Dewey Defeats Truman? – Dale’s Daily Data [VIDEO]

It was back when newspapers were king.  Everybody got their news from the newspaper and this turned out to be one of the biggest goofs in history.  The Chicago Tribune – one of the biggest newspapers in the country had in big headlines on the front page – “Dewey Defeats Truman.”

It seemed like a sure bet.  Most of the newspapers in the country had predicted that New York Governor Thomas Dewey would beat incumbent President Harry Truman.

Truman got very few endorsements from newspapers across the country.  And maybe it was because he didn’t use newspapers to get his message out.  He went directly to the people.  Starting in July of 1948 he used trains and buses to go on a 22-thousand mile “whistle stop” campaign tour across the country using.  At every stop he made he asked the crowds to help him keep his job as president.  At the end of one speech somebody yelled
“Give ‘em Hell, Harry” and it became a campaign slogan.

While Dewey sent his message out thru the papers – Truman interacted with the American public and even though he was the sitting president, he was the underdog.  The voters liked him though and kept him in the White House.

Truman defeated Dewey by 114 electoral votes in 1948 and the morning after a picture was taken of  Truman holding a copy of the Chicago Tribune with that famous headline.

SOURCE: HistoryChannel