Politics was going to be exciting in 1952. The year marked two full decades of Democratic control of the White House, a President discredited by a stalemated war and corrupt appointees had been forced to disavow renomination, and the resurgent Republicans were going to choose between their long-time venerated spokesman and a popular war hero.
The Republicans Want a Winner
Ohio's Senator Robert Taft, acknowledged leader of the dominant conservative wing of his party, was seeking the nomination for the third time, and many felt it was his due, especially in a year that looked good for the GOP. His backers seemed to be in control of most state organizations.
However, the eastern internationalist wing, which had prevailed in the three previous conventions, felt that Taft was too conservative and isolationist to win. They convinced World War II hero General Dwight D. Eisenhower, then commanding North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces, that his candidacy was necessary to win the White House without retreating into isolation.
They mounted a victorious write-in campaign for Eisenhower to defeat Taft in the opening primary in New Hampshire even before he declared his candidacy. He resigned his commission and went to the July Chicago Convention with almost as many delegates as Taft, many of whose had been chosen by state organizations without voting.
The only hope for the Eisenhower forces was to challenge the credentials of several state delegations committted to Taft on grounds that they had been selected illegitimately. These successful challenges on the floor of the convention were the first dramatic events to be seen on television and clearly established Ike as the "fair play" candidate. The momentum began to shift and, when Eisenhower finished the first ballot only nine votes short of the nomination, a number of delegates switched their votes and put him over the top.
The Democrats Search for a New Leader
President Harry S Truman, exempted from the term-limiting 22nd Amendment, had shown signs of running again in 1952. Although he did not campaign, he had allowed his name to be placed on the ballot in the New Hampshire primary. When he was trounced by Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, who was outspokenly critical of the Administration, he announced that he would not be a candidate. Although primaries were far fewer in those days and produced far fewer committed delegates, Kefauver contested them coast-to-coast and came to the July convention in Chicago with the largest number of votes, though far from the total needed.
There was little enthusiasm for Kefauver in the Democratic establishment. He had gained fame as chairman of a Special Senate Crime Investigating Committee which, in televised hearings, had exposed links between organized crime and big city Democratic machines. His criticisms of the Administration were resented, and Southern leaders considered him disloyal for failing to sign a "Southern manifesto" pledging opposition to federal desegregation actions.
The Southerners rallied around Georgia's respected Senator Richard Russell. Others began to pay attention to the eloquent Illinois Governor, Adlai Stevenson. When he showed no interest, party officials persuaded 74-year-old Vice President Alben Barkley to seek the nomination.
With the Republicans having chosen a formidable candidate in the war hero Eisenhower in an open and democratic proceeding, more and more delegates saw the need to rally behind a fresh and articulate standard-bearer of their own. While Stevenson resisted even past the opening of the convention, he allowed his name to be placed in nomination and he won on the third ballot.
The Result
Although Stevenson won many admirers with his eloquence, he was no match for a war hero campaigning against 20 years of one-party control of the Presidency. Ike was elected with over 34 million votes to Stevenson's 27 million.
Reference:
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