U.S. presidential election, 1952

The U.S. presidential election of 1952 took place after over two years of stalemate in the Korean War and a volatile economy. Incumbent President Harry S Truman decided not to run, so the Democratic Party instead nominated Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois. The Republican Party countered with war hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower and won in a landslide.

General election

Campaign

Eisenhower campaigned by attacking the failures of the outgoing Administration, and promising to go to Korea and resolve the war. His residual popularity as a World War II commander made him the leader throughout the campaign.

Related Topics:
Korea - World War II

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Both campaigns made use of television ads. A notable ad for "Ike" Eisenhower was an issue-free feel-good animated cartoon with a soundtrack song by Irving Berlin called I Like Ike.

Related Topics:
Animated cartoon - Irving Berlin

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One notable event of the campaign was a scandal that emerged when Vice Presidential candidate Nixon was accused of receiving various undeclared gifts from wealthy contributors. It must here be said that the democratic presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson had problems with his own campaign contributions. For a while it appeared that Nixon might be dropped from the campaign, but he gave a tearful televised speech (the "Checkers Speech") in which he defended his political expenses and told the public about a dog named "Checkers" that he had received from a contributor, and how much his children loved it. This speech defused the issue and recovered Nixon's support.

Related Topics:
Nixon - Checkers Speech

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The election was held on November 4, 1952, and Eisenhower won a decisive victory, sweeping every region but the South.

Related Topics:
November 4 - 1952

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Results

Source (Popular Vote): {{Leip PV source 2| year=1952| as of=August 1, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 1 - 2005

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Source (Electoral Vote): {{National Archives EV source| year=1952| as of=August 1, 2005}}

Related Topics:
August 1 - 2005

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