Although the presidential election of 1944 placed FDR in the White House for an unprecedented fourth term, historical memory of the election itself has been overshadowed by the war, Roosevelt's health and his death the following April, Truman's ascendancy, and the decision to drop the atomic bomb. Today most people assume that FDR's reelection was assured. Yet, as David M. Jordan's engrossing account reveals, neither the outcome of the campaign nor even the choice of candidates was assured. Just a week before Election Day, pollster George Gallup thought a small shift in votes in a few key states would award the election to Thomas E. Dewey. Though the Democrats urged voters not to "change horses in midstream," the Republicans countered that the war would be won "quicker with Dewey and Bricker." With its insider tales and accounts of party politics, and campaigning for votes in the shadow of war and an uncertain future, FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944 makes for a fascinating chapter in American political history.

A gripping narrative of politics and the presidency in time of war

About the Author

David M. Jordan is author of Roscoe Conkling of New York: Voice in the Senate; Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier's Life (IUP, 1988); "Happiness Is Not My Companion": The Life of General G. K. Warren (IUP, 2001); and Occasional Glory: A History of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Reviews

David M. Jordan tells the story of the 1944 presidential election, and he tells it very well. In a clearly written, well-researched narrative he describes the various contenders for the Republican nomination, which eventually went to Thomas E. Dewey.

* Journal of American History *

This book alone proves Jordan has what it takes to allow the reader to check out of present day and visit a time period like no other in history. I commend him for that because he allowed me to do so.

* thepoliticsofjamiesanderson.blogspot *

[Jordan's] writing style is superb. He has a sense of narrative cadence and a dramatic rhythm reminiscent of an earlier chronicler of presidential campaigns, Theodore White. . . . Jordan exudes a gift for characterization and an eye for a quotation.

* Intl Social Science Review *

Jordan provides a detailed account of the 'infighting and horse-trading' of this hard-fought, wartime campaign.

* Survival *

This is a fun volume on an often overlooked presidential contest. . . . This book is worth it for the political junkie who wants to check the 1944 election off their list.

-- Karl Rove

[T]his book is informative, interesting (especially for the political history geek) and suspenseful in spite of the fact that we all know how the story is going to end.

* bookish.livejournal.com *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253009708
Author David M. Jordan
Format Paperback
Page Count 408
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 522g