Election

Question 1

Why did Ike run in 1952

Answer 1

-persuaded by friends and colleagues in the republican party
-worried about US foreign and defence policy
-Republican candidate robert taft wanted isolationism and to withdraw all troops from europe
-truman submitting a budget with a $14 bil deficit

Question 2

How/why did his television campaign help him win

Answer 2

-commercial highlighted inclusivity and appealed to a different demographic [all classes]
-idea of a fresh start
-‘ike’- friendly persona
-truman portrayed as a donkey

Question 3

why did he win

Answer 3

-conservative voters liked his opposition to federal budget deficits, high taxes, government bureaucracy and socialised medicine
-they approved his support for states’ rights and for McCarthys assertion that the democrats ‘have shielded traitors to the nation in high places’
-he was a war hero who most voters felt could be trusted with national security
-he criticised democrat failures at Yalta
-said truman had ‘lost’ china
-criticised containment
-promised to end korean war if elected
-looked forward to east european nations regaining independence