1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi

Main article: 1948 United States presidential election

1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi

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Nominee Strom Thurmond Harry S. Truman Party Democratic (Mississippi) National Democratic Alliance States’ Rights 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% 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. 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 percent of the popular vote, and failing to attract even ten percent of the vote in any Mississippi county. 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 opposed to Truman. [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] 92% of white voters supported Thurmond. [7] Polls Source Ranking As of Chattanooga Daily Times [8] Certain I(Flip) October 15, 1948 The Montgomery Advertiser [9] Certain I(Flip) October 24, 1948 The Miami News [10] Certain I(Flip) October 25, 1948 Mount Vernon Argus [11] Certain I(Flip) November 1, 1948 Oakland Tribune [12] Certain I(Flip) November 1, 1948 Results 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi [13] Party Candidate Votes Percentage Electoral votes Democratic J. Strom Thurmond 167,538 87.17% 9 National Democratic Harry Truman (incumbent) 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% [15] Results by county 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi by county [16] [17] [18] County James Strom Thurmond Dixiecrat/Democratic Thomas Edmund Dewey [lower-alpha 1] Republican Harry S. Truman National Democratic Henry Agard Wallace 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 Totals 167,538 87.17% 5,043 2.62% 19,384 10.09% 225 0.12% 148,154 77.08% 192,190 Analysis Thurmond carried all of Mississippi's 82 counties, forty-five with over ninety percent of the vote and seventy with over eighty percent. Truman only managed to break forty percent in one county, while Dewey was held to less than ten percent in every county. 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. [19] 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, and the only time a third-party candidate swept every county in any state. [20] This was the first time ever that a Democrat won without carrying Mississippi, and the first time since 1872 that the state voted against the national Democrats. Notes 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. [14] 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. 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 Geselbracht, Raymond H. (editor); The Civil Rights Legacy of Harry S. Truman, p. 53 ISBN   1931112673 Boyd, William M.; 'Southern Politics 1948-1952', Phylon, Vol. 13, No. 3 (3rd quarter, 1952), pp. 226-235 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 Krane, Dale and Shaffer, Stephen D.; Mississippi Government and Politics: Modernizers Versus Traditionalists, p. 82 ISBN   080327758X Frederickson, Kari; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968, p. 144 ISBN   0807875449 Frederickson; The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, p. 178 Black & Black 1992, p. 147. Gallup, George (October 15, 1948). "Only Four States Go to Dixiecrats". Chattanooga Daily Times . Chattanooga, Tennessee. p. 6-A. Carter, Hodding (October 24, 1948). "Mississippi". The Montgomery Advertiser . Montgomery, Alabama. p. 16. Carter, Hodding (October 25, 1948). "Mississippi". The Miami News . Miami, Florida. p. 8. Tucker, Ray (November 1, 1948). "Truman Whistling in a White House Graveyard, Says Tucker, Predicting It'll Be a Dewey Sweep". Mount Vernon Argus. Mount Vernon, New York. p. 8. Gallup, George (November 1, 1948). "Final Gallup Poll Shows Dewey Winning Election with Wide Electoral Vote Margin". Oakland Tribune . Oakland, California. pp. 1–2. "1948 Presidential General Election Results – Mississippi". Dave Leip's U.S. Election Atlas}. Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; p. 255 ISBN   0405077114 Gans, Curtis and Mulling, Matthew; Voter Turnout in the United States, 1788-2009, p. 481 ISBN   9781604265958 "Popular Vote for Strom Thurmond". Géoelections. (.xlsx file for €15) Scammon (compiler); America at the Polls; pp. 249-250 "Popular Vote for Henry Wallace". Géoelections. (.xlsx file for €15) Phillips, Kevin P. The Emerging Republican Majority. pp. 208, 210. ISBN   9780691163246. Thomas, G. Scott. The Pursuit of the White House: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics and History. p. 403. ISBN   0313257957. Works cited Black, Earl; Black, Merle (1992). The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected. Harvard University Press. ISBN   0674941306. This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.