Abstract:
This historic memo, a classic of presidential politics, was the blueprint for the underdog 1948 Truman campaign. The document describes the approach which allowed the Democratic incumbent to fend off challenges from Republican Thomas Dewey, and minor parties including the left's Henry Wallace, of the Progressives, and the right's Strom Thurmond, of the "Dixiecrats". The dynamics of the campaign, as revealed by the memo, will interest those intrigued by electoral tactics. Historians of America's racial and political past will be particularly interested in Thurmond's Dixiecrat campaign, which presaged the end of the "solid" Democratic South. Echoes of the Dixiecrat campaign surfaced in 2002, when Senate Majority Trent Lott of Mississippi was forced to step down, for remarks that appeared to endorse Thurmond's challenge of Truman. The memo is also incorporated into the KSG online case Third Party Time (1350.0). This document is a compilation of book excerpts, memorandums, and journal articles. Compiled in 1976, the documents are in fair to poor condition and not available electronically. Hard copy only may be requested.
Learning Objective:
The dynamics of the campaign, as revealed by the memo, will interest those intrigued by electoral tactics. Historians of America's racial and political past will be particularly interested in Thurmond's Dixiecrat campaign, which presaged the end of the "solid" Democratic South.
