The famous image of a victorious Harry Truman holding up a newspaper headline, Dewey Defeats Truman,

is clear evidence that the 1948 presidential election did not turn out the way many people had expected.

The previous April, Truman's approval rating has sunk to 37%, causing even many in his own party to consider dumping him from the ballot.

That summer, a rebellion by Southern Democrats led by South Carolina segregation, causing even many in his own party to consider dumping him from the ballot.

That summer, a rebellion by Southern Democrats, led by South Carolina segregationist Strom Thurman,

promised to deny Truman electoral votes that his Democratic predecessors could have counted on for a century.

Despite all this, Truman didn't just win. He won big, finishing 4.5 points and 114 electoral votes ahead of Dewey. How did Truman manage to turn it all around in six months? Who was Thomas E. Dewey and why couldn't he deliver a win

with the wind blowing so hard at his back? And what did Southern Democrats hope they'd get

by giving 39 electoral votes to Strom Thurman even when he had no chance of winning

the national election. Let's find out. Welcome to part four of the Road to Now's third-party

election series. Today, the election of 1948 with Jefferson Cowley. I'm Bob Crawford.

I'm Ben Sawyer.

And this is the road to now.

Yes, it is.

And we're getting closer and closer to the actual now.

Guys, we've covered 1824.

We've covered 1860.

We've covered 1912.

And now we're into the post-World War II era.

The first big election after the peace. And now we are into the post-World War II era, the first big election after the

peace. And the first test for this guy who had only recently become president, thanks to the

passing of FDR, Harry Truman. And boy, lots of new issues being brought to the foreign

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