Truman Defeats Dewey
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Overview
" Fifty years ago Harry S. Truman pulled off the greatest upset in U.S. political history. With his party split on both the left and the right, and facing a formidable Republican opponent in New York governor Thomas E. Dewey, the Missourian was thought to have little chance of remaining in the White House. But politics in the postwar years were changing dramatically. Truman and his advisers successfully read those changes: their strategy focused on building a coalition of organized labor, African Americans in large northern cities, and traditional liberals--and ignoring protests from the conservative South. Donaldson argues that Dewey did nearly as much to lose the election as Truman did to win it. Dewey entered the campaign so overconfident that he refused to confront Truman on the issues. The Republicans, certain of a mandate from the public after the midterm elections of 1946, prepared to disassemble the New Deal. Yet they suffered from even more severe internal division than the Democrats. The 1948 presidential campaign was a watershed event in the history of American politics. It encompassed Truman's rousing ""Give 'em Hell Harry"" speeches and intriguing behind-the-scenes political maneuvering. It was the first election after Roosevelt's death and the last before the advent of television. It marked the new political prominence of African American voters and organized labor, as well as the South's declining influence over the Democratic Party.Editorials
From the Publisher
"A nitty-gritty political handbook to the issues of the election of 1948." -- Publishers Weekly
"An engaging narrative, which also provides a framework for making claims about the changing nature of liberalism in the postwar years." -- Reviews in American History
"Donaldson deserves substantial credit for combing far-flung manuscript collections and writing a genuine page-turner." -- South Carolina Historical Magazine
"Gives a clear account of the election." -- South Dakota Review
"Comprehensive in its examination of major U.S. postwar political developments." -- Southern Historian
"Harry S. Truman's victory in 1948 remains one of the great events in American political history. Although the story of Truman's triumph that year is well-known, Donaldson, thanks to his wide-ranging research into a variety of fresh primary and secondary materials, provides the reader with a detailed and clear account of how and why Truman won that election." -- William C. Berman
"Makes a persuasive case that the 1948 election was a watershed event in American political history and began the modern political era." -- Wisconsin Bookwatch
Truman Defeats Dewey makes a persuasive case that the 1948 election was a watershed event in American political history and began the modern political era. An associate professor of history at Xavier University in New Orleans, Gary Donaldson presents a fresh and informative examination of how Harry Truman took the 1948 race and what Thomas Dewey did (and didn't) do that resulted in his losing the election. In summary, Truman did a better and more effective job of connecting with the American public whereas Dewey was fairly inept as both a public speaker and in understanding/presenting the issues that concerned constituent voters. Truman Defeats Dewey is a superbly written and presented treatise that will prove a welcome addition to 20th Century American political science and electorial history reading lists and reference collections.