1948

A fractured coalition still wins

In the greatest political upset in American history, Truman defeated the heavily favored Dewey despite nearly every poll and pundit predicting a Dewey victory. The famous photograph of a grinning Truman holding a Chicago Tribune front page reading 'Dewey Defeats Truman' captured the shock. The Democratic Party had fractured — Strom Thurmond's Dixiecrats took 39 electoral votes, and Henry Wallace's Progressive Party drew liberal votes — yet Truman prevailed by running an aggressive 'whistle-stop' campaign across the country.