The attempted assassination of President Roosevelt by Capone and his co-conspirators focused national attention on the unintended consequences of Prohibition like nothing before, even the infamous Valentines Day Massacre and other violent incidents. Using the powers granted after the 1926 Wall Street bombings, J. Edgar Hoover’s BDS agents swept across the country, uncovering corruption on a level that could be scarcely be imagined as politicians grew wealthy on a healthy diet of bribes and kickbacks from the mob and other smugglers and some were even directly involved in the smuggling itself. The Mob and their supporters did not surrender quietly. The summer of 1932 was known as “The Tommy-gun summer” as BDS agents and mobsters fought raging gun battles, especially in the poorer areas of the large cities of the Northeast and Midwest. Detroit was especially hard hit as the notorious Purple Gang was able to call on a surprising amount of public support in their fight against the government. Many saw the mobsters as urban heroes and actively supported their fight and helped to hide them. By late August the situation had deteriorated to the point that state and federal troops were called in to restore order. Parts of Detroit came to resemble European battlegrounds and nearly a hundred federal agents and soldiers were killed or wounded and nearly four hundred Detroit residents along with most of the Purple Gang were killed and many more wounded in the worst civil uprising the nation had seen since the draft riots of the Civil War seventy years earlier.
Support for Prohibition plummeted as the violence spiked. Even its most vocal supporters began to refer to it as “the best of intentions leading to the worst possible consequences” and Congress introduced the Twentieth Amendment which would give the individual states control over alcohol sales. By late September it had passed Congress and was sent to the states for ratification, which would happen in the spring of 1933.
President Roosevelt returned to the White House in the second week of July after recovering from the Chicago assassination attempt the month before. The only sign of his close call was a noticeable limp and his frequent use of a cane as a result of the bullet that remained lodged near one of the major nerves in his lower back. Despite reportedly suffering severe pain from the bullet, Roosevelt returned to his campaign soon after his release from Walter Reed, addressing a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington on his desire to end America’s isolationist stance in the world and have the country join the League of Nations. The speech proved even more interesting than expected. The subject of discussion was well known before-hand, the President’s drive to have the United States join the League of Nations. What proved surprising was who appeared to speak on the President’s behalf. After walking with visible difficulty to the podium, the President announced that since his doctors had advised him against making any extended speeches, and that “since the last time I opened my mouth in public someone shot me” he would have someone else deliver his planned speech to the Council. Stunned silence was quickly replaced by wild applause as an elderly gray-haired gentleman with a large white mustache walked into the room. Former President Theodore Roosevelt had virtually disappeared from politics since the end of the war in Europe, traveling the world and writing the occasional article for National Geographic. It was also known that the Roosevelt family had split along party lines back in the 1920’s after some particularly nasty campaigns in New York. His appearance at the CFR meeting marked his return to the political scene at the still vigorous age of seventy-four as well as a rapprochement within the Roosevelt family.
The former President started his speech with a joke at his cousin’s expense. “Back in my day, when you got shot while trying to give a speech, you had the decency to finish the speech, THEN go to the hospital!” The elder Roosevelt also had a bullet remaining in his chest after his attempted assassination in 1912. “I must admit that I have some trepidation now about my son Quentin’s entry into politics since we Roosevelts seem to be somewhat prone to getting shot!” Quentin, Roosevelt’s youngest son, was running for governor of New York as a progressive Republican. Roosevelt went on to decry the “timidity” of the United State’s foreign policy. “Simply sitting on the sidelines hoping everyone will leave us alone is a recipe for disaster. We see today that the world is rapidly returning to the instability that led to the Great War. Alliances are being drawn up just as they were before the war and already there are fires smoldering in Asia and South America. America stands alone in this system of alliances and in doing so puts itself and its ideals at risk of becoming irrelevant.” Roosevelt called on Congress to finally join the League of Nations, saying “By standing on the sidelines, by ignoring the world around us, we are by omission helping to ensure the world conflict those supporters of the misguided proponents of isolation fear! We must stand up for our beliefs and work to ensure for ourselves and generations to come our vision of a world free and at peace. We Roosevelts may not agree on much, but on this matter of utmost importance, we speak as Americans who do not wish to see another war sweep the world. To prevent that from happening we must join with like-minded countries and work actively to ensure peace and not just sit back and hope for it!”
Franklin Roosevelt continued his campaign tour of the country, as polls showed a considerable lead over his Republican opponent, Samuel Bush. Ironically, Bush had also spoken out against the policy of isolation supported by many in his party and many pundits began to nickname him Bushevelt. Even so, Bush decried Roosevelt’s increased domestic spending and what many Republicans saw as an unfriendly attitude to big business. Few though thought he had any realistic chance of victory in November, and some predicted he could even come in third behind the Socialist candidate, Norman Thomas.
Military and Foreign Policy News
The Navy announced that the airship Akron would remain on the west coast through the summer and into the fall, moving south to her new hanger near San Diego in September. Both Akron and Los Angeles continued to patrol off the coast of Mexico after the “Shokaku Incident”. The carriers Ranger and Constellation continued to conduct “training maneuvers” off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The Navy also indicated that it was planning a major “Fleet Problem” which could involve Mexican and Atlantian forces as attentions moved towards the eastern shores of Mexico as a route for arms smugglers aiding the rebels after the “Intrepida Incident” in September.
Most of the warships operating out of Davao in the Philippines were finally sent home as the worst of “El Derretir” seemed to be passing there, though there was also concern that after several cases in Davao were reported that the disease could spread to the American sailors there. Regardless, the ships had been operating out of the Philippines for over a year and both vessels and crews were in serious need of rest and refit at home.
In the Atlantic, the newly rebuilt battleships Nevada and Oklahoma set sail for the Fleet Review at Spithead in England. They also carried the American delegation to the contentious Cleito Treaty talks in Cowes. While the review was a rousing success, the talks in Cowes were considered a failure with almost nothing being accomplished. General opinion in the United States was that the treaty was all but doomed as certain countries were obviously intent on undermining the spirit, if not the letter of the document.
Talks between Peru and Chile were hosted by Washington in September in what many saw as an attempt to bring Peru into the war with Bolivia on Chile’s side. The Roosevelt administration’s official line was that it was hoped that the talks would lead to a speedier end to the conflict and prevent its expansion.
Meanwhile, the Army quietly announced that missions were being sent to Germany and Atlantis to “study operational tactics and design techniques for armored vehicles”. Saddled with Great War vintage tanks and arcane operating restrictions, the Army set about trying to modernize its forces as tensions in Central and South America rose. Major George Patton lead the delegation to Germany while Colonel Daniel Voorhis led the Atlantian delegation. There was a growing desire to create an independent armor corps, instead of having it be part of the infantry. With few domestic designs to choose from, and no armored combat experience, the Army hoped that other countries could help show them the way.
Miscellaneous News
Vice President Vinson presided over the opening ceremonies of the 1932 Summer Olympiad in Los Angeles. The airships Akron and Los Angeles flew over the ceremonies as well. The United States won the overall medal and gold medal counts, followed by Nordmark, Italy, and France. Many Asian countries did not send contingents to the games over concerns of the “El Derriter” outbreak, and some in Los Angeles had pressed for the games to be moved or cancelled over fears of the disease.
United States Lines President, Kermit Roosevelt, Theodore’s second oldest son, announced that the line would be building a new trans-Atlantic super liner to compete with the new ships being built in Europe and Atlantis. The S.S. America would be gigantic, at over 1,200 feet in length and would carry over 3,000 passengers across the ocean at a speed of more than thirty-five knots. She would be powered by a turbo-electric powerplant that would dwarf any previous system and stretch the technology to the limit. It was hoped to lay down the giant sometime in 1933, for completion in 1938.
Meanwhile, Goodyear resumed construction of the Atlantic Clipper at its Los Angeles facility. Despite some delays while the hanger was occupied by the airship Akron, Goodyear still hoped to have the nation’s first commercial airship finished and turned over to Pan Am by the end of 1933. The delay proved useful, allowing some design changes based on experience with the Akron to be incorporated.
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