Tag: harry truman
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A Complicated Heritage
For two decades, the American Heritage Foundation preached the importance of community and civic engagement. Their message was valuable, but it missed something important… something that Kefauver understood.
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Reckoning With Russell
Richard Russell was considered one of the great Senators of all time. He also led the Southern resistance to civil rights. How should he be remembered?
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Too Much Democracy
The press didn’t approve of Kefauver’s way of campaigning for President. Their criticism belied a deeper unease with the primary system.
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Here Comes the Pitch: Kefauver for President Commercials, Part 1
During the 1956 campaign, Kefauver came into a bit of money, and used it to record a series of commercials. This week, we’re taking a look at some of those ads, and what they said about his campaign.
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Protesting Too Much? Kefauver on Congressional “Vaudeville Shows”
In 1948, Kefauver wrote an article decrying excessive Congressional travel and “headline-hunting hearings.” Did his later career make him a hypocrite?
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Can We Recover the TVA Way?
At the TVA’s 20th anniversary, its former Chairman wrote a book explaining the mindset that made it possible. Have we lost that mindset for good?
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Advise and Dissent: The Short, Controversial Life of the DAC
In the 1950, Democratic liberals were frustrated by conservative Congressional leaders and the ever-popular Ike. So they founded the Democratic Advisory Council to make their voices heard. Was it a success or a failure… or both?
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Electoral College Dropout, Part 4: The Dixiecrats’ Dress Rehearsal
We’ve all heard about the South’s third-party effort in the 1948. But did you know that they plotted to subvert the Electoral College four years earlier?
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“Seventeen Days to Victory”: Democrats’ Televised Hollywood Spectacular
A couple weeks before their landslide loss, the Stevenson-Kefauver campaign held a star-studded coast-to-coast gala event. Was it a waste of money… or a preview of future campaigns?
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Picking a President: Kefauver’s Push for a National Primary
After getting his Presidential hopes crushed at the 1952 convention, Kefauver tried for a Constitution amendment mandating national primaries. Was he the biggest obstacle to his amendment’s success?
Estes Kefauver for President 