Changes

Both the left and right wings of the party split off and ran their own candidates. Henry Wallace, the candidate of the Progressive Party, was expected to divert labor, leftist and black votes, while [[J. Strom Thurmond]] was the "Dixiecrat" candidate whose supporters controlled the Democratic party in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.<ref>Thurmond received only 15% of the vote in the other Southern states. Kari Frederickson, ''The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968.'' (2001)</ref> Truman exploited his multiple opponents, driving a wedge between the liberals and the Communists who controlled the Wallace movement, and holding the line in the outer South.  Most of all he exploited the difference between the conservative Republicans who controlled Congress, and the liberal Republican candidate [[Tom Dewey]]. Truman crusaded against the Republicans as evil rich men, blasting them as fascists and denouncing the 80th Congress for its failure to help the average citizen.<ref>''Time'' magazine reported that "His irresponsible implication that a vote for Thomas Dewey was a vote for fascism horrified his soberer followers." ''Time'' Jan 3, 1949 at [http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/personoftheyear/archive/stories/1948.html]</ref>  "Give 'em hell" fury delivered in 275 speeches over 21,928 train-miles had more impact that Truman's promises of more money for federal housing, higher social security and unemployment benefits, free medical care for everyone, the continued subsidy of farm prices, and a fair deal for minorities. The pollsters misjudged the election, as did all the traditional pundits. Truman rallied enough of the [[New Deal Coalition]] to win by 2.2 million votes, and carry in a Democratic Congress on his coattails. The key farm states of the farm states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ohio that Dewey had carried in 1944 now switched to Truman, giving a solid victory in the electoral college of 303 for Truman, 189 for Dewey, 39 for Thurmond, and none for Wallace.<ref>Harold I. Gullan, ''The Upset That Wasn't: Harry S. Truman and the Crucial Election of 1948'' (1998); Gary A. Donaldson, ''Truman Defeats Dewey'' (1998)</ref>

Both the left and right wings of the party split off and ran their own candidates. Henry Wallace, the candidate of the Progressive Party, was expected to divert labor, leftist and black votes, while [[J. Strom Thurmond]] was the "Dixiecrat" candidate whose supporters controlled the Democratic party in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.<ref>Thurmond received only 15% of the vote in the other Southern states. Kari Frederickson, ''The Dixiecrat Revolt and the End of the Solid South, 1932-1968.'' (2001)</ref> Truman exploited his multiple opponents, driving a wedge between the liberals and the Communists who controlled the Wallace movement, and holding the line in the outer South.  Most of all he exploited the difference between the conservative Republicans who controlled Congress, and the liberal Republican candidate [[Tom Dewey]]. Truman crusaded against the Republicans as evil rich men, blasting them as fascists and denouncing the 80th Congress for its failure to help the average citizen.<ref>''Time'' magazine reported that "His irresponsible implication that a vote for Thomas Dewey was a vote for fascism horrified his soberer followers." ''Time'' Jan 3, 1949 at [http://www.time.com/time/subscriber/personoftheyear/archive/stories/1948.html]</ref>  "Give 'em hell" fury delivered in 275 speeches over 21,928 train-miles had more impact that Truman's promises of more money for federal housing, higher social security and unemployment benefits, free medical care for everyone, the continued subsidy of farm prices, and a fair deal for minorities. The pollsters misjudged the election, as did all the traditional pundits. Truman rallied enough of the [[New Deal Coalition]] to win by 2.2 million votes, and carry in a Democratic Congress on his coattails. The key farm states of the farm states of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Ohio that Dewey had carried in 1944 now switched to Truman, giving a solid victory in the electoral college of 303 for Truman, 189 for Dewey, 39 for Thurmond, and none for Wallace.<ref>Harold I. Gullan, ''The Upset That Wasn't: Harry S. Truman and the Crucial Election of 1948'' (1998); Gary A. Donaldson, ''Truman Defeats Dewey'' (1998)</ref>

==Second Term: Fair Deal==

==Second term: Fair Deal==

During Truman's second term as president, he pressed for civil rights legislation, compulsory national health insurance, and other domestic measures that he called his "Fair Deal" program. Almost nothing was passed by Congress, which was controlled by the [[Conservative Coalition]].  His seizure of the steel industry to prevent a strike was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.   

During Truman's second term as president, he pressed for civil rights legislation, compulsory national health insurance, and other domestic measures that he called his "Fair Deal" program. Almost nothing was passed by Congress, which was controlled by the [[Conservative Coalition]].  His seizure of the steel industry to prevent a strike was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.