1948 Republican National Convention

1948 Republican National Convention
	1948 presidential election;
	Nominees ; Dewey and Warren
Convention
Date(s)	June 21–25, 1948
City	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Venue	Convention Hall
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Thomas E. Dewey of New York
Vice presidential nominee	Earl Warren of California

The 1948 Republican National Convention was held at the Municipal Auditorium, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from June 21 to 25, 1948.

New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey had paved the way to win the Republican presidential nomination in the primary elections, where he had beaten former Minnesota Governor Harold E. Stassen and World War II General Douglas MacArthur. In Philadelphia he was nominated on the third ballot over the opposition from die-hard conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft, the future "minister of peace" Stassen, Michigan Senator Arthur Vandenberg, and California Governor Earl Warren. In all Republican conventions since 1948, the nominee has been selected on the first ballot. Warren was nominated for vice president. The Republican ticket of Dewey and Warren surprisingly went on to lose the general election to the Democratic ticket of Harry S. Truman and Alben W. Barkley. One of the decisive factors in convening both major party conventions in Philadelphia that year was that Philadelphia was hooked up to the coaxial cable, giving the ability for two of the three then young television networks, NBC and CBS, to telecast for the first time live gavel to gavel coverage along the east coast. Only a few minutes of kinescope film have survived of these historic, live television broadcasts.[1]

Platform

The party platform formally adopted at the convention included the following points:

Reduction of the public debt
Reduction of the inheritance tax
Labor reform
Promotion of small business through reduction of governmental intervention and regulation.
Elimination of unnecessary federal bureaus, and duplication of functions of necessary governmental agencies.
Federal aid to states for slum clearance and low-cost housing
Extension of Social Security benefits
A federal anti-lynching law
Federal civil rights legislation. Texas delegate Orville Bullington led a successful protest demanding southern representation on the platform panel considering the civil rights proposals.
Abolition of the poll tax
A crackdown on domestic Communism
Recognition of the state of Israel
International arms control "on basis of reliable disciplines against bad faith".
The admissions of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico as states to the union.[2]

Candidates before the convention

Businessman Riley A. Bender of Illinois
Speaker of the House Joseph William Martin, Jr. of Massachusetts

Governor
Thomas E. Dewey
of New York
General of the Army
Douglas MacArthur
from Arkansas
Former Governor
Harold Stassen
of Minnesota
Senator
Robert A. Taft
of Ohio
Senator
Arthur H. Vandenberg
of Michigan
Governor
Earl Warren
of California
General of the Army
Dwight D. Eisenhower
from New York
(Declined)

Balloting

The tally:
Ballot	1	2	3
NY Governor Thomas E. Dewey	434	515	1094
OH Senator Robert A. Taft	224	274	0
Frm. MN Governor Harold Stassen	157	149	0
MI Senator and President pro tempore Arthur Vandenberg	62	62	0
CA Governor Earl Warren	59	57	0
House Speaker Joseph Martin	18	10	0
General Douglas MacArthur	11	7	0
Others	127	20	0

As of 2020, this was the last Republican Convention to go past the first ballot.

Vice Presidential nomination

Dewey had a long list of potential running mates, including his 1944 running mate, Senator John Bricker of Ohio, Representative Charles Halleck of Indiana, former Governor Harold Stassen of Minnesota, and California Governor Earl Warren.

Dewey chose Warren, who was subsequently nominated by acclaimation.

The Dewey–Warren ticket was the last to consist of two current or former state Governors until 2016, when former governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld ran on the Libertarian Party ticket.

References

Simmons, Amy V. (5 August 2016). "The first televised Democratic Convention, 70 years later: An unplanned delegate remembers". Philadelphia Sun. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
"Republican Party Platform of 1948".

External links

Republican Party platform of 1948 at The American Presidency Project
Dewey acceptance speech at The American Presidency Project
Video of Dewey acceptance speech for President (via YouTube)

Preceded by 1944 Chicago, Illinois	Republican National Conventions	Succeeded by 1952 Chicago, Illinois

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[UnplannedDel1948-1] Simmons, Amy V. (5 August 2016). "The first televised Democratic Convention, 70 years later: An unplanned delegate remembers". Philadelphia Sun. Retrieved 6 August 2016.

[2] "Republican Party Platform of 1948".