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County Results
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Elections in Alabama |
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Government |
The 1948 United States presidential election in Alabama was held on November 2, 1948. Alabama voters sent eleven electors to the Electoral College who voted for President and Vice-President. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of (as in most other states) as a slate.
Since the 1890s, Alabama had been effectively a one-party state ruled by the Democratic Party. Disenfranchisement of almost all African-Americans and a large proportion of poor whites via poll taxes, literacy tests [1] and informal harassment had essentially eliminated opposition parties outside of Unionist Winston County and presidential campaigns in a few nearby northern hill counties. The only competitive statewide elections during this period were thus Democratic Party primaries — limited to white voters until the landmark court case of Smith v. Allwright , following which Alabama introduced the Boswell Amendment — ruled unconstitutional in Davis v. Schnell in 1949, [2] although substantial increases in black voter registration would not occur until after the late 1960s Voting Rights Act.
Unlike other Deep South states, soon after black disenfranchisement Alabama’s remaining white Republicans made rapid efforts to expel blacks from the state Republican Party, [3] and under Oscar D. Street, who ironically was appointed state party boss as part of the pro-Taft “black and tan” faction in 1912, [4] the state GOP would permanently turn “lily-white”, with the last black delegates at any Republican National Convention serving in 1920. [3] However, with two exceptions the Republicans were unable to gain from their hard lily-white policy. The first was when they exceeded forty percent in the 1920 House of Representatives races for the 4th, 7th and 10th congressional districts, [5] and the second was 1928 presidential election when Senator James Thomas Heflin embarked on a nationwide speaking tour, partially funded by the Ku Klux Klan, against Roman Catholic Democratic nominee Al Smith and supported Republican Herbert Hoover, [6] who went on to lose the state that year by only seven thousand votes.
In 1946 Alabama’s one-party Democratic rule was severely challenged not merely by the invalidation of its white primary system, but also by the potential effect on the United States' image abroad (and ability to win the Cold War against the radically egalitarian rhetoric of Communism) [7] from the beating and blinding of Isaac Woodard three hours after being discharged from the army. Truman then attempted to launch a Civil Rights bill, involving desegregation of the military. Southern Democrats immediately made such cries as "unconstitutional", "Communist inspired," "a blow to the loyal South and its traditions," "unwarranted and harmful," "not the answer," and "does irreparable harm to interracial relations". [8]
In May of 1948, Alabama’s Democratic presidential elector primary chose electors who were pledged to not vote for incumbent President Truman, [9] and the state Supreme Court ruled that any statute requiring party presidential electors to vote for that party's national nominee was void. [10] Half of Alabama’s delegation then walked out at the party's national convention in Philadelphia because of Truman's endorsement of civil rights for African Americans. [11] This segregationist faction met on July 17, 1948, in Birmingham, nominating South Carolina governor Strom Thurmond as its nominee for president. Mississippi governor Fielding L. Wright was nominated for vice president.
A "Loyalist" group would petition governor "Big Jim" Folsom to allow Truman electors on the ballot alongside the “Democratic” electors pledged to Thurmond, but Senator John Sparkman, fearing popular defeat at the hands of the Dixiecrats and a hostile state legislature, decided against placing Truman electors on the ballot, [12] although a Gallup poll in October showed that about a third of state voters would support Truman if they were able to do so. [lower-alpha 1] In other Southern states where Truman was on the ballot, [lower-alpha 2] Thurmond was forced to run under the label of the States' Rights Democratic Party.
Source | Ranking | As of |
---|---|---|
The Montgomery Advertiser [14] | Certain I (Flip) | October 24, 1948 |
The Miami News [15] | Certain I (Flip) | October 25, 1948 |
The Charlotte Observer [16] | Certain I (Flip) | October 27, 1948 |
Mount Vernon Argus [17] | Certain I (Flip) | November 1, 1948 |
Oakland Tribune [18] | Certain I (Flip) | November 1, 1948 |
1948 United States presidential election in Alabama [19] | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
Democratic/Dixiecrat | Strom Thurmond | 171,443 | 79.75% | 11 | |
Republican | Thomas E. Dewey | 40,930 | 19.04% | 0 | |
Progressive | Henry A. Wallace | 1,522 | 0.71% | 0 | |
Prohibition | Claude A. Watson | 1,085 | 0.50% | 0 | |
Voter turnout (voting age) | 12.5% [20] |
Party | Pledged to | Elector | Votes | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Tom Abernathy | 171,443 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Ben Bloodworth | 171,336 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Tully A. Goodwin | 171,284 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Walter C. Givhan | 171,279 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Norman W. Harris | 171,272 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | John A. Lusk, Jr. | 171,272 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Robert B. Albritton | 171,264 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Gessner T. McCorvey | 171,213 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Edmund Blair | 171,212 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Walter F. Miller | 171,201 | |
Democratic Party | Strom Thurmond | Horace C. Walkinson | 170,825 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | O. H. Aycock | 40,930 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | J. A. Downer | 40,853 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | W. H. Gillespie | 40,842 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | V. B. Huff | 40,811 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | Walter J. Kennamer | 40,811 | |
Republican Party | Thomas E. Dewey | L. A. Carroll | 40,774 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Jesse L. Dansby | 1,522 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Joe M. Goodwin | 1,459 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | William A. Upshaw | 1,426 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Robert D. Morgan | 1,398 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Ralph Hopkins | 1,394 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Vivia Thomas | 1,385 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Herbert P. McDonald | 1,384 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Frank R. McGhee | 1,381 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Robert F. Travis, Jr. | 1,377 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Allison H. Stanton | 1,366 | |
Progressive Party | Henry A. Wallace | Johanna Newhouse | 1,363 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Glenn V. Tingley | 1,085 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Eulalia R. Vess | 1,085 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | J. B. Lockhart | 1,055 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Cora McAdory | 1,043 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Jack Moore | 1,040 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | L. E. Barton | 1,038 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Elizabeth Lewis | 1,036 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Ethel M. Durham | 1,028 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | H. P. Amos | 1,026 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | M. E. Poland | 1,015 | |
Prohibition Party | Claude A. Watson | Noble M. Israelson | 1,001 | |
Total votes | 214,980 |
County [22] | Strom Thurmond Dixiecrat | Thomas E. Dewey Republican | Henry A. Wallace Progressive | Claude A. Watson Prohibition | Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
Autauga | 1,160 | 90.20% | 110 | 8.55% | 2 | 0.16% | 14 | 1.09% | 1,050 | 81.65% | 1,286 |
Baldwin | 2,577 | 74.80% | 767 | 22.26% | 67 | 1.94% | 34 | 0.99% | 1,810 | 52.54% | 3,445 |
Barbour | 1,679 | 93.90% | 101 | 5.65% | 2 | 0.11% | 6 | 0.34% | 1,578 | 88.25% | 1,788 |
Bibb | 1,188 | 88.46% | 123 | 9.16% | 8 | 0.60% | 24 | 1.79% | 1,065 | 79.30% | 1,343 |
Blount | 1,768 | 68.98% | 771 | 30.08% | 2 | 0.08% | 22 | 0.86% | 997 | 38.90% | 2,563 |
Bullock | 799 | 98.76% | 10 | 1.24% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 789 | 97.52% | 809 |
Butler | 1,313 | 93.19% | 91 | 6.46% | 2 | 0.14% | 3 | 0.21% | 1,222 | 86.73% | 1,409 |
Calhoun | 3,236 | 77.40% | 856 | 20.47% | 60 | 1.44% | 29 | 0.69% | 2,380 | 56.93% | 4,181 |
Chambers | 1,520 | 86.02% | 218 | 12.34% | 11 | 0.62% | 18 | 1.02% | 1,302 | 73.68% | 1,767 |
Cherokee | 1,055 | 81.59% | 217 | 16.78% | 3 | 0.23% | 18 | 1.39% | 838 | 64.81% | 1,293 |
Chilton | 1,966 | 55.09% | 1,584 | 44.38% | 5 | 0.14% | 14 | 0.39% | 382 | 10.71% | 3,569 |
Choctaw | 1,440 | 98.83% | 16 | 1.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.07% | 1,424 | 97.73% | 1,457 |
Clarke | 2,059 | 97.58% | 47 | 2.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.19% | 2,012 | 95.35% | 2,110 |
Clay | 1,106 | 73.64% | 387 | 25.77% | 2 | 0.13% | 7 | 0.47% | 719 | 47.87% | 1,502 |
Cleburne | 700 | 68.16% | 317 | 30.87% | 7 | 0.68% | 3 | 0.29% | 383 | 37.29% | 1,027 |
Coffee | 2,031 | 94.38% | 113 | 5.25% | 7 | 0.33% | 1 | 0.05% | 1,918 | 89.13% | 2,152 |
Colbert | 2,609 | 83.49% | 488 | 15.62% | 14 | 0.45% | 14 | 0.45% | 2,121 | 67.87% | 3,125 |
Conecuh | 1,339 | 95.03% | 64 | 4.54% | 2 | 0.14% | 4 | 0.28% | 1,275 | 90.49% | 1,409 |
Coosa | 840 | 74.73% | 275 | 24.47% | 3 | 0.27% | 6 | 0.53% | 565 | 50.26% | 1,124 |
Covington | 2,764 | 94.14% | 154 | 5.25% | 6 | 0.20% | 12 | 0.41% | 2,610 | 88.89% | 2,936 |
Crenshaw | 1,386 | 96.79% | 38 | 2.65% | 1 | 0.07% | 7 | 0.49% | 1,348 | 94.14% | 1,432 |
Cullman | 3,587 | 66.87% | 1,755 | 32.72% | 6 | 0.11% | 16 | 0.30% | 1,832 | 34.15% | 5,364 |
Dale | 1,352 | 84.39% | 230 | 14.36% | 7 | 0.44% | 13 | 0.81% | 1,122 | 70.03% | 1,602 |
Dallas | 2,720 | 94.77% | 132 | 4.60% | 9 | 0.31% | 9 | 0.31% | 2,588 | 90.17% | 2,870 |
DeKalb | 3,573 | 56.42% | 2,743 | 43.31% | 7 | 0.11% | 10 | 0.16% | 830 | 13.11% | 6,333 |
Elmore | 2,387 | 92.88% | 167 | 6.50% | 6 | 0.23% | 10 | 0.39% | 2,220 | 86.38% | 2,570 |
Escambia | 1,681 | 89.32% | 188 | 9.99% | 11 | 0.58% | 2 | 0.11% | 1,493 | 79.33% | 1,882 |
Etowah | 5,895 | 76.95% | 1,615 | 21.08% | 107 | 1.40% | 44 | 0.57% | 4,280 | 55.87% | 7,661 |
Fayette | 1,023 | 63.07% | 580 | 35.76% | 7 | 0.43% | 12 | 0.74% | 443 | 27.31% | 1,622 |
Franklin | 3,226 | 55.68% | 2,555 | 44.10% | 5 | 0.09% | 8 | 0.14% | 671 | 11.58% | 5,794 |
Geneva | 1,823 | 85.87% | 286 | 13.47% | 5 | 0.24% | 9 | 0.42% | 1,537 | 72.40% | 2,123 |
Greene | 621 | 94.66% | 31 | 4.73% | 0 | 0.00% | 4 | 0.61% | 590 | 89.93% | 656 |
Hale | 1,041 | 95.77% | 43 | 3.96% | 2 | 0.18% | 1 | 0.09% | 998 | 91.81% | 1,087 |
Henry | 1,040 | 95.59% | 47 | 4.32% | 0 | 0.00% | 1 | 0.09% | 993 | 91.27% | 1,088 |
Houston | 2,715 | 85.78% | 426 | 13.46% | 18 | 0.57% | 6 | 0.19% | 2,289 | 72.32% | 3,165 |
Jackson | 1,726 | 73.54% | 603 | 25.69% | 3 | 0.13% | 15 | 0.64% | 1,123 | 47.85% | 2,347 |
Jefferson | 30,043 | 79.35% | 7,261 | 19.18% | 361 | 0.95% | 196 | 0.52% | 22,782 | 60.17% | 37,861 |
Lamar | 1,434 | 88.41% | 180 | 11.10% | 2 | 0.12% | 6 | 0.37% | 1,254 | 77.31% | 1,622 |
Lauderdale | 3,258 | 85.24% | 546 | 14.29% | 6 | 0.16% | 12 | 0.31% | 2,712 | 70.95% | 3,822 |
Lawrence | 1,436 | 79.51% | 357 | 19.77% | 3 | 0.17% | 10 | 0.55% | 1,079 | 59.74% | 1,806 |
Lee | 1,731 | 86.25% | 258 | 12.86% | 5 | 0.25% | 13 | 0.65% | 1,473 | 73.39% | 2,007 |
Limestone | 1,853 | 93.49% | 112 | 5.65% | 4 | 0.20% | 13 | 0.66% | 1,741 | 87.84% | 1,982 |
Lowndes | 752 | 94.95% | 13 | 1.64% | 25 | 3.16% | 2 | 0.25% | 727 [lower-alpha 3] | 91.79% | 792 |
Macon | 1,098 | 90.67% | 110 | 9.08% | 3 | 0.25% | 0 | 0.00% | 988 | 81.59% | 1,211 |
Madison | 2,947 | 83.58% | 466 | 13.22% | 39 | 1.11% | 74 | 2.10% | 2,481 | 70.36% | 3,526 |
Marengo | 1,873 | 96.40% | 67 | 3.45% | 3 | 0.15% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,806 | 92.95% | 1,943 |
Marion | 1,646 | 66.48% | 813 | 32.84% | 4 | 0.16% | 13 | 0.53% | 833 | 33.64% | 2,476 |
Marshall | 2,500 | 73.81% | 870 | 25.69% | 8 | 0.24% | 9 | 0.27% | 1,630 | 48.12% | 3,387 |
Mobile | 10,831 | 78.29% | 2,685 | 19.41% | 257 | 1.86% | 62 | 0.45% | 8,146 | 58.88% | 13,835 |
Monroe | 1,688 | 97.86% | 31 | 1.80% | 2 | 0.12% | 4 | 0.23% | 1,657 | 96.06% | 1,725 |
Montgomery | 6,196 | 86.01% | 802 | 11.13% | 146 | 2.03% | 60 | 0.83% | 5,394 | 74.88% | 7,204 |
Morgan | 3,841 | 87.65% | 512 | 11.68% | 9 | 0.21% | 20 | 0.46% | 3,329 | 75.97% | 4,382 |
Perry | 1,032 | 95.47% | 30 | 2.78% | 5 | 0.46% | 14 | 1.30% | 1,002 | 92.69% | 1,081 |
Pickens | 1,423 | 93.37% | 91 | 5.97% | 5 | 0.33% | 5 | 0.33% | 1,332 | 87.40% | 1,524 |
Pike | 1,741 | 94.93% | 87 | 4.74% | 3 | 0.16% | 3 | 0.16% | 1,654 | 90.19% | 1,834 |
Randolph | 1,249 | 72.20% | 469 | 27.11% | 7 | 0.40% | 5 | 0.29% | 780 | 45.09% | 1,730 |
Russell | 1,666 | 93.81% | 94 | 5.29% | 11 | 0.62% | 5 | 0.28% | 1,572 | 88.52% | 1,776 |
Shelby | 1,903 | 63.86% | 1,063 | 35.67% | 3 | 0.10% | 11 | 0.37% | 840 | 28.19% | 2,980 |
St. Clair | 1,878 | 66.60% | 921 | 32.66% | 8 | 0.28% | 13 | 0.46% | 957 | 33.94% | 2,820 |
Sumter | 1,058 | 95.06% | 52 | 4.67% | 0 | 0.00% | 3 | 0.27% | 1,006 | 90.39% | 1,113 |
Talladega | 3,077 | 83.05% | 593 | 16.01% | 12 | 0.32% | 23 | 0.62% | 2,484 | 67.04% | 3,705 |
Tallapoosa | 2,309 | 93.33% | 156 | 6.31% | 1 | 0.04% | 8 | 0.32% | 2,153 | 87.02% | 2,474 |
Tuscaloosa | 4,697 | 86.10% | 658 | 12.06% | 50 | 0.92% | 50 | 0.92% | 4,039 | 74.04% | 5,455 |
Walker | 4,007 | 66.47% | 1,852 | 30.72% | 133 | 2.21% | 36 | 0.60% | 2,155 | 35.75% | 6,028 |
Washington | 1,304 | 97.02% | 31 | 2.31% | 6 | 0.45% | 3 | 0.22% | 1,273 | 94.71% | 1,344 |
Wilcox | 1,162 | 98.81% | 14 | 1.19% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,148 | 97.62% | 1,176 |
Winston | 865 | 35.05% | 1,588 | 64.34% | 4 | 0.16% | 11 | 0.45% | -723 | -29.29% | 2,468 |
Totals | 171,443 | 79.75% | 40,930 | 19.04% | 1,522 | 0.71% | 1,085 | 0.50% | 130,513 | 60.71% | 214,980 |
Thurmond overwhelmingly won Alabama by a margin of 60.71 percent, or 130,513 votes, against his closest opponent, Republican New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. [19] This was only a slight decline upon Franklin Roosevelt’s performance in Alabama four years previously, and it is known that many Thurmond voters thought incorrectly that they were actually voting for Truman. Two third-party candidates, Henry A. Wallace of the Progressive Party and Claude A. Watson of the Prohibition Party, appeared on the ballot in Alabama, though neither had any impact. This was the first time ever that a Democrat won the presidency without carrying Alabama, and the first time since 1872 that the state failed to vote for the national Democrats.
84% of white voters supported Thurmond. [23]
The 1948 United States presidential election was the 41st quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 1948. In one of the greatest election upsets in American history, incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman defeated heavily favored Republican New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, and third-party candidates, becoming the third president to succeed to the presidency upon his predecessor's death and be elected to a full term.
The States' Rights Democratic Party, also colloquially referred to as the Dixiecrat Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States, active primarily in the South. It arose due to a Southern regional split in opposition to the national Democratic Party. After President Harry S. Truman, the leader of the Democratic Party, ordered integration of the military in 1948 and other actions to address civil rights of African Americans, including the first presidential proposal for comprehensive civil and voting rights, many Southern white politicians who objected to this course organized themselves as a breakaway faction. They wished to protect the ability of states to maintain racial segregation. Its members were referred to as "Dixiecrats", a portmanteau of "Dixie", referring to the Southern United States, and "Democrat".
The 1948 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the wider United States presidential election. Voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Virginia took place on November 2, 1948, throughout the 48 contiguous states. Voters chose 11 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Texas was held on November 2, 1948. Texas voters chose 23 electors to represent the state in the Electoral College, which chose the president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 2, 1948, in Mississippi as part of the wider United States presidential election of 1948.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Florida was held on November 2, 1948. Voters chose eight electors, or representatives to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1956 United States presidential election in Mississippi was held on November 6, 1956. Mississippi voters chose eight representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1964 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 3, 1964, as part of the 1964 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1956 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose eight representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1952 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the 1952 United States presidential election. Alabama voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. In Alabama, voters voted for electors individually instead of as a slate, as in the other states.
The 1952 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the 1952 United States presidential election. South Carolina voters chose 8 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in South Carolina took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose eight electors to the Electoral College, which selected the president and vice president. South Carolina was won by States' Rights Democratic candidate Strom Thurmond, defeating the Democratic candidate, incumbent President Harry S. Truman, and New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. This would be the last presidential election where Arkansas had nine electoral votes: the Great Migration would see the state lose three congressional districts in the next decade-and-a-half.
The 1948 United States presidential election in North Carolina took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. North Carolina voters chose 14 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose 12 representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Wyoming took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose three representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Wyoming was won by incumbent Democratic President Harry S. Truman, running with Senate Majority Leader Alben W. Barkley, with 51.62 percent of the popular vote, against the Republican nominee, 47th Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey, running with California Governor and future Chief Justice of the United States Earl Warren, with 47.27 percent of the popular vote, despite the fact that Dewey had previously won the state four years earlier.
The 1944 United States presidential election in Alabama took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. Alabama voters chose eleven representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1948 United States presidential election in Louisiana took place on November 2, 1948, as part of the 1948 United States presidential election. State voters chose ten representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.
The 1944 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 7, 1944, as part of the 1944 United States presidential election. Mississippi voters chose nine representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.