Election ’52. By most accounts, one of the most hotly contested Presidential elections in then-recent history. Adlai Stevenson, Governor of Illinois and career politician and Dwight D. Eisenhower, virtually no political experience but commanded the Allied Forces during World War 2. It was largely felt that Eisenhower, who had such instant recognition that he would be a shoe-in for the White House while his qualifications were almost nonexistent seemed almost a moot point.
Those who thought America was heading into dangerous territory via Korea and the Cold War as well as the slow-simmer of racial and domestic issues felt Stevenson would be more capable of handling the complexities of being Commander-in-Chief.
So it was something of a nerve-racking election. You had The Red Scare blazing through Capitol Hill and the McCarthy Hearings pointing fingers and naming names in the Truman Administration. You had 20 years of Democratic domination from the FDR era and many felt a change and cleaning house was a good idea.
Posing those questions and adding a lot of historic background, Marquis Childs gives this lecture from April 1952. Childs was a seasoned journalist who spent many years covering the White House via Unite Press, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and a host of other news gathering organizations. He covered World War 2 extensively and was an almost permanent fixture on Capitol Hill. Childs was a seasoned veteran and his observations carried a goodly degree of weight and authenticity behind them.
One of his keen observations, with reference to the 1952 election was the emergence of Television as a communication tool, which was very new and very untried at this point. He saw the potential – he also saw grounds for potential tune-out particularly among the young voter, who would rather be home watching “I Love Lucy” than hearing a Political speech.
Throughout this lecture, Childs refers to other elections and other Presidents – creating a fascinating terrain to study opinions and trends.
Sadly, Marquis Childs died in 1990, never having experienced the insanity of the 2000 (hanging chads) election, nor the baffling 2016, 2020 and soon to be 2024 elections. Yes, times were different then – we have forgotten a lot. It’s not looking at the 1952 elections as a platform for nostalgia as much as an indictment of what we have abandoned in our Political makeup.
Never too late to learn from mistakes – and never too late for an attitude change.
Have a listen to this April 1952 lecture by Marquis Childs for a few pointers.
