Tag: adlai stevenson

  • Hoosier Candidate?

    Hoosier Candidate?

    A sample ballot from the 1956 Indiana primary offers a snapshot of state’s political scene… and a handful of fascinating stories.

  • Lights, Camera, Action!

    Lights, Camera, Action!

    If you think the first presidential debate on TV was between Nixon and JFK, you’re off by four years. It was Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver who first took their case to the airwaves. Find out what they discussed – and how it showed the real differences between the candidates.

  • The Speech Kefauver Never Gave

    The Speech Kefauver Never Gave

    Kefauver’s advisors wrote an acceptance speech in case he won the Presidential nomination in ’52. It’s not as pretty as the one Adlai Stevenson gave… but it might have been more effective.

  • Electoral College Dropout, Part 2: How to Steal an Election

    Electoral College Dropout, Part 2: How to Steal an Election

    The forgotten story of how an Alabama attorney and an Oklahoma elected tried to throw the 1960 election to someone who wasn’t a candidate… and how it could happen again.

  • How’s That Again, General?

    How’s That Again, General?

    Adlai Stevenson knew he had a secret weapon in the 1956 Presidential campaign: his running mate. In his ads, Stevenson prominently featured Kefauver’s name – and even the man himself, talking about Ike’s broken promises.

  • Let’s Go to the Hop!

    Let’s Go to the Hop!

    A quote from one of Kefauver’s books sends me on a quest for a unique photo. I wound up finding it… then I found out it was less unique than I thought.

  • Give the Man a Hand!

    Give the Man a Hand!

    Kefauver’s handshake made him famous. But it was really just a symbol of his campaign style, and his belief in the importance of personal contact with voters.

  • The Senator and The King

    The Senator and The King

    Estes Kefauver and Elvis Presley were the two most famous Tennesseans of the 1950s. Read about the time Kefauver talked about Presley… and another unusual connection between them.

  • A Complicated but Courageous Legacy: Kefauver and Civil Rights

    A Complicated but Courageous Legacy: Kefauver and Civil Rights

    Estes Kefauver was one of the few Southern Senators who didn’t take the segregationist line on civil rights. A closer look at his record shows a man who evolved over time… but remained consistent in his belief in moderate progress and equal application of the law.

  • Campaign 1956, Part 1: If At First You Don’t Succeed…

    Campaign 1956, Part 1: If At First You Don’t Succeed…

    Undaunted by his loss in 1952, Kefauver tried for the Presidency a second time. This time, though, he’d have company in the primaries. Adlai Stevenson was taking it to the streets.