Truman Defies Odds: Upset Victory in 1948 Election
Harry Truman defeated Thomas Dewey on November 2, 1948, in the greatest upset in American presidential election history. Every major poll predicted a Dewey victory. The Chicago Daily Tribune printed 'Dewey Defeats Truman' on its front page before the votes were counted. Truman won 303 electoral votes to Dewey's 189. The key was a 30,000-mile whistle-stop campaign in which Truman gave over 300 speeches from the back of his train, attacking the Republican 'do-nothing Congress.' Dewey ran a cautious, front-runner campaign and never engaged Truman directly. The pollsters had stopped sampling weeks before the election, missing a late shift among undecided voters. The photograph of Truman grinning while holding up the erroneous Tribune headline became one of the most famous images in American political history.
November 2, 1948
78 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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