United States presidential election, 1956 Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
United States presidential election, 1956

← 1952

November 6, 1956

1960 →


Nominee	Dwight D. Eisenhower	Adlai Stevenson
Party	Republican	Democrat
Home state	New York	Illinois
Running mate	Richard Nixon	Estes Kefauver
Electoral vote	457	73
States carried	41	7
Popular vote	35,579,180	26,028,028
Percentage	57.4%	42.0%

Presidential election results map. Red denotes those won by Eisenhower/Nixon, Blue denotes states won by Stevenson/Kefauver. Orange denotes won by Walter Burgwyn Jones by an Alabama faithless elector. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

President before election

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

Elected President

Dwight D. Eisenhower
Republican

The United States presidential election of 1956 was a big event in American history. It was a contest between two main groups. One group was led by the current President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and his Vice President, Richard Nixon. They were from the Republican Party. The other group was led by Adlai Stevenson, who used to be the Governor of Illinois, and his running mate, Estes Kefauver. They were from the Democratic Party.

Who Was Running?
The Election Results
Before the Election: Eisenhower's Health
States and Votes
Images for kids
See also

Who Was Running?

Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Republican candidate.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was already the President. People often called him "Ike." He was a very popular leader, especially because he was a famous general during World War II. His Vice President, Richard Nixon, was also well-known. They ran together for a second time.

Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic candidate.

Adlai Stevenson was the main challenger. He had run against Eisenhower in the previous election in 1952. Stevenson was known for his smart speeches and thoughtful ideas. His running mate, Estes Kefauver, was a Senator from Tennessee.

The Election Results

President Eisenhower won the election by a large amount. He received 457 electoral votes. Electoral votes are special votes that states give to candidates based on how many people voted for them. Adlai Stevenson received 73 electoral votes.

There was also one special vote for Walter Burgwyn Jones. This happened because one person in Alabama who was supposed to vote for Stevenson decided to vote for someone else instead. This is called a "faithless elector."

Before the Election: Eisenhower's Health

In September 1955, President Eisenhower had a heart attack. This happened while he was on vacation in Colorado. His doctors first told him it might be best not to run for president again.

However, after some time, his doctors said he was feeling much better. Because of this good news, Eisenhower decided to run for re-election. He announced his decision on television in early 1956.

States and Votes

This election was the last one where Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states. They became states a few years later. This means people in those areas could not vote in the presidential election yet. Also, Washington, D.C. did not get to vote for president until the 1964 election.