Tag: harry truman
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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.
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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.
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Family Feud: Kefauver vs. McKellar
Estes Kefauver made a lot of enemies in the Senate. Perhaps his fiercest foe was the senior Senator from his own state.
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Kefauver and TVA, Part 2: Ike and Dixon-Yates
Estes Kefauver successfully rescued the TVA from Kenneth McKellar’s whims. But could he save it from Ike and the threat of privatization?
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“The Great Land of the Free”: Kefauver and Civil Liberties
Estes Kefauver always took a strong stance on civil rights. Time and again, he stood up for suspected Communists and other unpopular groups. In the era of McCarthyism and the Red Scare, that was a lonely place to be.
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Look For the Union Label: Kefauver and Organized Labor
Estes Kefauver was one of the best friends that organized labor had in the Senate. How did a Southerner from a white-collar background become such a strong ally of unions? Because he was willing to listen.
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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.
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Campaign 1952: The Rise – and Fall – of “Senator Legend”
Riding a wave of popularity from the televised crime hearings, a young Kefauver – still in his first term as a Senator – decided to run for President. His popularity carried him a long way… but, as it turned out, not long enough.
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Facing “The Face of U.S. Gangland”: The Crime Hearings
In the early 1950s, Kefauver chaired a series of hearings into organized crime. The hearings made Kefauver a household name, a Presidential contender… and Public Enemy Number One to Democratic leaders.
Estes Kefauver for President 