United States Presidential Election, 1952 (PJW)

The United States Presidential Election of 1952 was the 42nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. Republican John Wayne and his running mate Senator Everett Dirksen defeated Democratic nominee Governor Adlai Stevenson II and his running mate Senator John Sparkman.

When the Republican nomination came to a standstill, actor and national icon John Wayne was chosen as the Republican nominee. The Democrats chose Adlai Stevenson, whose reputation as an intellectual and skilled orator would end up backfiring as Wayne and the Republicans ran on a populist platform - blasting the Democrats as "egg-heads" that didn't understand the problems of the "common American". Wayne's populism, strong anti-communist stance, weariness from the two decades of Democratic control of the White House, alleged corruption in the Truman Administration, and the stalemate in the Korean War all contributed to the Republican victory.

News Coverage

 * Actor John Wayne Is The Republican Nominee - Washington Post - July 11
 * Stevenson Promises To Talk Sense - Chicago Tribune - July 26