United States presidential election, 1948 facts for kids
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
All 531 electoral votes of the Electoral College 266 electoral votes needed to win |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Presidential election results map. Blue shows states won by Truman/Barkley. Red shows states won by Dewey/Warren. Orange shows states won by Thurmond/Wright (including a faithless elector in Tennessee). Numbers show the electoral votes for each state.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1948 United States presidential election was a big event. It was a contest between Harry S. Truman, who was the President at the time, and Thomas E. Dewey, the Governor of New York.
This election is famous for being a huge surprise. Most people, including experts and newspapers, thought Truman would lose. However, Truman won with 303 electoral votes. Dewey received 189 electoral votes. Another candidate, Strom Thurmond, got 39 electoral votes. This included one vote from a faithless elector in Tennessee.
Contents
Who Ran for President?
Many important people wanted to become president in 1948. The two main parties, the Republicans and the Democrats, each had several candidates.
Republican Candidates
The Republican Party had many hopefuls. They wanted to choose the best person to run against President Truman.
Here are some of the main Republican candidates:
- Thomas E. Dewey, who was the Governor of New York.
- Robert A. Taft, a Senator from Ohio.
- Harold Stassen, a former Governor of Minnesota.
- Arthur H. Vandenberg, a Senator from Michigan.
- Earl Warren, who was the Governor of California.
- Douglas MacArthur, a famous General from New York.
Republican Candidates Gallery
-
Former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota
-
President pro tempore of the Senate Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan
-
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of New York
Democratic Candidates
The Democratic Party also had several people who wanted to be their presidential candidate. President Truman was seeking to be re-elected.
Here are the main Democratic candidates:
- Harry S. Truman, the current President of the United States from Missouri.
- Richard Russell, Jr., a U.S. senator from Georgia.
Democratic Candidates Gallery
The Big Surprise Election
The 1948 election is famous because almost everyone expected President Truman to lose. Polls, which are surveys that ask people who they plan to vote for, showed that Thomas Dewey was far ahead.
Many newspapers even printed headlines saying Dewey had won before all the votes were counted! The most famous example is the Chicago Daily Tribune headline that read "Dewey Defeats Truman."
But Truman worked very hard. He traveled across the country by train, giving speeches to many people. This was called a "whistle-stop tour." He talked directly to voters and explained his plans. His efforts paid off, and he won the election. This made it one of the biggest upsets in U.S. political history.
Images for kids
-
A picture of Harry S. Truman.
-
Progressive Party nominee Henry A. Wallace, a former Vice President of the United States.
-
Dewey during a campaign tour in New York.
-
President Harry S. Truman speaking at a "Whistle Stop Train" event in 1948.
-
A cartoon from October 19, 1948, showing what experts thought about the election.
-
A famous photo of Truman holding a newspaper that wrongly said he lost the election.
-
A map showing the electoral votes for the 1948 election.
See also
In Spanish: Elecciones presidenciales de Estados Unidos de 1948 para niños
