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Kefauver at the Movies: “Mad at the World”
The organized crime probe wasn’t the only Kefauver investigation to spawn a movie. There was also a movie inspired by his juvenile delinquency investigation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good movie.
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Porcine Populism: The Presidential Campaigns of Henry Krajewski
Kefauver wasn’t the only 1950s presidential hopeful who came up short. There was also Krajewski, the New Jersey pig farmer and bar owner, whose views were a little… different.
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FBI: No Time For Organized Crime
Kefauver’s hearings on organized crime exposed just how little the FBI was doing to combat the problem. So they learned their lesson from that, right? Yeah… not so much.
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Mad Man: William Gaines’ Troubled Testimony on Comics and Delinquency
During the infamous comic book hearings, the publisher of EC Comics volunteered to defend the honor of his industry. It went… poorly. But the story is more complicated than it’s usually told.
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Busting Myths About the Juvenile Delinquency Hearings
I’ve been reluctant to write about these hearings, since they’re so often misunderstood and frequently caricatured. So today, I’m tackling some of the biggest myths about these hearings. Comic book fans, take note.
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Estes Kefauver: Not an Organization Man
Kefauver was a principled politician, which cause stumbling blocks for his ambitions. In particular, his refusal to build a political organization made his campaigns harder than they had to be… and may have been hazardous to his health.
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Who Is Joe Smith? A Campaign Mystery
How a publicity stunt from a crabby delegate turned a fictional person into a real campaign meme… for the other side.
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Adlai Stevenson, Fake Farmer
In 1956, the Stevenson campaign put out an ad to show that he understood the problems of family farmers. He failed miserably.
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Mumbles and Mix-Ups: Kefauver’s Speaking Stumbles
Estes Kefauver had many qualities that would have made him a fine President. Public speaking was not one of them. A look at what made Kefauver such a poor speaker… and why the public loved him anyway.
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Just Plane Crazy: Estes’ Wyoming Adventure
Estes Kefauver was a popular campaigner who could never say no to a friend. In 1956, to help a fellow Senator, Kefauver had his campaign plane diverted to a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, which forced a surprising exit.
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Estes Kefauver for President 