The Election of 1952: Defining Cold War Politics

Dwight Eisenhower’s successful, albeit brief, political career was informed both by the failures of the Truman Administration and the circumstances of the early Cold War. Eisenhower, a major figure in the Allied effort in Europe during World War II, was a political nonentity until the 1948 presidential campaign. A man without a party, Eisenhower was offered a prominent position within the Democratic Party. According to many sources from the era, Eisenhower was offered the top spot on the presidential ticket and Truman was going to move back to the vice presidency. The general turned down this opportunity and waited until 1952 to become active in national politics.

The American role in the Korean War was a strong draw for Eisenhower. Truman’s popularity sank rapidly during the execution of the war, including his firing of General Douglas MacArthur and with the stalemate reached by both sides throughout the war. Harry Truman, instead of facing certain defeat at the polls, endorsed the candidacy of Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson, who narrowly defeated Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver for the Democratic nomination. Stevenson, a member of the United Nations delegation and a renowned lawyer, presented a more liberal stance on politics than Harry Truman. The Democrats attempted to stake a claim to the more benevolent, intelligent party in the United States.

The Republican nomination was not a sure thing for Eisenhower. His victory in the New Hampshire primary, without actively campaigning, and his close second in Minnesota were certainly impressive. However, more active Republicans like Harold Stassen of Minnesota, Robert Taft of Ohio, and Richard Nixon of California were still fighting to stay in the race and gain enough delegates to be in a bargaining position at the convention. Taft’s conservative isolationism was no match for the popularity and moderation of Eisenhower and the convention went overwhelmingly to Eisenhower as Republicans abdicated their delegates to the frontrunner in the first ballot.

The 1952 campaign featured the first use of television ads, by the Eisenhower campaign. The vast marketing campaign for the Republicans trumped the Stevenson campaign’s attempt to engage the public in a more intellectual discussion about the issues of the Cold War. Eisenhower went on a 45 state speaking tour and his plain spoken manner won over voters who were uncertain about his politics. The former Allied general won 55 percent of the popular vote and 442 electoral votes, crushing Stevenson and his 89 electoral votes and setting the tone politically for the rest of the decade.