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Quiz about 1948 The Greatest Presidential Election Ever

1948! The Greatest Presidential Election Ever! Quiz

Four parties! Four candidates! A wide range of ideologies! The biggest upset in US political history!

A multiple-choice quiz by yankeedog. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
yankeedog

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
167,878

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
568

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which city hosted three of the national conventions? Hint

New York

Philadelphia

Chicago

Cleveland

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Question 2 of 10

2. What was the full name of the Dixiecrats? Hint

Southern Democratic Party

White Democratic Party

Regular Democratic Party

States' Rights Democratic Party

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Question 3 of 10

3. Who was Strom Thurmond's running mate? Hint

Wright Patman

Joseph Fielding

Orval Faubus

Fielding Wright

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Question 4 of 10

4. Who was on the ticket with Henry Wallace? Hint

Dallas Taylor

Glen Taylor

Claude Pepper

Vito Marcantonio

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Question 5 of 10

5. Thomas Dewey was Governor of New York but he had been born in another state. Which?

Answer: (Wolverines)

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Question 6 of 10

6. Truman would not have run at all if Eisenhower had wanted the job.

True

False

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Question 7 of 10

7. Henry Wallace's father had been a Cabinet secretary too. What office had he held? Hint

Secretary of Agriculture

Secretary of Commerce

Attorney General

Secretary of the Interior

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Question 8 of 10

8. Who wrote the "controversial" Democratic Civil Rights plank which led to the Dixiecrat Defection? Hint

John Sparkman

G. Mennen Williams

Hubert Humphrey

Adlai Stevenson

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Question 9 of 10

9. Even by the standards of the 40s South, Thurmond was considered an extremist on racial issues.

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. Dewey didn't carry New York in the election. Instead Truman won it in a landslide.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which city hosted three of the national conventions?

Answer: Philadelphia

The 1948 conventions were the first to be covered by television and the Democrats, Republicans, and Progressives agreed to all meet in Philly for the networks' convenience...

2. What was the full name of the Dixiecrats?

Answer: States' Rights Democratic Party

The Dixiecrats felt themselves to be the real Democrats and Truman and Co intruders, and in a few states the Thurmond ticket was on the Democratic ballot line and Truman was a write-in...

3. Who was Strom Thurmond's running mate?

Answer: Fielding Wright

Wright was Governor of Mississippi at the time. Faubus was a later Governor of Arkansas and became famous for his role in the Little Rock school desegregation crisis, Patman was a longtime congressman, and Joseph Fielding was the English novelist who wrote "Tom Jones".

4. Who was on the ticket with Henry Wallace?

Answer: Glen Taylor

Taylor, a Senator from Idaho, was about the only person in America who'd agree to be VP on the Progressive ticket. Pepper and Marcantonio were considered far left congressmen, and Dallas Taylor was the drummer for Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

5. Thomas Dewey was Governor of New York but he had been born in another state. Which?

Answer: Michigan

Oddly, Gerald Ford was a congressman from Michigan but had been born in Nebraska ... Even more oddly, Dewey's youthful ambition was to sing opera but, frustrated in this pursuit, he went to law school instead...

6. Truman would not have run at all if Eisenhower had wanted the job.

Answer: True

Truman made the explicit comment to General Eisenhower that he'd support anything Ike wanted to do, "and that includes the Presidency in 1948". Eisenhower was not interested at the time...

7. Henry Wallace's father had been a Cabinet secretary too. What office had he held?

Answer: Secretary of Agriculture

Wallace Sr., a wealthy farmer and agricultural magazine publisher, served in the 20s; the younger Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture before his Vice Presidential term and Secretary of Commerce afterwards.

8. Who wrote the "controversial" Democratic Civil Rights plank which led to the Dixiecrat Defection?

Answer: Hubert Humphrey

Humphrey, Mayor of Minneapolis at this point, gained nationwide attention for his plank and for his resounding speech in its support.
On the other hand, Stevenson was so uninterested in civil rights issues that Adam Clayton Powell supported Eisenhower against him in 1956.

9. Even by the standards of the 40s South, Thurmond was considered an extremist on racial issues.

Answer: False

Thurmond was considered fairly liberal by Southern standards (in the 1940s) and had launched a major program to improve the "Negro" schools in South Carolina, though he intended to maintain segregation forever.

10. Dewey didn't carry New York in the election. Instead Truman won it in a landslide.

Answer: False

New York was contested hotly and Dewey eked out a narrow win, though Truman most likely would have carried the state if Wallace, who drew 250,000 votes in New York, had not been on the ballot.

Source: Author yankeedog

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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