Elections with Incumbents: The Election of 1956
In 1952, the popular General Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president, defeating the professorial Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson by a margin of 442 to 89 in the electoral college. Eisenhower was a popular President in his first term, but showed some vulnerability in his re-election potential after suffering a heart attack near the end of his first term. One wonders why the Democratic party would run the same candidate against Dwight Eisenhower in 1956 when Stevenson lost so badly in 1952?
President Eisenhower had maintained much of his popularity throughout his first term, but he had health conditions that became a quiet issue. Early in 1956, there was speculation that President Eisenhower would not run for a second term because of concerns about his health. In September of 1955, Eisenhower suffered a serious heart attack, which necessitated surgery. He soon recovered, and after being cleared by his doctors, he decided to run for a second term. In June 1956 he also underwent surgery for ileitis, but this was not seen as an impediment of any sort to his re-election. Given Eisenhower's enormous popularity, he was re-nominated with no opposition at the 1956 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California.
The only question for Republicans was whether Vice-President Richard Nixon would again be Eisenhower's running mate in 1956. Eisenhower privately preferred a less controversial running mate. According to historian and Eisenhower biographer Stephen Ambrose, Eisenhower privately offered Nixon another position in his cabinet, such as Secretary of Defense, but Nixon declined the offer. Harold Stassen was the only Republican to publicly oppose Nixon's re-nomination for Vice-President. Nixon remained highly popular among the Republican rank-and-file voters. Nixon had campaigned for Republican state and local candidates across the country, and had developed a base of support. In the spring of 1956, Eisenhower publicly announced that Nixon would again be his running mate, and in a show or party unity, Stassen agreed to second Nixon's nomination at the Republican Convention.
For the Democrats, Adlai Stevenson remained popular with a core of liberal Democrats but since the 1952 election he held no political office and had no real base. Stevenson fought a primary battle with populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver for the 1956 nomination. Kefauver won the New Hampshire primary unopposed (though Stevenson received 15% in write-in votes). After Kefauver upset Stevenson in the Minnesota primary, Stevenson agreed to debate Kefauver in Florida. Stevenson and Kefauver held the first televised presidential debate on May 21, 1956, before the Florida primary. Stevenson ended up winning the Florida primary by a 52-48% margin. By the time of the California primary in June 1956, Kefauver's campaign had run low on money and could not compete for publicity and advertising with the well-funded Stevenson. Stevenson won the California primary by a 63-37% margin, and Kefauver soon withdrew from the race.
At the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, who was backed by former President Harry S. Truman, challenged Stevenson for the nomination. But Stevenson's delegate lead was much too large for Harriman to overcome, and Stevenson won the nomination on the first ballot. Stevenson received 905.5 votes, with Harriman coming in second with 210. Despite being popular with liberals, he largely ignored the civil rights issue, likely for fear of eroding his support among southern Democrats.
At the convention, Stevenson tried to create excitement for the ticket, by announcing that the convention's delegates would choose his running mate. Candidates had only one day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began. The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver, who retained the support of his primary delegates, and Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was relatively unknown at that point. Kennedy surprised everyone by surging into the lead on the second ballot and at one point he was only 15 votes shy of winning. But a number of states then left their "favorite son" candidates and switched to Kefauver, giving him the victory. Kennedy gave a gracious concession speech, giving him favorable national publicity.
Eisenhower had ended the Korean War and the nation was prosperous, so a landslide for Eisenhower always seemed to be in the cards. Television played a major part in the campaign. It allowed Eisenhower to reach people across the country without the strain of repeated coast-to-coast travel. Stevenson promised increases in government spending for social programs and treaties with the Soviet Union to lower military spending and end nuclear testing on both sides. He also proposed to end the military draft and switch to an "all-volunteer" military. Eisenhower publicly opposed these ideas, even though in private he was working on a proposal to ban atmospheric nuclear testing.
Eisenhower still had the popularity he had earned during World War II, and he maintained a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign. Eisenhower was also helped by his handling of two developing foreign-policy crises that occurred in the weeks before the election. In the Soviet-occupied People's Republic of Hungary, many citizens had risen in revolt against Soviet domination. In Egypt, a combined force of Israeli, British, and French troops invaded to topple Gamal Abdel Nasser and seize the recently-nationalized Suez Canal. The Hungarian revolt was brutally crushed within a few days by re-deployed Soviet troops. Eisenhower was critical of both actions, but was able only to pressure the western forces to withdraw from Egypt.
The Eisenhower administration had also supported the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 in which the U.S. Supreme Court ended legal segregation in public schools. This earned Eisenhower won the support of nearly 40% of African-American voters.
On election day Eisenhower won 57.4% of the popular vote (compared to 42% for Stevenson). He won 41 of the 48 states. Stevenson won only six Southern states and the border state of Missouri. Eisenhower carried Louisiana, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since Reconstruction in 1876. The final score in the electoral college was 457 for Eisenhower to 73 for Stevenson. He had increased his margins in every category from the 1952 election.
President Eisenhower had maintained much of his popularity throughout his first term, but he had health conditions that became a quiet issue. Early in 1956, there was speculation that President Eisenhower would not run for a second term because of concerns about his health. In September of 1955, Eisenhower suffered a serious heart attack, which necessitated surgery. He soon recovered, and after being cleared by his doctors, he decided to run for a second term. In June 1956 he also underwent surgery for ileitis, but this was not seen as an impediment of any sort to his re-election. Given Eisenhower's enormous popularity, he was re-nominated with no opposition at the 1956 Republican National Convention in San Francisco, California.
The only question for Republicans was whether Vice-President Richard Nixon would again be Eisenhower's running mate in 1956. Eisenhower privately preferred a less controversial running mate. According to historian and Eisenhower biographer Stephen Ambrose, Eisenhower privately offered Nixon another position in his cabinet, such as Secretary of Defense, but Nixon declined the offer. Harold Stassen was the only Republican to publicly oppose Nixon's re-nomination for Vice-President. Nixon remained highly popular among the Republican rank-and-file voters. Nixon had campaigned for Republican state and local candidates across the country, and had developed a base of support. In the spring of 1956, Eisenhower publicly announced that Nixon would again be his running mate, and in a show or party unity, Stassen agreed to second Nixon's nomination at the Republican Convention.
For the Democrats, Adlai Stevenson remained popular with a core of liberal Democrats but since the 1952 election he held no political office and had no real base. Stevenson fought a primary battle with populist Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver for the 1956 nomination. Kefauver won the New Hampshire primary unopposed (though Stevenson received 15% in write-in votes). After Kefauver upset Stevenson in the Minnesota primary, Stevenson agreed to debate Kefauver in Florida. Stevenson and Kefauver held the first televised presidential debate on May 21, 1956, before the Florida primary. Stevenson ended up winning the Florida primary by a 52-48% margin. By the time of the California primary in June 1956, Kefauver's campaign had run low on money and could not compete for publicity and advertising with the well-funded Stevenson. Stevenson won the California primary by a 63-37% margin, and Kefauver soon withdrew from the race.
At the 1956 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, New York Governor W. Averell Harriman, who was backed by former President Harry S. Truman, challenged Stevenson for the nomination. But Stevenson's delegate lead was much too large for Harriman to overcome, and Stevenson won the nomination on the first ballot. Stevenson received 905.5 votes, with Harriman coming in second with 210. Despite being popular with liberals, he largely ignored the civil rights issue, likely for fear of eroding his support among southern Democrats.
At the convention, Stevenson tried to create excitement for the ticket, by announcing that the convention's delegates would choose his running mate. Candidates had only one day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began. The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver, who retained the support of his primary delegates, and Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, who was relatively unknown at that point. Kennedy surprised everyone by surging into the lead on the second ballot and at one point he was only 15 votes shy of winning. But a number of states then left their "favorite son" candidates and switched to Kefauver, giving him the victory. Kennedy gave a gracious concession speech, giving him favorable national publicity.
Eisenhower had ended the Korean War and the nation was prosperous, so a landslide for Eisenhower always seemed to be in the cards. Television played a major part in the campaign. It allowed Eisenhower to reach people across the country without the strain of repeated coast-to-coast travel. Stevenson promised increases in government spending for social programs and treaties with the Soviet Union to lower military spending and end nuclear testing on both sides. He also proposed to end the military draft and switch to an "all-volunteer" military. Eisenhower publicly opposed these ideas, even though in private he was working on a proposal to ban atmospheric nuclear testing.
Eisenhower still had the popularity he had earned during World War II, and he maintained a comfortable lead in the polls throughout the campaign. Eisenhower was also helped by his handling of two developing foreign-policy crises that occurred in the weeks before the election. In the Soviet-occupied People's Republic of Hungary, many citizens had risen in revolt against Soviet domination. In Egypt, a combined force of Israeli, British, and French troops invaded to topple Gamal Abdel Nasser and seize the recently-nationalized Suez Canal. The Hungarian revolt was brutally crushed within a few days by re-deployed Soviet troops. Eisenhower was critical of both actions, but was able only to pressure the western forces to withdraw from Egypt.
The Eisenhower administration had also supported the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954 in which the U.S. Supreme Court ended legal segregation in public schools. This earned Eisenhower won the support of nearly 40% of African-American voters.
On election day Eisenhower won 57.4% of the popular vote (compared to 42% for Stevenson). He won 41 of the 48 states. Stevenson won only six Southern states and the border state of Missouri. Eisenhower carried Louisiana, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since Reconstruction in 1876. The final score in the electoral college was 457 for Eisenhower to 73 for Stevenson. He had increased his margins in every category from the 1952 election.