Harry S. Truman

=== 1948 election ===
{{Main|Harry S. Truman 1948 presidential campaign}}
{{Further|1948 United States presidential election}}
[[File:President Truman with Governor Dewey at dedication of the Idlewild Airport (cropped).jpg|thumb|President Truman (left) with Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey|Dewey]] (right) at dedication of [[Idlewild Airport]] in New York City on July 31, 1948, This was their first meeting since being nominated as presidential candidates by their parties.]]

The [[1948 United States presidential election|1948 presidential election]] is remembered for Truman's stunning come-from-behind victory.{{sfn|Hechler|Elsey|2006}} In the spring of 1948, Truman's public approval rating stood at 36&nbsp;percent,{{sfn|Burnes|2003|p=137}} and the president was nearly universally regarded as incapable of winning the general election. At the [[1948 Democratic National Convention]], Truman attempted to unify the party with a vague civil rights plank in the party platform. His intention was to assuage the internal conflicts between the northern and southern wings of his party. Events overtook his efforts. A sharp address given by Mayor [[Hubert Humphrey]] of [[Minneapolis]]—as well as the local political interests of a number of urban bosses—convinced the convention to adopt a stronger civil rights plank, which Truman approved wholeheartedly.<ref>Harvard Sitkoff, "Harry Truman and the election of 1948: The coming of age of civil rights in American politics." ''Journal of Southern History'' 37.4 (1971): 597–616.</ref> Truman delivered an aggressive acceptance speech attacking the 80th Congress, which Truman called the "Do Nothing Congress,"{{sfn|Miller Center|2012}} and promising to win the election and "make these Republicans like it."{{sfn|Hamby|2008}}

{{Blockquote|Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home—but not for housing. They are strong for labor—but they are stronger for restricting labor's rights. They favor minimum wage—the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all—but they won't spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine—for people who can afford them&nbsp;... They think American standard of living is a fine thing—so long as it doesn't spread to all the people. And they admire the Government of the United States so much that they would like to buy it.|author=Harry S. Truman|source=October 13, 1948, St. Paul, Minnesota, Radio Broadcast<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-st-paul-the-municipal-auditorium|title=Harry S. Truman: Address in St. Paul at the Municipal Auditorium.|website=presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=October 29, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/97983-republicans-approve-of-the-american-farmer-but-they-are-willing|title=A quote by Harry Truman|website=goodreads.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/trumangop.asp|title=President Harry Truman on Republicans|date=October 5, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/24/opinion/republican-taxes-healthcare.html|title=Opinion – When a Tax Cut Costs Millions Their Medical Coverage|author=The Editorial Board|date=November 24, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>}}

Within two weeks of the 1948 convention Truman issued [[Executive Order 9981]], ending racial discrimination in the Armed Services, and Executive Order 9980 to end discrimination in federal agencies.<ref>Morris J. MacGregor, Jr., ''Integration of the Armed Forces 1940–1965'' (Center of Military History, 1981) ch 12 [https://web.archive.org/web/20120824185554/http://www.history.army.mil/books/integration/IAF-12.htm online].</ref><ref>Jon Taylor, ''Freedom to Serve: Truman, Civil Rights, and Executive Order 9981'' (Routledge, 2013).</ref> Truman took a considerable political risk in backing civil rights, and many seasoned Democrats were concerned the loss of [[Dixiecrat]] support might seriously weaken the party. South Carolina Governor [[Strom Thurmond]], a segregationist, declared his candidacy for the presidency on a Dixiecrat ticket and led a full-scale revolt of Southern "[[states' rights]]" proponents. This rebellion on the right was matched by one on the left, led by Wallace on the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1948)|Progressive Party]] ticket. The Democratic Party was splitting three ways and victory in November seemed unlikely.{{sfn|McCoy|1984|pp=153–158}} For his running mate, Truman accepted Kentucky Senator [[Alben W. Barkley]], though he really wanted Justice [[William O. Douglas]], who turned down the nomination.{{sfn|Pietrusza|2011|pp=226–232}}

Truman's political advisors described the political scene as "one unholy, confusing cacophony." They told Truman to speak directly to the people, in a personal way.<ref>{{cite web|title=Footnotes on Political Battles of 1948|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1948-00-00&documentid=6-13&studycollectionid=Election|website=Truman's Library|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205041046/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1948-00-00&documentid=6-13&studycollectionid=Election|url-status=dead}}</ref> Campaign manager William J. Bray said Truman took this advice, and spoke personally and passionately, sometimes even setting aside his notes to talk to Americans "of everything that is in my heart and soul."<ref name=Bray>{{cite web|last1=Bray|first1=William J.|title=Recollections of the 1948 Campaign|url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1964-08-00&documentid=1-3&studycollectionid=Election|website=Truman's Library|access-date=January 28, 2016|archive-date=February 5, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160205040911/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/1948campaign/large/docs/documents/index.php?pagenumber=1&documentdate=1964-08-00&documentid=1-3&studycollectionid=Election|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The campaign was a {{convert|21928|mi|km|adj=on}} presidential odyssey.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=654}} In a personal appeal to the nation, Truman crisscrossed the United States by train; his "[[whistle stop train tour|whistle stop]]" speeches from the rear platform of the presidential car, ''[[Ferdinand Magellan Railcar|Ferdinand Magellan]]'', came to represent his campaign. His combative appearances captured the popular imagination and drew huge crowds. Six stops in [[Michigan]] drew a combined half-million people;{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=657}} a full million turned out for a New York City ticker-tape parade.{{sfn|McCullough|1992|p=701}}

[[File:ElectoralCollege1948.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|1948 electoral vote results]]
[[File:Dewey Defeats Truman.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Truman holding Chicago Tribune that says "Dewey Defeats Truman"|Truman was so widely expected to lose the 1948 election that the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' had printed papers with this erroneous headline when few returns were in.]]

The large crowds at Truman's whistle-stop events were an important sign of a change in momentum in the campaign, but this shift went virtually unnoticed by the national press corps. It continued reporting Republican [[Thomas Dewey]]'s apparent impending victory as a certainty. The three major polling organizations stopped polling well before the November 2 election date—[[Elmo Roper|Roper]] in September, and Crossley and [[The Gallup Organization|Gallup]] in October—thus failing to measure the period when Truman appears to have surged past Dewey.{{sfn|Bennett|2012}}{{sfn|Truman Library|1971}}

In the end, Truman held his progressive Midwestern base, won most of the Southern states despite the civil rights plank, and squeaked through with narrow victories in a few critical states, notably Ohio, California, and Illinois. The final tally showed the president had secured 303&nbsp;electoral votes, Dewey&nbsp;189, and Thurmond only 39. Henry Wallace got none. The defining image of the campaign came after Election Day, when an ecstatic Truman held aloft the erroneous front page of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' with a huge headline proclaiming "[[Dewey Defeats Truman]]."{{sfn|Jones|2020}}