1948 United States presidential election in South Carolina
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Elections in South Carolina |
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The1948 United States presidential election in South Carolinatook place on November 2, 1948, as part of the1948 United States presidential election.State voters chose eight electors to theElectoral College,which selected thepresidentandvice president.
South Carolinawas won byStates' Rights DemocraticcandidateStrom Thurmond,defeating theDemocraticcandidate,incumbentPresidentHarry S. Truman,andNew YorkGovernorThomas E. Dewey.
For six decades South Carolina had been a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. The Republican Party had been moribund due to the disfranchisement of blacks and the complete absence of other support bases as South Carolina completely lacked upland or German refugee whitesopposed to secession.[2]Between 1900 and 1944, no Republican presidential candidate ever obtained more than seven percent of the total presidential vote[3]– a vote which in 1924 reached as low as 6.6 percent of the total voting-age population[4](or approximately 15 percent of the voting-agewhitepopulation).
This absolute loyalty to the Democratic Party – so strong that even CatholicAl Smithin 1928 received over ninety percent of South Carolina's limited vote total at the same time as five former Confederate states voted forHerbert Hoover[5]– began to break down withHenry A. Wallace's appointment as Vice President and the1943 Detroit race riots.[6]The northern left wing of the Democratic Party became as a result of this riot committed to restoring black political rights,[7]a policy vehemently opposed by mostSouthern Democratsas an infringement upon "states' rights".Tension widened much further when new President Harry Truman, himself a Southerner from Missouri, had described to him a number of horrifying lynchings and racial violence against black veterans, most crucially the beating and blinding of Isaac Woodard three hours after being discharged from the army.[8]Truman, previously viewed as no friend of civil rights, came to believe that racial violence against blacks in the South was a threat to the United States' image abroad and its ability to win theCold Waragainst the radically egalitarian rhetoric ofCommunism.[9]
The result was a major civil rights plan titledTo Secure These Rightsa year later, and a civil rights plank in the 1948 Democratic platform. Southern Democrats were enraged by these proposals and thus sought to form a "States' Rights" Democratic ticket, which would replace Truman as the official Democratic nominee.[10]In South Carolina, Dixiecrats completely controlled the situation and achieved this[11]as early as the state's May presidential primary.[12]Consequently, Thurmond andMississippi GovernorFielding Wrightwere listed as the official "Democratic" nominees.
76% of white voters supported Thurmond.[13]
Polls[edit]
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Herald-Sun[14] | Safe I | September 12, 1948 |
Chattanooga Daily Times[15] | Safe I | October 15, 1948 |
The Evening Star[16] | Certain I | October 20, 1948 |
The Montgomery Advertiser[17] | Certain I | October 24, 1948 |
Mount Vernon Argus[18] | Certain I | November 1, 1948 |
Oakland Tribune[19] | Safe I | November 1, 1948 |
Results[edit]
1948 United States presidential election in South Carolina[20] | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Running mate | Popular vote | Electoral vote | ||||
Count | % | Count | % | |||||
Dixiecrat | Strom ThurmondofSouth Carolina | Fielding Lewis WrightofMississippi | 102,607 | 71.97% | 8 | 100.00% | ||
Democratic | Harry S. TrumanofMissouri(incumbent) | Alben William BarkleyofKentucky | 34,423 | 24.14% | 0 | 0.00% | ||
Republican | Thomas Edmund DeweyofNew York | Earl WarrenofCalifornia | 5,386 | 3.78% | 0 | 0.00% | ||
Progressive | Henry Agard WallaceofIowa | Glen Hearst TaylorofIdaho | 154 | 0.11% | 0 | 0.00% | ||
Write-in | Norman ThomasofNew York | Tucker Powell SmithofMichigan | 1 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | ||
Total | 142,571 | 100.00% | 8 | 100.00% |
Results by county[edit]
County | James Strom Thurmond States’ Rights/Democratic |
Thomas Edmund Dewey Republican |
Harry S. Truman Democratic |
Henry Agard Wallace Progressive |
Margin[a] | Total votes cast | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Abbeville | 787 | 73.97% | 23 | 2.16% | 254 | 23.87% | 0 | 0.00% | 533 | 50.09% | 1,064 |
Aiken | 4,607 | 86.94% | 115 | 2.17% | 572 | 10.79% | 5 | 0.09% | 4,035 | 76.15% | 5,299 |
Allendale | 1,041 | 93.78% | 14 | 1.26% | 55 | 4.95% | 0 | 0.00% | 986 | 88.83% | 1,110 |
Anderson | 1,342 | 33.32% | 105 | 2.61% | 2,581 | 64.08% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,239 | -30.76% | 4,028 |
Bamberg | 1,714 | 91.51% | 34 | 1.82% | 124 | 6.62% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,590 | 84.89% | 1,873 |
Barnwell | 1,920 | 93.02% | 28 | 1.36% | 115 | 5.57% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,805 | 87.45% | 2,064 |
Beaufort | 850 | 67.62% | 150 | 11.93% | 253 | 20.13% | 4 | 0.32% | 597 | 47.49% | 1,257 |
Berkeley | 1,534 | 79.94% | 58 | 3.02% | 323 | 16.83% | 4 | 0.21% | 1,211 | 63.11% | 1,919 |
Calhoun | 840 | 95.35% | 4 | 0.45% | 36 | 4.09% | 1 | 0.11% | 804 | 91.26% | 881 |
Charleston | 10,603 | 76.32% | 562 | 4.05% | 2,660 | 19.15% | 68 | 0.49% | 7,943 | 57.17% | 13,893 |
Cherokee | 1,075 | 61.15% | 77 | 4.38% | 605 | 34.41% | 1 | 0.06% | 470 | 26.73% | 1,758 |
Chester | 1,527 | 75.89% | 48 | 2.39% | 436 | 21.67% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,091 | 54.22% | 2,012 |
Chesterfield | 1,554 | 62.21% | 31 | 1.24% | 912 | 36.51% | 1 | 0.04% | 642 | 25.70% | 2,498 |
Clarendon | 1,467 | 92.26% | 16 | 1.01% | 107 | 6.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,360 | 85.53% | 1,590 |
Colleton | 2,337 | 89.92% | 39 | 1.50% | 223 | 8.58% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,114 | 81.14% | 2,599 |
Darlington | 1,930 | 69.93% | 104 | 3.77% | 726 | 26.30% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,204 | 43.63% | 2,760 |
Dillon | 967 | 53.72% | 24 | 1.33% | 808 | 44.89% | 1 | 0.06% | 159 | 8.83% | 1,800 |
Dorchester | 2,717 | 92.10% | 85 | 2.88% | 143 | 4.85% | 5 | 0.17% | 2,574 | 87.25% | 2,950 |
Edgefield | 1,797 | 98.20% | 6 | 0.33% | 27 | 1.48% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,770 | 96.72% | 1,830 |
Fairfield | 1,073 | 79.54% | 63 | 4.67% | 211 | 15.64% | 2 | 0.15% | 862 | 63.90% | 1,349 |
Florence | 3,729 | 72.97% | 192 | 3.76% | 1,189 | 23.27% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,540 | 49.71% | 5,110 |
Georgetown | 1,943 | 78.66% | 92 | 3.72% | 432 | 17.49% | 3 | 0.12% | 1,511 | 61.17% | 2,470 |
Greenville | 5,922 | 62.51% | 789 | 8.33% | 2,745 | 28.97% | 18 | 0.19% | 3,177 | 33.53% | 9,474 |
Greenwood | 2,508 | 83.21% | 63 | 2.09% | 440 | 14.60% | 3 | 0.10% | 2,068 | 68.61% | 3,014 |
Hampton | 1,530 | 94.33% | 10 | 0.62% | 81 | 4.99% | 1 | 0.06% | 1,449 | 89.33% | 1,622 |
Horry | 3,345 | 84.45% | 113 | 2.85% | 503 | 12.70% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,842 | 71.75% | 3,961 |
Jasper | 715 | 80.61% | 31 | 3.49% | 141 | 15.90% | 0 | 0.00% | 574 | 64.71% | 887 |
Kershaw | 1,615 | 82.15% | 49 | 2.49% | 302 | 15.36% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,313 | 66.79% | 1,966 |
Lancaster | 1,649 | 65.07% | 30 | 1.18% | 855 | 33.74% | 0 | 0.00% | 794 | 31.33% | 2,534 |
Laurens | 2,047 | 77.86% | 69 | 2.62% | 513 | 19.51% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,534 | 58.35% | 2,629 |
Lee | 1,155 | 86.65% | 36 | 2.70% | 142 | 10.65% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,013 | 75.99% | 1,333 |
Lexington | 2,237 | 78.19% | 58 | 2.03% | 566 | 19.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,671 | 58.41% | 2,861 |
Marion | 1,219 | 79.47% | 14 | 0.91% | 301 | 19.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 918 | 59.84% | 1,534 |
Marlboro | 1,083 | 73.23% | 41 | 2.77% | 354 | 23.94% | 1 | 0.07% | 729 | 49.29% | 1,479 |
McCormick | 713 | 95.96% | 0 | 0.00% | 30 | 4.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 683 | 91.92% | 743 |
Newberry | 2,758 | 87.25% | 47 | 1.49% | 349 | 11.04% | 7 | 0.22% | 2,409 | 76.21% | 3,161 |
Oconee | 1,155 | 59.02% | 135 | 6.90% | 666 | 34.03% | 1 | 0.05% | 489 | 24.99% | 1,957 |
Orangeburg | 3,160 | 83.98% | 164 | 4.36% | 435 | 11.56% | 4 | 0.11% | 2,725 | 72.42% | 3,763 |
Pickens | 1,344 | 69.14% | 165 | 8.49% | 435 | 22.38% | 0 | 0.00% | 909 | 46.76% | 1,944 |
Richland | 6,096 | 66.32% | 670 | 7.29% | 2,419 | 26.32% | 7 | 0.08% | 3,677 | 40.00% | 9,192 |
Saluda | 1,712 | 89.45% | 15 | 0.78% | 187 | 9.77% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,525 | 79.68% | 1,914 |
Spartanburg | 4,660 | 38.70% | 627 | 5.21% | 6,741 | 55.98% | 13 | 0.11% | -2,081 | -17.28% | 12,041 |
Sumter | 2,718 | 78.17% | 154 | 4.43% | 605 | 17.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,113 | 60.77% | 3,477 |
Union | 2,090 | 61.13% | 46 | 1.35% | 1,283 | 37.53% | 0 | 0.00% | 807 | 23.60% | 3,419 |
Williamsburg | 1,839 | 92.46% | 23 | 1.16% | 126 | 6.33% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,713 | 86.12% | 1,989 |
York | 1,983 | 55.67% | 167 | 4.69% | 1,412 | 39.64% | 0 | 0.00% | 571 | 16.03% | 3,562 |
Totals | 102,607 | 71.97% | 5,386 | 3.78% | 34,423 | 24.14% | 154 | 0.11% | 68,184 | 47.82% | 142,570 |
Analysis[edit]
Thurmond won his native state by a margin of 47.83 points, making him the first third-party candidate to carry the state sinceSouthern DemocratJohn C. Breckinridgein1860.This was the first time the state voted against the Democrats since 1876, and Truman was the first Democrat to win without the state since 1836.
Significant opposition to Thurmond came from the poor whites of the industrialupcountry,who rejected the Dixiecrats' opposition to public works and labor regulation.[23]Many upcountry county parties and newspapers, especially in the two counties that backed Truman over Thurmond,[24]alongside SenatorOlin D. Johnston,[25]also rejected bolting from the national party.
However, sufficiently few of these poorer whites voted that Thurmond was able to easily carry South Carolina, winning 44 of the state's 46 counties and over 71 percent of the total presidential vote. Thurmond exceeded 72 percent in all but twelve counties, and passed ninety percent in ten. This was the first time any county in South Carolina had voted against the national Democrats since 1900.[26]
Notes[edit]
- ^Because Thurmond was the official Democratic nominee in South Carolina and he and Truman came in the first two places in all counties and the state as a whole, all margins given are Thurmond vote minus Truman vote and all percentage margins Thurmond percentage minus Truman percentage.
References[edit]
- ^Key;Southern Politics in State and Nation,p. 332
- ^Phillips, Kevin P.The Emerging Republican Majority.pp. 208, 210.ISBN9780691163246.
- ^Mickey, Robert.Paths Out of Dixie: The Democratization of Authoritarian Enclaves in America's Deep South, 1944-1972.p. 440.ISBN0691149631.
- ^Mickey;Paths Out of Dixie,p. 27
- ^Key junior, V.O.Southern Politics in State and Nation.p. 328.ISBN087049435X.
- ^Scher, Richard K.Politics in the New South: Republicanism, Race and Leadership in the Twentieth Century.p. 95.ISBN1563248484.
- ^Frederickson, Kari A.The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968.p. 39.ISBN0807849103.
- ^Geselbracht, Raymond H. (ed.).The Civil Rights Legacy of Harry S. Truman.p. 53.ISBN1931112673.
- ^Fredericksen.The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South,p. 52
- ^Sabato, Larry J.; Ernst, Howard R.Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections.p. 114.ISBN9781438141817.
- ^Key.Southern Politics in State and Nation,p. 332
- ^Mickey.Paths Out of Dixie,pp. 146-149
- ^Black & Black 1992,p. 147.
- ^Gallup, George (September 12, 1948). "Thurmond's Long South Carolina Lead Highlights Democratic Problem in Dixie".The Herald-Sun.Durham, North Carolina.p. 1.
- ^Gallup, George (October 15, 1948). "Only Four States Go to Dixiecrats".Chattanooga Daily Times.Chattanooga,Tennessee.p. 6-A.
- ^Lincoln, Gould (October 20, 1948). "States' Rights Party Sews Up South Carolina for Thurmond".The Evening Star.Washington, D.C.p. A—5.
- ^Montgomery, John A. (October 24, 1948). "South Carolina".The Montgomery Advertiser.Montgomery,Alabama.p. 16.
- ^Tucker, Ray (November 1, 1948). "Truman Whistling in a White House Graveyard, Says Tucker, Predicting It'll Be a Dewey Sweep".Mount Vernon Argus.Mount Vernon, New York.p. 8.
- ^Gallup, George (November 1, 1948). "Final Gallup Poll Shows Dewey Winning Election with Wide Electoral Vote Margin".Oakland Tribune.Oakland,California.pp. 1–2.
- ^"1948 Presidential General Election Results – South Carolina".U.S. Election Atlas.RetrievedDecember 23,2013.
- ^Scammon, Richard M. (compiler);America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964;p. 395ISBN0405077114
- ^"Popular Vote for Strom Thurmond".Géoelections.(.xlsx file for €15)
- ^Phillips.The Emerging Republican Majority;pp. 262-265
- ^"Thurmond Winner: State Out of Demo Column for First Time Since 1876".Anderson Independent-Mail.Anderson, South Carolina.p. 1.
- ^"Johnson Openly Bucks Thurmond".The Item.Sumter, South Carolina.p. 11.
- ^Menendez, Albert J. (2005).The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004.Jefferson,North Carolina:McFarland & Company.pp. 291–293.ISBN0786422173.