote from mountain and Highland Rim support.

In 1920 by moving into a small number of traditionally Democratic areas in Middle Tennessee[8] and expanding turnout due to the Nineteenth Amendment and powerful isolationist sentiment,[9] the Republican Party captured Tennessee's presidential electoral votes and won the governorship and three congressional seats in addition to the rock-ribbed GOP First and Second Districts. In 1922 and 1924, with the ebbing of isolationist sympathy and a consequent decline in turnout,[10] the Democratic Party regained Tennessee's governorship and presidential electoral votes; however, in 1928 anti-Catholicism against Democratic nominee Al Smith in this powerfully fundamentalist state[11] meant that Herbert Hoover bettered Harding’s performance without however gaining the down-ballot coattails of 1920.

These Republican gains would be completely reversed in the 1930s due to the impact of the Great Depression, which was generally blamed upon the Republican Party’s policies during the 1920s. Internal divisions prevented the Republicans taking advantage of a disputed Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1932 between Lewis Pope and Hill McAlister,[12] and for the next third of a century the Republicans would rarely contest statewide offices seriously despite their continuing dominance of East Tennessee and half a dozen Unionist counties in the middle and west of the state.[13] Statewide politics for the decade and a half after the beginning of the Depression would be dominated by Edward Hull “Boss” Crump, whose Memphis political machine would consistently provide decisive votes in statewide Democratic primaries — aided by cross-party voting by Republicans in eastern mountain counties.[13] Crump would be supported during this era by long-serving Senator Kenneth Douglas McKellar, and in 1938 when several statewide candidates allied themselves with Tennessee’s other Senator, Gordon Browning, the Crump/McKellar machine not merely defeated the collaboration, but even unseated Senator Browning.[14]

Incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was now running with Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace in place of incumbent Vice President John Nance Garner, would visit Tennessee at the beginning of September.[15] In his visit he defended his accomplishment as Assistant Secretary of the Navy in the Wilson administration, and the work of the Tennessee Valley Authority which the New Deal had created. Republican nominee Wendell Willkie and running mate Minority Leader and Oregon senior Senator Charles L. McNary did not comment[16] or visit the state. A Gallup poll in mid-october showed Roosevelt maintaining his 1936 68 percent vote percentage,[17] and in the end Roosevelt carried Tennessee with 67.25 percent of the popular vote to 32.35 percent for Willkie.[18]

Analysis

Roosevelt’s 67.25 percent vote share was slightly below what he managed in 1936, but slightly greater than what he gained in Tennessee in 1932. Nationally Willkie won eight states and almost 700 counties that had supported Roosevelt four years earlier, mostly because of Midwestern German-American opposition to increasing "tension" with Nazi Germany.[19] However, in heavily Anglophile Tennessee, support for aid to the United Kingdom in World War II turned substantial numbers of normally rock-ribbed GOP voters to Roosevelt.[20] Although FDR lost five normally Republican counties which he had carried in 1936 in Bradley, Claiborne, Cumberland, Greene and Hardin, he won two counties that had backed Hoover and Landon in his first two runs. FDR was the first Democrat to ever carry Roane County.[21]

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last occasion when Knox County has voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[22]

Results

Results by county

1940 United States presidential election in Tennessee by county[23]
CountyFranklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic
Wendell Lewis Willkie
Republican
Roger Ward Babson
Prohibition
Norman Mattoon Thomas
Socialist
MarginTotal votes cast
%%%%%
Anderson2,21854.22%1,85245.27%120.29%90.22%3668.95%4,091
Bedford2,49981.29%55518.05%200.65%00.00%1,94463.24%3,074
Benton1,99669.38%85829.82%140.49%90.31%1,13839.56%2,877
Bledsoe1,52753.69%1,31746.31%00.00%00.00%2107.38%2,844
Blount3,36343.56%4,31255.85%450.58%00.00%-949-12.29%7,720
Bradley1,97642.82%2,61756.71%190.41%30.07%-641-13.89%4,615
Campbell2,68848.77%2,79950.78%250.45%00.00%-111-2.01%5,512
Cannon1,69972.05%63827.06%160.68%50.21%1,06145.00%2,358
Carroll2,83050.16%2,78249.31%300.53%00.00%480.85%5,642
Carter2,17133.50%4,23865.40%500.77%210.32%-2,067-31.90%6,480
Cheatham1,93285.26%33114.61%10.04%20.09%1,60170.65%2,266
Chester1,53760.23%1,01539.77%00.00%00.00%52220.45%2,552
Claiborne2,79248.44%2,87949.95%611.06%320.56%-87-1.51%5,764
Clay1,28870.58%53729.42%00.00%00.00%75141.15%1,825
Cocke1,09823.50%3,52175.35%320.68%220.47%-2,423-51.85%4,673
Coffee2,27783.96%42415.63%100.37%10.04%1,85368.33%2,712
Crockett2,04873.41%73326.27%60.22%30.11%1,31547.13%2,790
Cumberland1,44348.67%1,49250.32%160.54%140.47%-49-1.65%2,965
Davidson27,58975.89%8,76324.11%00.00%00.00%18,82651.79%36,352
Decatur1,83258.77%1,27540.90%70.22%30.10%55717.87%3,117
DeKalb2,83058.10%2,04141.90%00.00%00.00%78916.20%4,871
Dickson2,78483.88%52715.88%60.18%20.06%2,25768.00%3,319
Dyer3,37477.03%96121.94%330.75%120.27%2,41355.09%4,380
Fayette1,82695.80%784.09%20.10%00.00%1,74891.71%1,906
Fentress91939.66%1,36558.91%100.43%230.99%-446-19.25%2,317
Franklin4,31288.13%56911.63%90.18%30.06%3,74376.50%4,893
Gibson5,10380.29%1,23319.40%170.27%30.05%3,87060.89%6,356
Giles3,79684.34%69215.37%130.29%00.00%3,10468.96%4,501
Grainger84232.93%1,68866.01%271.06%00.00%-846-33.09%2,557
Greene4,40648.23%4,58750.21%1091.19%330.36%-181-1.98%9,135
Grundy1,74985.07%29814.49%70.34%20.10%1,45170.57%2,056
Hamblen2,05553.00%1,79446.27%280.72%00.00%2616.73%3,877
Hamilton17,08363.45%9,77136.29%410.15%270.10%7,31227.16%26,922
Hancock1,01437.54%1,67361.94%140.52%00.00%-659-24.40%2,701
Hardeman2,54988.66%31911.10%70.24%00.00%2,23077.57%2,875
Hardin1,95746.08%2,26453.31%260.61%00.00%-307-7.23%4,247
Hawkins2,10838.62%3,31460.72%360.66%00.00%-1,206-22.10%5,458
Haywood3,46696.33%1283.56%40.11%00.00%3,33892.77%3,598
Henderson1,56036.95%2,65362.84%20.05%70.17%-1,093-25.89%4,222
Henry3,30785.10%56314.49%130.33%30.08%2,74470.61%3,886
Hickman2,77680.84%64418.75%140.41%00.00%2,13262.09%3,434
Houston1,09382.12%22917.21%90.68%00.00%86464.91%1,331
Humphreys1,71781.88%37717.98%30.14%00.00%1,34063.90%2,097
Jackson2,04676.92%60522.74%90.34%00.00%1,44154.17%2,660
Jefferson1,06235.35%1,92163.95%160.53%50.17%-859-28.60%3,004
Johnson46915.79%2,50284.21%00.00%00.00%-2,033-68.43%2,971
Knox20,22658.96%13,87740.45%1340.39%670.20%6,34918.51%34,304
Lake2,96292.94%2136.68%20.06%100.31%2,74986.26%3,187
Lauderdale6,27995.09%3174.80%70.11%00.00%5,96290.29%6,603
Lawrence3,93667.44%1,87732.16%190.33%40.07%2,05935.28%5,836
Lewis1,34378.26%36821.45%20.12%30.17%97556.82%1,716
Lincoln3,78187.62%52112.07%130.30%00.00%3,26075.55%4,315
Loudon2,06847.90%2,22651.56%160.37%70.16%-158-3.66%4,317
Macon71129.08%1,73070.76%40.16%00.00%-1,019-41.68%2,445
Madison6,15482.63%1,27117.06%190.26%40.05%4,88365.56%7,448
Marion3,24259.65%2,15839.71%350.64%00.00%1,08419.94%5,435
Marshall3,13288.90%38911.04%20.06%00.00%2,74377.86%3,523
Maury4,52987.33%63412.23%200.39%30.06%3,89575.11%5,186
McMinn5,19256.92%3,90142.77%190.21%90.10%1,29114.15%9,121
McNairy2,48449.34%2,55050.66%00.00%00.00%-66-1.31%5,034
Meigs88960.81%57339.19%00.00%00.00%31621.61%1,462
Monroe4,12155.57%3,25343.86%420.57%00.00%86811.70%7,416
Montgomery3,15879.15%81920.53%110.28%20.05%2,33958.62%3,990
Moore86988.49%10610.79%60.61%10.10%76377.70%982
Morgan1,78355.18%1,44844.82%00.00%00.00%33510.37%3,231
Obion4,36088.73%53610.91%140.28%40.08%3,82477.82%4,914
Overton1,71862.86%98836.15%110.40%160.59%73026.71%2,733
Perry1,06876.12%33223.66%30.21%00.00%73652.46%1,403
Pickett65243.70%83055.63%80.54%20.13%-178-11.93%1,492
Polk3,61186.53%56213.47%00.00%00.00%3,04973.06%4,173
Putnam2,96365.21%1,57634.68%30.07%20.04%1,38730.52%4,544
Rhea2,36454.52%1,95645.11%160.37%00.00%4089.41%4,336
Roane2,38451.27%2,24548.28%190.41%20.04%1392.99%4,650
Robertson3,25886.49%49013.01%180.48%10.03%2,76873.48%3,767
Rutherford4,20783.99%78215.61%200.40%00.00%3,42568.38%5,009
Scott1,44839.68%2,18759.93%140.38%00.00%-739-20.25%3,649
Sequatchie1,00371.24%40128.48%40.28%00.00%60242.76%1,408
Sevier1,18120.54%4,56979.46%00.00%00.00%-3,388-58.92%5,750
Shelby57,66488.61%7,31211.24%550.08%430.07%50,35277.38%65,074
Smith2,24477.22%64822.30%80.28%60.21%1,59654.92%2,906
Stewart2,69987.40%37412.11%140.45%10.03%2,32575.29%3,088
Sullivan7,23463.34%4,15336.36%340.30%00.00%3,08126.98%11,421
Sumner3,59180.75%83418.75%170.38%50.11%2,75762.00%4,447
Tipton5,81595.13%2884.71%90.15%10.02%5,52790.41%6,113
Trousdale92990.63%949.17%20.20%00.00%83581.46%1,025
Unicoi98534.19%1,86364.67%291.01%40.14%-878-30.48%2,881
Union67336.90%1,14362.66%80.44%00.00%-470-25.77%1,824
Van Buren73269.52%31830.20%30.28%00.00%41439.32%1,053
Warren2,32380.46%54618.91%180.62%00.00%1,77761.55%2,887
Washington3,56542.81%4,71956.67%430.52%00.00%-1,154-13.86%8,327
Wayne1,10030.62%2,48669.21%60.17%00.00%-1,386-38.59%3,592
Weakley3,47474.74%1,13924.51%260.56%90.19%2,33550.24%4,648
White2,25677.05%65722.44%150.51%00.00%1,59954.61%2,928
Williamson3,21585.82%50513.48%260.69%00.00%2,71072.34%3,746
Wilson3,02082.04%65517.79%60.16%00.00%2,36564.25%3,681
Totals351,60167.25%169,15332.35%1,6060.31%4630.09%182,44834.90%522,823

Notes and References

  1. Web site: United States Presidential election of 1940 — Encyclopædia Britannica. October 18, 2018.
  2. Web site: 1940 Election for the Thirty-ninth Term (1941-45). October 18, 2018.
  3. Wright. John K.. Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps. Geographical Review. 22. 4. October 1932. 666–672.
  4. [Valdimer Orlando Key|Key (Jr.), Valdimer Orlando]
  5. Book: Lyons. William. Scheb (II). John M.. Stair. Billy. Government and Politics in Tennessee. 183–184. 1572331410.
  6. [Kevin Phillips (political commentator)|Phillips, Kevin P.]
  7. Grantham. Dewey W.. Tennessee and Twentieth-Century American Politics'. Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 54. 3. Fall 1995. 210–229.
  8. Reichard. Gary W.. The Aberration of 1920: An Analysis of Harding's Victory in Tennessee. The Journal of Southern History. 36. 1. February 1970. 33–49.
  9. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 211
  10. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 287
  11. Book: Larson, Edward J.. Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate over Science and Religion. 9780465075102.
  12. Book: Majors, William R.. Change and continuity: Tennessee politics since the Civil War. 65. 9780865542099. 1986.
  13. Majors, Change and continuity, p. 72
  14. Majors, Change and continuity, p. 70
  15. News: Thinks Public Should Approve — Willkie Disapproves of Destroyer Move by Roosevelt. Sioux City Journal. Sioux City, Iowa. September 4, 1940. 1, 5.
  16. News: Expects U.S. Will Back Ship Deal – Willkie Finds Fault, However, Because Roosevelt Did not Get Congress’ Approval. Lancaster Daily Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. September 4, 1940. 3.
  17. News: Gallup. George. Gallup Poll Shows Willkie Is Gaining. The Spokane Chronicle. Spokane, Washington. October 18, 1940. 1.
  18. Web site: The American Presidency Project — Election of 1940. October 18, 2018.
  19. Book: Dunn, Susan. 1940: FDR, Willkie, Lindbergh, Hitler–the Election Amid the Storm. 107. 0300190867.
  20. Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority; p. 93
  21. Book: Menendez, Albert J.. The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. 68. 0786422173.
  22. Sullivan, Robert David; ‘How the Red and Blue Map Evolved Over the Past Century’; America Magazine in The National Catholic Review; June 29, 2016
  23. Web site: Our Campaigns. TN US President, November 05, 1940.