the election of franklin d. roosevelt in november 1932, neither the building up of the us navy to the limits of the london naval treaty, nor the construction of any "erie"-class gunboats, seemed like a sure thing. roosevelt had expressed support for an adequate navy during the election campaign but had never really elaborated on his position. it would be left up to claude swanson, roosevelt's appointed secretary of the navy, and carl vinson, chairman of the house naval affairs committee, to begin advocating for the buildup of the navy to the limits of the london naval treaty, even before roosevelt's inauguration in march 1933.