1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi

The 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 2, 1948, in Mississippi as part of the wider United States presidential election of 1948.

1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi

November 2, 1948
 
Nominee Strom Thurmond Harry S. Truman
Party Dixiecrat Democratic
Home state South Carolina Missouri
Running mate Fielding L. Wright Alben W. Barkley
Electoral vote 9 0
Popular vote 167,538 19,384
Percentage 87.17% 10.09%

County Results
Thurmond
  50-60%
  60-70%
  70-80%
  80-90%
  90-100%


President before election

Harry S. Truman
Democratic

Elected President

Harry S. Truman
Democratic

The Democratic Party candidate, South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond, overwhelmingly won Mississippi against fellow Democrat, incumbent President Harry S. Truman by a margin of 148,154 votes, or 77.08%. Although Truman was the national Democratic Party candidate, Thurmond managed to be placed on the ballot in Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Alabama as the official "Democratic" candidate. Outside of these four states, Thurmond was forced to run under the label of the States' Rights Democratic Party. The Republican Party candidate, New York governor Thomas E. Dewey, had no impact on the race in Mississippi, only obtaining 5,043 votes total, or 2.62% of the popular vote.

Background

Mississippi in this era was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party, so that the only competitive contests were Democratic primaries that were by law excluded to non-whites until the landmark court case of Smith v. Allwright. Ever since seeing the potential effect on the United States' image abroad (and ability to win the Cold War against the radically egalitarian rhetoric of Communism)[1] of the beating and blinding of Isaac Woodard three hours after being discharged from the army, President Truman was attempting to launch a Civil Rights bill, involving desegregation of the military. Southern Democrats immediately made such cries as "unconstitutional", "Communist inspired," "a blow to the loyal South and its traditions," "unwarranted and harmful," "not the answer," and "does irreparable harm to interracial relations".[2]

Southern Democrats walked out at the party's national convention in Philadelphia[3] because of Truman's endorsement of civil rights for African Americans, and Mississippi, the state with the highest proportion of blacks in its population, was alongside neighbouring Alabama the most committed to an immediate bolt.[2] Indeed, whereas only half of Alabama's delegation walked out, all of Mississippi's did.[4]

This segregationist faction met on July 17, 1948, in Birmingham, Alabama, nominating South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond as its nominee for president. Mississippi governor Fielding L. Wright was nominated for vice president. Mississippi pledged its Democratic electors to Thurmond on August 3 without debate,[5] and although a group of nine students from Mississippi State College qualified as Truman/Barkley electors after that ticket had sought to find electors from University of Mississippi students, all the nine nominated Truman electors personally supported the Dixiecrats rather than the national party.[6]

Vote

Thurmond carried all of Mississippi's 82 counties, forty-seven with over ninety percent of the vote and seventy with over eighty percent. The "weakest" region for Thurmond came from the northeastern corner where he failed to break sixty percent in four counties. These northeastern counties are the least fertile in the state and were (and remain) populated by the smallest proportion of African Americans. They were also within the one-party Democratic primary system always opposed to the free-market business and landowning interests who were Thurmond's chief support base. Consequently, whites in the far northeast of Mississippi – even those with enough money to pay the poll tax – supported the public works, minimum wage laws, and working hour laws of President Truman's "Fair Deal" which were strongly opposed by Black Belt landowners.[7] In these northeastern hill counties preoccupations with race were also less overwhelming.

Thurmond's vote constitutes the highest ever statewide vote percentage for a candidate who was not a national major party nominee.[8]

Results

1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi[9]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes
Democratic J. Strom Thurmond 167,538 87.17% 9
National Democratic Harry Truman 19,384 10.09% 0
Republican Thomas E. Dewey 5,043[lower-alpha 1] 2.62% 0
Progressive Henry A. Wallace 225 0.12% 0
Totals 192,190 100.00% 9
Voter turnout (voting age) 16.0%[11]

Results by county

County James Strom Thurmond[12]
Democratic
Thomas Edmund Dewey[lower-alpha 1][13]
Republican
Harry S. Truman[13]
National Democratic
Henry Agard Wallace[14]
Progressive
Margin[lower-alpha 2] Total votes cast
# % # % # % # % # %
Adams 2,032 92.36% 95 4.32% 71 3.23% 2 0.09% 1,937[lower-alpha 3] 88.04% 2,200
Alcorn 1,984 64.19% 91 2.94% 1,013 32.77% 3 0.10% 971 31.42% 3,091
Amite 1,559 95.59% 17 1.04% 55 3.37% 0 0.00% 1,504 92.22% 1,631
Attala 2,299 93.19% 32 1.30% 130 5.27% 6 0.24% 2,169 87.92% 2,467
Benton 679 83.83% 11 1.36% 118 14.57% 2 0.25% 561 69.26% 810
Bolivar 2,579 88.50% 115 3.95% 219 7.52% 1 0.03% 2,360 80.98% 2,914
Calhoun 1,074 56.59% 36 1.90% 786 41.41% 2 0.11% 288 15.18% 1,898
Carroll 1,138 92.82% 14 1.14% 74 6.04% 0 0.00% 1,064 86.78% 1,226
Chickasaw 1,826 93.45% 12 0.61% 115 5.89% 1 0.05% 1,711 87.56% 1,954
Choctaw 1,110 86.31% 43 3.34% 131 10.19% 2 0.16% 979 76.12% 1,286
Claiborne 741 95.61% 14 1.81% 19 2.45% 1 0.13% 722 93.16% 775
Clarke 1,763 91.44% 17 0.88% 144 7.47% 4 0.21% 1,619 83.97% 1,928
Clay 1,604 95.14% 22 1.30% 59 3.50% 1 0.06% 1,545 91.64% 1,686
Coahoma 1,959 84.48% 113 4.87% 246 10.61% 1 0.04% 1,713 73.87% 2,319
Copiah 2,523 95.90% 19 0.72% 89 3.38% 0 0.00% 2,434 92.52% 2,631
Covington 1,532 90.81% 16 0.95% 135 8.00% 4 0.24% 1,397 82.81% 1,687
DeSoto 1,299 89.59% 14 0.97% 137 9.45% 0 0.00% 1,162 80.14% 1,450
Forrest 5,296 90.07% 167 2.84% 406 6.90% 11 0.19% 4,890 83.17% 5,880
Franklin 1,160 94.54% 12 0.98% 55 4.48% 0 0.00% 1,105 90.06% 1,227
George 1,032 88.51% 25 2.14% 108 9.26% 1 0.09% 924 79.25% 1,166
Greene 885 86.94% 14 1.38% 118 11.59% 1 0.10% 767 75.35% 1,018
Grenada 1,405 91.17% 26 1.69% 109 7.07% 1 0.06% 1,296 84.10% 1,541
Hancock 1,400 78.87% 151 8.51% 222 12.51% 2 0.11% 1,178 66.36% 1,775
Harrison 6,325 84.81% 415 5.56% 692 9.28% 26 0.35% 5,633 75.53% 7,458
Hinds 13,705 89.84% 492 3.23% 1,041 6.82% 17 0.11% 12,664 83.02% 15,255
Holmes 2,139 96.18% 24 1.08% 61 2.74% 0 0.00% 2,078 93.44% 2,224
Humphreys 1,116 97.55% 11 0.96% 17 1.49% 0 0.00% 1,099 96.06% 1,144
Issaquena 209 92.89% 5 2.22% 11 4.89% 0 0.00% 198 88.00% 225
Itawamba 1,050 60.52% 50 2.88% 634 36.54% 1 0.06% 416 23.98% 1,735
Jackson 2,671 71.94% 238 6.41% 783 21.09% 21 0.57% 1,888 50.85% 3,713
Jasper 1,795 92.43% 26 1.34% 121 6.23% 0 0.00% 1,674 86.20% 1,942
Jefferson 967 97.09% 14 1.41% 15 1.51% 0 0.00% 952 95.58% 996
Jefferson Davis 1,452 94.04% 51 3.30% 41 2.66% 0 0.00% 1,401[lower-alpha 3] 90.74% 1,544
Jones 5,709 87.45% 193 2.96% 599 9.18% 27 0.41% 5,110 78.27% 6,528
Kemper 1,389 91.56% 29 1.91% 98 6.46% 1 0.07% 1,291 85.10% 1,517
Lafayette 1,184 59.80% 48 2.42% 744 37.58% 4 0.20% 440 22.22% 1,980
Lamar 1,342 91.35% 36 2.45% 91 6.19% 0 0.00% 1,251 85.16% 1,469
Lauderdale 5,322 87.55% 171 2.81% 578 9.51% 8 0.13% 4,744 78.04% 6,079
Lawrence 1,261 94.03% 13 0.97% 66 4.92% 1 0.07% 1,195 89.11% 1,341
Leake 2,387 92.38% 12 0.46% 180 6.97% 5 0.19% 2,207 85.41% 2,584
Lee 3,127 81.31% 82 2.13% 636 16.54% 1 0.03% 2,491 64.77% 3,846
Leflore 2,749 92.47% 80 2.69% 139 4.68% 5 0.17% 2,610 87.79% 2,973
Lincoln 3,082 97.01% 40 1.26% 52 1.64% 3 0.09% 3,030 95.37% 3,177
Lowndes 2,755 93.80% 66 2.25% 116 3.95% 0 0.00% 2,639 89.85% 2,937
Madison 1,831 93.18% 51 2.60% 81 4.12% 2 0.10% 1,750 89.06% 1,965
Marion 2,491 90.75% 49 1.79% 205 7.47% 0 0.00% 2,286 83.28% 2,745
Marshall 1,215 86.97% 29 2.08% 152 10.88% 1 0.07% 1,063 76.09% 1,397
Monroe 2,281 77.09% 54 1.82% 624 21.09% 0 0.00% 1,657 56.00% 2,959
Montgomery 1,573 91.77% 35 2.04% 105 6.13% 1 0.06% 1,468 85.64% 1,714
Neshoba 2,833 90.51% 33 1.05% 260 8.31% 4 0.13% 2,573 82.20% 3,130
Newton 2,439 92.04% 39 1.47% 169 6.38% 3 0.11% 2,270 85.66% 2,650
Noxubee 1,031 91.89% 17 1.52% 74 6.60% 0 0.00% 957 85.29% 1,122
Oktibbeha 1,786 89.12% 58 2.89% 158 7.88% 2 0.10% 1,628 81.24% 2,004
Panola 1,935 89.17% 38 1.75% 195 8.99% 2 0.09% 1,740 80.18% 2,170
Pearl River 1,925 90.76% 46 2.17% 146 6.88% 4 0.19% 1,779 83.88% 2,121
Perry 764 87.12% 25 2.85% 87 9.92% 1 0.11% 677 77.20% 877
Pike 3,648 92.59% 69 1.75% 221 5.61% 2 0.05% 3,427 86.98% 3,940
Pontotoc 1,535 80.16% 28 1.46% 348 18.17% 4 0.21% 1,187 61.99% 1,915
Prentiss 988 59.34% 74 4.44% 602 36.16% 1 0.06% 386 23.18% 1,665
Quitman 1,046 90.17% 21 1.81% 91 7.84% 2 0.17% 955 82.33% 1,160
Rankin 2,677 97.03% 23 0.83% 57 2.07% 2 0.07% 2,620 94.96% 2,759
Scott 2,339 92.60% 15 0.59% 170 6.73% 2 0.08% 2,169 85.87% 2,526
Sharkey 745 95.76% 10 1.29% 23 2.96% 0 0.00% 722 92.80% 778
Simpson 2,342 91.06% 59 2.29% 171 6.65% 0 0.00% 2,171 84.41% 2,572
Smith 1,900 85.24% 33 1.48% 295 13.23% 1 0.04% 1,605 72.01% 2,229
Stone 1,053 93.77% 17 1.51% 50 4.45% 3 0.27% 1,003 89.32% 1,123
Sunflower 2,482 92.85% 55 2.06% 136 5.09% 0 0.00% 2,346 87.76% 2,673
Tallahatchie 2,122 86.75% 37 1.51% 287 11.73% 0 0.00% 1,835 75.02% 2,446
Tate 1,196 84.70% 16 1.13% 199 14.09% 1 0.07% 997 70.61% 1,412
Tippah 1,658 77.04% 66 3.07% 425 19.75% 3 0.14% 1,233 57.29% 2,152
Tishomingo 1,073 56.95% 98 5.20% 711 37.74% 2 0.11% 362 19.21% 1,884
Tunica 715 95.33% 12 1.60% 23 3.07% 0 0.00% 692 92.26% 750
Union 1,420 72.30% 63 3.21% 478 24.34% 3 0.15% 942 47.96% 1,964
Walthall 1,202 93.03% 5 0.39% 85 6.58% 0 0.00% 1,117 86.45% 1,292
Warren 3,602 86.38% 245 5.88% 320 7.67% 3 0.07% 3,282 78.71% 4,170
Washington 2,447 82.14% 271 9.10% 260 8.73% 1 0.03% 2,176[lower-alpha 3] 73.04% 2,979
Wayne 1,235 89.75% 4 0.29% 137 9.96% 0 0.00% 1,098 79.79% 1,376
Webster 1,078 76.78% 47 3.35% 277 19.73% 2 0.14% 801 57.05% 1,404
Wilkinson 809 92.56% 21 2.40% 43 4.92% 1 0.11% 766 87.64% 874
Winston 1,828 86.84% 33 1.57% 240 11.40% 4 0.19% 1,588 75.44% 2,105
Yalobusha 1,382 88.14% 49 3.13% 135 8.61% 2 0.13% 1,247 79.53% 1,568
Yazoo 2,297 95.99% 26 1.09% 70 2.93% 0 0.00% 2,227 93.06% 2,393
Totals167,53887.17%5,0432.62%19,38410.09%2250.12%148,15477.08%192,190

Notes

  1. The Dewey vote was a fusion of the “Republican” and “Independent Republican” slates. Dewey obtained 2,595 votes on the “Republican” ticket and 2,448 votes on the ”Independent Republican“ ticket.[10]
  2. Because Thurmond was listed as the “Democratic” nominee in Mississippi and carried the state, whilst Truman ran second, all margins given are Thurmond vote minus Truman vote and percentage margins Thurmond percentage minus Truman percentage unless noted otherwise.
  3. In this county where Dewey ran second ahead of Truman, margin given is Thurmond vote minus Dewey vote and percentage margin Thurmond percentage minus Dewey percentage.

References

  1. Geselbracht, Raymond H. (editor); The Civil Rights Legacy of Harry S. Truman, p. 53 ISBN 1931112673
  2. Boyd, William M.; 'Southern Politics 1948-1952', Phylon, Vol. 13, No. 3 (3rd quarter, 1952), pp. 226-235
  3. Kehl, James A.; 'Philadelphia, 1948: City of Crucial Conventions', Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, vol. 67, no. 2 (Spring 2000), pp. 313-326
  4. Krane, Dale and Shaffer, Stephen D.; Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists, p. 82 ISBN 080327758X
  5. Frederickson, Kari; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968, p. 144 ISBN 0807875449
  6. Frederickson; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, p. 178
  7. Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 ISBN 9780691163246
  8. Thomas, G. Scott; The Pursuit of the White House: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics and History, p. 403 ISBN 0313257957
  9. Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas; 1948 Presidential General Election Results – Mississippi
  10. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 255 ISBN 0405077114
  11. Gans, Curtis and Mulling, Matthew; Voter Turnout in the United States, 1788-2009, p. 481 ISBN 9781604265958
  12. Geoelections; Popular Vote for Strom Thurmond (.xlsx file for €15)
  13. Scammon (compiler); America at the Polls; pp. 249-250
  14. Geoelections; Popular Vote for Henry Wallace (.xlsx file for €15)
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