December 4
1948

Harry Truman, greeted by Vice President-elect Alben Barkley, as he returned to Washington following his victory in the greatest upset in the history of US presidential campaigns.
Tonight's class looks at the four-way election of 1948--the candidates, the issues, the impact, the historical legacy. Most of the reading is from documents placed on line by the Harry Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri.

READING:

Troy, See How They Ran, pp. 190-196.
Irwin Ross, Introduction, 1 page; introduction-2, 1 page.
Clark Clifford, "Memorandum for the President," 47 pages. This is perhaps the single most famous document in the history of presidential campaigns.
Campaign platforms of the two major parties, 1 page.
Hubert Humphrey, Democratic convention speech (scroll down).
Thomas Dewey, acceptance speech, 1 page.
Henry Wallace, acceptance speech, 1 page.
Harold Ickes on the Wallace threat, 3 pages.
The FBI on communism and the Wallace candidacy, 6 pages.
Southern press coverage, Dixiecrats.
NBC radio broadcast, Truman's acceptance speech.
Harry Truman, whistle-stop speech (scroll down).
Truman campaign swing, interactive map.
1948 election results, 1 page.
Reading notes

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