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.

Nominations

Republican Party nomination

The fight for the Republican nomination was largely between General Dwight D. Eisenhower, as candidate of the party's more moderate eastern establishment (led by New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, the party's nominee in 1944 and 1948), and Senator Robert A. Taft of Ohio, the candidate of the more conservative party regulars in the Midwest. The primaries had been split fairly evenly between the two men, and the nomination came down to the wire, but ultimately Eisenhower won the nomination based largely on the perception that he was a sure winner. To placate the party's conservative wing, Eisenhower chose as his running mate Senator Richard Nixon of California, best known for his pursuit of Alger Hiss. Other Republican candidates in this year were Governor Earl Warren of California and former Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, who had both hoped to emerge as a compromise candidate in case of deadlock between Eisenhower and Taft.

Related Topics:
Republican - Dwight D. Eisenhower - New York - Thomas E. Dewey - 1944 - 1948 - Robert A. Taft - Ohio - Richard Nixon - Alger Hiss - Earl Warren - California - Minnesota - Harold Stassen

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Democratic Party nomination

The obvious candidate for the Democratic nomination was incumbent President Harry S. Truman. He was still eligible to the presidency in spite of the 1951 passage of the 22nd Amendment, which limited Presidents to two terms, because of that amendment's grandfather clause.

Related Topics:
Democratic - 1951 - 22nd Amendment

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

But Truman had hinted to aides starting in 1951 (and had written privately earlier) that he would not run for re-election. Behind the scenes, Truman was attempting to recruit a successor. He focused early on Fred M. Vinson, the Chief Justice; Vinson's southern roots were important in an election that threatened to continue the fractures in the Solid South that had started with the brief emergence of the Dixiecrats. He also tried to recruit Dwight D. Eisenhower, who ended those entreaties by announcing in January 1952 that he was a Republican. Lack of success with Vinson and Eisenhower made Adlai Stevenson a follow-on choice, but Stevenson remained noncommittal.

Related Topics:
Fred M. Vinson - Chief Justice - Solid South - Dixiecrat - Dwight D. Eisenhower - Adlai Stevenson

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Truman entered 1952 with his popularity plummeting, according to polls. The Korean War was dragging into its third year, Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist crusade was stirring public fears of an encroaching "Red Menace", and the disclosure of widespread corruption among federal employees rocked the administration.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After losing the New Hampshire primary to Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver, who had chaired a nationally televised investigation of organized crime in 1951, President Truman announced on March 29, 1952, that he would not seek re-election.

Related Topics:
New Hampshire primary - Estes Kefauver - March 29 - 1952

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Democratic Party was now largely demoralized, associated with the unpopularity of the Truman administration and lacking any obvious candidates. While Kefauver went on to win nearly all of the other primaries, most states still chose their delegates by state conventions, leaving party bosses in a position to choose the eventual nominee. Besides Kefauver, the leading contenders for the nomination were Ambassador Averell Harriman, Truman's pick and the choice of Harriman's voter rich home state of New York; Senator Richard Russell of Georgia as the candidate of the southern bloc; and Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, who emerged as the choice of the mainline party leadership. Other minor or favorite son candidates included Oklahoma Senator Robert Kerr, Vice President Alben Barkley, Governor Paul A. Dever of Massachusetts, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, and Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas.

Related Topics:
Averell Harriman - New York - Richard Russell - Georgia - Adlai Stevenson - Illinois - Oklahoma - Robert Kerr - Alben Barkley - Paul A. Dever - Massachusetts - Hubert H. Humphrey - Minnesota - J. William Fulbright - Arkansas

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Governor Adlai Stevenson had repeatedly declined to run but was eventually drafted as the Democratic nominee on the strength of his eloquent keynote speech at the convention.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On the first ballot, Kefauver was in the lead, receiving 340 votes to Stevenson's 273, Russell's 268, and Harriman's 123. But as favorite son candidates dropped out, Stevenson began to close, and on the third ballot he was boosted when Harriman dropped out and threw his support to Stevenson. To placate the south at the nomination of a northern liberal, Alabama Senator John J. Sparkman (a relative liberal by Alabama standards) was chosen as Stevenson's running mate.

Related Topics:
Alabama - John J. Sparkman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~