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HARRY S. TRUMAN – DEMOCRAT
As a Senator from Missouri, Harry Truman first gained national prominence as chairman of a committee to investigate the national defense program and war production. In 1944, he replaced Henry Wallace on the party ticket as F.D.R.’s running mate when Southerners and conservatives became extremely dissatisfied with Wallace’s liberalism. Less than a year later, Truman became President when F.D.R. died. Events moved quickly. First Germany and then Japan surrendered. Truman was faced with the problems of conversion to a peace time economy. His popularity plunged, and the 1946 elections gave Republicans control of the House and Senate. This defeat actually aided Truman, for until then he had been doing things as he imagined F.D.R. would. Now Truman could act independently, and he had a number of foreign policy successes. When Henry Wallace left his cabinet he gained the support of many conservative Democrats, but his civil rights stand cost the support of many Southern Democrats.
Truman became the nominee in 1948, but many people looked ahead to the first Republican presidential victory since 1928.
Truman was determined not to lose the election and he made campaign trips throughout the country. His main strategy was to present himself as “the plain people’s President against the privileged people’s Congress.” The opposition Truman faced at the Democratic convention was hopelessly divided between the liberals and Southern conservatives. The only person the Democrats could unite around
instead of Truman was Dwight D. Eisenhower, and he refused to be nominated. The Southerners left the party to form the States’ Rights Party which nominated Strom Thurmond for President, and the liberals formed the Progressive Party with Henry Wallace as their presidential candidate.
Politicians, pollsters and newspapers were certain Truman could not possibly be elected, and they failed to recognize the significance of the large crowds that turned out to meet Truman’s train stop appearances. On election day early returns showed Truman in the lead, and to the disbelief of newscasters he maintained the lead all through the night. Truman won twenty-eight states to Dewey’s sixteen (Thurmond won four), and set the pollsters looking for reasons why
their predictions had been so inaccurate.
The Democrats issued relatively few campaign items in 1948 because the party was split into three factions. Only a few varieties of Truman and Barkley jugates are known. Most items used were simple name buttons. Still, Truman is among the top five most collected presidential candidates.
Taken (and revised) from The Encyclopedia of Political Buttons 1896-1972 by Ted Hake.
Harry
Truman Memorabilia Available For Purchase |
