My Amazon Review of A.J.Baime's "Dewey Defeats Truman: The 1948 Election and the Battle for America's Soul"

Never Give Up, Never Sit on a Lead

Political journalist A.J. Baime tells the often told story of Truman’s come from behind victory over Dewey with great insight and drama, no easy feat. Simply put President Harry Truman never gave up and New York Governor Thomas Dewey sat on a lead. Further Truman was handicapped by having Progressive Henry Wallace run to his left and Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond run well to the right thereby splitting the Democratic Party.

Of interest is that contrary to the title the election was not about America’s soul. Dewey and Truman agreed on international affairs, expanding social security, supporting a federal role in housing and on civil rights. As governor of New York Dewey pushed through the first major civil rights legislation in country. To be sure during the campaign Truman was far more full-throated in his support for civil rights. Dewey along with his running mate California Governor Earl Warren were perhaps the two best governors in America at the time. Had they won, my guess is that it would have been a successful administration.

What Truman understood is that there was a fundamental split between liberal Dewey and the largely conservative congress. Truman was not running against Dewey, per se, but rather on cross country whistle stop tour he lambasted the do nothing Republican Congress while begging for cash to keep the campaign going. While Truman was outlining specific programs, Dewey was mouthing the platitude of “unity.”

Truman had more on his mind than winning re-election. He was running the Berlin Airlift, negotiating with the Russians in Paris and dealing with the Arab-Israel War. He also found the time to order the integration of the armed forces.

Baime is especially good on his discussion of the Wallace campaign, a campaign largely run by a Communist Party cell. Wallace praised Stalin and attacked the Marshall Plan with great vehemence. Along the way he attracted a coterie of celebrities who objectively acted as, in Lenin’s term, “useful idiots.”

Then why did Truman win against all odds and with 90% of the newspapers against him including The New York Times. Baime suggests it was a combination of broad prosperity, strong labor union support, the Black vote in the great urban centers, technical changes in farm legislation that made it hard for farmers to profitably store their 1948 bumper crop and perhaps most important, the American people admired Truman’s spunk. It makes for a great read.

For the full Amazon URL see:https://www.amazon.com/review/R1J52ZAO05J9HG/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv