The really interesting thing was how the 1928 election destroyed the two the two best men in America.
Al Smith was a a huge proponent of the Progressive movement. You have things like bathrooms at work because of the Progressive movement. He was a self made man, an Irish man (think the equivalent of today's Ecuadorian immigrant) who went to work at age 7. His only degree was, in his words, an FFM (The Fulton Fish Market). After the Triangle fire, Al Smith, then Governor of NY pushed through tons of legislation to protect workers, unions, and to provide social welfare. Heck, they also made sure you couldn't sell spoiled milk. FDR, who was Smith's protege in many ways, based much of the New Deal off of what Smith put in place in NYC. Smith famously said "The only cure for the ills of democracy is more democracy." He was an amazing man and a tireless reformer who fought for the rights of the poor, the working class and the underprivileged.
Herbert Hoover was equally amazing. Orphaned at a young age, he spent his childhood working in mines, eventually learning enough about engineering and mining to start his own companies. He essentially created the idea of the NGO during WWI when he formed a group to export food and distributed it to the starving people of Belgium. He created much of the idea of governmental oversight of business and was a tireless do gooder, creating many benefit and welfare programs. In 1920 and in 1928 both the Republicans and Democrats asked him to be their candidate. He was insanely popular as he was a well made, intelligent, honorable and noble person who dedicated much of his life to the betterment of the common man.
And then in 1928 they went head to head. Imagine candidates of this caliber! Oh my god, if we had men or women like this running in 2016, how amazing would that be.
Sadly, the election came down to the wet/dry and Catholic/Protestant thing. Smith lost. Hoover won.
Smith became deeply embittered by the loss and the fact that so much of it could be blamed on something like his ethnicity and religion. Not only that, but the rise of FDR as the leader of NYS and the national Democratic party made him even more bitter. Whereas he might have had an important role in FDR's cabinet, the loss made him hate the ascendant FDR and burn every bridge he had. While he did manage the new Empire State Building, he sadly spent many of his last days bitter and angry, publicly speaking out against FDR who he saw as cheating him out of the Presidency.
Hoover won the Presidency only to become known as the worst president in history. When the stock market collapsed, he took a hands-off approach, believing that business and charity would be able to alleviate the Great Depression. He tried to push through tariffs as a possible solution, but that failed miserably. By the time the bread lines grew too long and Hoover realized that government had to do something, it was already too late for him. He'd made too many enemies, and was too hated by the people. The Depression was simply too complex a problem for him and he was voted out in disgrace.
In the end, the 1928 Presidential Election took America's two greatest citizens and turned them in to bitter, disgraced failure.
Ah well, that's politics for you.