Thomas E. Dewey

Thomas E. Dewey

Thomas Edmund Dewey (born March 24, 1902 in Owosso , Michigan , † March 16, 1971 in Bal Harbor , Florida ) was an American lawyer and politician of the Republican Party . He was Governor of New York State from January 1, 1943 to December 31, 1954 . He was also an unsuccessful candidate for his party in the 1944 and 1948 presidential elections , being the first presidential candidate born in the 20th century. During his political work Dewey was the leader of the liberal-moderate party wing of the Republicans (so-called "East Coast Establishment"), which advocated a moderate course and was thus in conflict with the conservative elements of the party.

Earlier years

Dewey was from Michigan and worked as a journalist in his youth . Later he was first a prosecutor in New York and went with his team, to which u. a. Burton Turkus and William P. Rogers were heard against organized crime in the city. Lucky Luciano , who was deported in 1946, was convicted in 1936 .

Louis Buchalter was arrested in 1940 and executed in Sing Sing in 1944 . The investigation against the mafia boss Albert Anastasia failed, however, because the only witness Abe Reles was killed in 1941 by an unexplained fall from a window during police custody. Dewey, who was also known as a "gangbusting attorney", was very popular with his actions as a prosecutor.

His successes as a prosecutor soon found favor with leading Republicans in New York. In 1938, Dewey made the first attempt to be elected governor of New York . Although he lost this election, the politically inexperienced Dewey achieved a respectable success when the popular incumbent of the Democrats, Herbert H. Lehman , was only confirmed by a good percentage point.

National influence and presidential candidacies

1940 presidential election

→ Main article : Presidential election in the United States in 1940

Despite his political inexperience, Dewey was considered a potential presidential candidate for his party in 1940, at the age of 38, because of his popularity as a prosecutor. In the spring of 1940 he won internal party primaries in a number of states . Since the majority of the delegates who elect the presidential candidate were not determined by primary elections but by the local party executive in 1940, these successes were more of a symbolic character. Nevertheless, Dewey were given serious chances for the top candidacy. The closest competitors were the Senators Robert A. Taft and Arthur H. Vandenberg . In terms of foreign policy, all three favorites stood for various forms of isolationist policy . Domestically, Dewey was considered moderate, while Taft in particular advocated more conservative politics. Approval for an isolationist policy began to wane before the party congress, after France's defeat by Nazi Germany in June 1940. These events led to a storm of indignation among the US public, which had hitherto been more isolationist. In the Republican Party, too, voices grew louder for a candidate who was more inclined to internationalism . For Taft and Vandenberg the chances of being nominated disappeared. Dewey, meanwhile, was viewed as too inexperienced for the White House during these critical times. At the Republican party congress , the lawyer and businessman Wendell Willkie was then able to prevail. Willkie stood for an active foreign policy and advocated a moderate course domestically. Like Dewey, he did not reject the social reforms of the New Deal initiated by President Roosevelt as a whole, but wanted to make the programs more efficient. In the end, Willkie Roosevelt, who was the only US president elected for a third term, had to admit defeat.

Candidacy in 1944

Thomas E. Dewey

→ Main article : Presidential election in the United States in 1944

In 1944, Dewey made his second attempt at the White House . As in 1940, he won a number of primary elections. Since he had substantial influence in the party as governor of what was then the most populous state at the time, his chances of being positioned were much better this time, especially since as governor he already had government practice to show. In the summer of 1944 he actually prevailed against several competitors and, at the age of 42, became one of the youngest presidential candidates of a large party. To pacify the conservative wing of the party Dewey agreed to the governor of Ohio , John W. Bricker as his running mate and vice presidential candidates to accept.

The election campaign took place during the critical final phase of the Second World War . There was little difference in foreign policy between Dewey and incumbent Franklin D. Roosevelt . Dewey also categorically rejected negotiations with the Nazi regime and advocated a continuation of the war until the surrender of the Axis powers . However, Dewey was initially skeptical of the founding of the United Nations , which the president had pushed for. Domestically, like Willkie four years earlier, he relied on moderate criticism of the New Deal. Unlike the conservatives in the party, Dewey was not an opponent of the welfare state , he just wanted to make it more efficient and more business-friendly. The Democrats under Roosevelt still accused the opposition of wanting to revise the reforms. In addition, incumbent Roosevelt portrayed his adversary as too inexperienced to lead the US in this critical wartime. Dewey avoided direct attacks on the still popular president, but described him as a "tired old man" surrounded by a cabinet full of tired old men. However, Dewey was not given any serious chances of victory during the election campaign in autumn 1944. Especially military successes of the Allies gave Roosevelt a great advantage. On election day, November 7, 1944, Roosevelt won, as expected, with 53.4% ​​of the vote over Dewey, who received 45.9%. The incumbent won in 36 states, including New York, while Dewey was victorious in twelve states. The result in the Electoral College was 432 to 99 clearly in Roosevelt's favor, who was thus confirmed for a fourth term. However, Dewey won in Dutchess County in New York , where both candidates were resident (it was the only time in American history that both applicants from the major parties resided in the same county ). Dewey took his defeat calmly and urged his supporters to loyalty to the president during this war time. Dewey received the best result of all four Republicans who had faced Roosevelt.

Candidacy in 1948

Dewey (right) during the 1948 election campaign

Thomas E. Dewey (right) speaking to President Harry S. Truman in the Oval Office (1951)

→ Main article : Presidential election in the United States in 1948

Four years after his loss to Roosevelt, Dewey ran for the presidency again. Since the Republicans had already looked back on 16 years of abstinence from power in the White House and had won a majority in both houses of Congress for the first time since 1933 in the 1946 election , the nomination was particularly hotly contested, as there were good chances of victory this time. In the end, Dewey prevailed again. Vice-presidential candidate was the domestically liberal Governor of California , Earl Warren .

Opinion polls and political observers assumed a certain victory for Dewey in advance. The democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman , who took over the leadership of the country after Roosevelt's death in 1945, was considered unpopular and was not undisputed within the party either. Both the left and the conservative wing of the Democrats sent their own applicants into the race, which was expected to result in further losses for Truman. Dewey therefore believed he could win the election by not addressing critical issues and avoiding major mistakes. His statements contained little substance and were sometimes perceived as banal (for example statements such as: “The future lies ahead of us”). President Truman campaigned vigorously and attacked the Republican Congress with unusual harshness. He succeeded in associating the unpopular Congress with Dewey, although Dewey's positions were mostly more liberal than those of the senators and MPs of his party. Although the incumbent kept catching up in polls in the final weeks and months, the media firmly expected Dewey to win. However, Truman won the presidential election on November 2, 1948, completely surprising. He beat Dewey with 49.6% to 45.1% of the vote and 303 against 189 electors.

Role in the 1952 election campaign

Dewey made it clear early on that he did not want to run again for the presidency in 1952 . Nevertheless, he was still an influential figure within the party and therefore supported General Dwight D. Eisenhower , who first had to assert himself within the party against the more conservative Robert A. Taft. Eisenhower, who had little political experience, stood for a moderate course domestically, as did Dewey. Richard Nixon's nomination as Vice President was also approved by Dewey. Eisenhower was finally able to prevail and was elected president in November of that year. Dewey turned down a government post after Eisenhower took office.

Governor of New York

After his narrow electoral defeat in 1938, Dewey ran again for governorship in 1942 and was elected this time. Dewey took up his new post as head of government in what was then the most populous state on January 1, 1943. He was re-elected in 1946 and 1950.

As governor, Dewey pursued moderate policies. In contrast to the conservative party wing, he was an advocate of the welfare state, which was even expanded under his government in New York. In addition, he managed to optimize the social reforms initiated by his democratic predecessors. A comprehensive reduction in bureaucracy made the programs more efficient, which together with moderate tax cuts (especially for small and medium-sized enterprises ) led to robust economic growth. His government also pushed ahead with the expansion of the infrastructure. In the administration of the state, Dewey downsized the state apparatus and ensured substantial increases in the salaries of civil servants, especially among the lower incomes. The expenditures for the education system were also increased substantially. Nevertheless, the governor, who refused deficit spending , always succeeded in submitting a debt-free budget and paying off old debts.

Dewey mainly pursued liberal and progressive concepts in socio-political issues . Only on the question of the death penalty did he advocate a conservative course; New York State carried out 90 executions during his tenure as governor. However, his advocacy of equality for African Americans was groundbreaking, and Dewey was a staunch opponent of racial discrimination . Several anti-discrimination laws were passed shortly after he took office. Under his leadership, New York became the first US state to criminalize racial discrimination in the workplace with a law signed by Dewey in 1943.

For the gubernatorial election in 1954 Dewey renounced a fourth term; his mandate expired at the end of December 31, 1954. His successor was the Democrat W. Averell Harriman , who was able to prevail in an extremely tight decision against the US Senator Irving Ives , who was favored by Dewey .

Next life

Dewey (right) with Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion in October 1955

After retiring from politics, he worked as a lawyer at the Dewey Ballantine law firm from 1955. In 1958 he supported the governor's candidacy of his party friend Nelson Rockefeller . Even when Rockefeller became governor, he received Dewey's support. Like Dewey, Rockefeller pursued a largely liberal policy. The two politicians only disagreed on questions of financial policy; Dewey was critical of the rising national debt under Rockefeller. Thomas Dewey died of a heart attack in Florida in 1971.

The New York State Thruway (Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway) is named after him.

Processing in the literature

In the 1935 novel Billy Bathgate , which won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the William Dean Howells Medal , EL Doctorow describes the measures that Dewey takes against the mobster Dutch Schultz .

Web links

Commons : Thomas E. Dewey  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Newspaper article about Thomas E. Dewey in the press kit of the 20th century of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
• Thomas E. Dewey in the Internet Movie Database (English)

• Thomas E. Dewey in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Thomas E. Dewey at The Political Graveyard
• Thomas E. Dewey in the National Governors Association (English)
• Thomas E. Dewey, Presidential Contender , documentary about Dewey on C-SPAN

Individual evidence