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American Presidential Elections
Truman's Triumphs: The 1948 Election and the Making of Postwar America
The Chicago Tribune headline “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN” remains infamously wrong about the outcome of the 1948 presidential election. But, as Andrew Busch reveals, there is much more to this story than the well-worn image of a victorious and beaming President Harry Truman parading the newspaper’s erroneously headlined front page for all to see.
Primarily a contest between Truman and challenger Thomas Dewey, the 1948 presidential race offered something for everyone, including two third-party candidates (Strom Thurmond and Henry Wallace), triumphant grit, tragic hubris, dangerous naiveté, accidents of fate, accusations of betrayal, foreign crises, the birth of Israel in the Middle East, a dramatic special session of Congress, internecine battles among unions and liberals, spies, extremists galore (including Ku Klux Klansmen and Communists), the first televised convention, wayward polls, and, of course, a final result that surprised many.
Amid a small library of books on the topic, Busch’s stands out by offering the best scholarly study available—and the most readable. His fresh account goes beyond previous work by examining more closely the nomination season, key congressional elections, and the state of public opinion. He also digs into splits in both parties—the Democrats seeing Southern segregationists and the far left run their own candidates and the Republicans facing a division between philosophical wings representing the 80th Congress and the presidential ticket—and tells why the Republican schism proved more damaging. He concludes that the election was especially significant as an affirmation of the New Deal, of anti-Communist containment, and of gradual progress in civil rights—all of which established the political baseline for postwar America.
Even readers knowledgeable about Truman’s 1948 victory will discover new findings in this fresh and revealing account of that dramatic race. Truman’s Triumphs recalls a contest with more twists and turns—and a different outcome—than most contemporaries anticipated, and makes engaging reading for scholar and history buff alike.
Primarily a contest between Truman and challenger Thomas Dewey, the 1948 presidential race offered something for everyone, including two third-party candidates (Strom Thurmond and Henry Wallace), triumphant grit, tragic hubris, dangerous naiveté, accidents of fate, accusations of betrayal, foreign crises, the birth of Israel in the Middle East, a dramatic special session of Congress, internecine battles among unions and liberals, spies, extremists galore (including Ku Klux Klansmen and Communists), the first televised convention, wayward polls, and, of course, a final result that surprised many.
Amid a small library of books on the topic, Busch’s stands out by offering the best scholarly study available—and the most readable. His fresh account goes beyond previous work by examining more closely the nomination season, key congressional elections, and the state of public opinion. He also digs into splits in both parties—the Democrats seeing Southern segregationists and the far left run their own candidates and the Republicans facing a division between philosophical wings representing the 80th Congress and the presidential ticket—and tells why the Republican schism proved more damaging. He concludes that the election was especially significant as an affirmation of the New Deal, of anti-Communist containment, and of gradual progress in civil rights—all of which established the political baseline for postwar America.
Even readers knowledgeable about Truman’s 1948 victory will discover new findings in this fresh and revealing account of that dramatic race. Truman’s Triumphs recalls a contest with more twists and turns—and a different outcome—than most contemporaries anticipated, and makes engaging reading for scholar and history buff alike.
292 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 9, 2024
1948 is best remembered for Harry Truman's upset win over Tom Dewey, in this book Andrew Busch examines the challenges Truman faced from within his own party, the splinter candidacies of Henry A. Wallace & Strom Thurmond, the battle for the Republican nomination as well as the resulting Congressional & State elections that showed the largest gains for the winning presidential candidate's party in post-war history.
Busch covers Truman's securing the nomination as many Democrats sought another candidate they sought had a better chance of winning, Henry Wallace's breaking from the Democratic party over the direction of the Cold War and Wallace's unwillingness to refuse Communist support, the creation of the States' Rights Party (more commonly known as the "Dixiecrats") followed the adoption of a strong civil rights plank in the Democratic Platform as well as the race for the Republican Nomination.
The Republican party at this time was split between the Northeastern moderates led by New York Governor Thomas Dewey who tended to be in favor of a more international foreign policy and the Midwestern conservatives led by Senator Robert Taft of Ohio who was more of an isolationist in foreign Policy. Besides Dewey and Taft the other contender for the Republican nomination was Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen. Stassen was Dewey's biggest challenger until Oregon primary. Dewey ultimately won the nomination with the help of many favorite son candidates including California Governor Earl Warren..
Busch does a great job of guiding the reader through the four candidates' general election campaigns and the analysis of how Truman won, why Dewey lost and the large gains the Democrats made in retaking control of Congress, many governorships and state legislatures. Busch also point s out this election set America on a more internationalist foreign policy for years to come.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history or politics.
Busch covers Truman's securing the nomination as many Democrats sought another candidate they sought had a better chance of winning, Henry Wallace's breaking from the Democratic party over the direction of the Cold War and Wallace's unwillingness to refuse Communist support, the creation of the States' Rights Party (more commonly known as the "Dixiecrats") followed the adoption of a strong civil rights plank in the Democratic Platform as well as the race for the Republican Nomination.
The Republican party at this time was split between the Northeastern moderates led by New York Governor Thomas Dewey who tended to be in favor of a more international foreign policy and the Midwestern conservatives led by Senator Robert Taft of Ohio who was more of an isolationist in foreign Policy. Besides Dewey and Taft the other contender for the Republican nomination was Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen. Stassen was Dewey's biggest challenger until Oregon primary. Dewey ultimately won the nomination with the help of many favorite son candidates including California Governor Earl Warren..
Busch does a great job of guiding the reader through the four candidates' general election campaigns and the analysis of how Truman won, why Dewey lost and the large gains the Democrats made in retaking control of Congress, many governorships and state legislatures. Busch also point s out this election set America on a more internationalist foreign policy for years to come.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American history or politics.
July 2, 2023
Readable and fairly-compelling, yet standard, history of the '48 election.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews