Dewey Defeats Truman
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Dewey Defeats Truman was a famously incorrect banner headline on the front page of the first edition of the Chicago Tribune on November 3, 1948. President Harry S. Truman, who had been expected to lose to Republican challenger Thomas E. Dewey in the 1948 presidential race, won the election. A delighted Truman was photographed at St. Louis Union Station holding a copy of his premature political obituary. Only a few hundred copies of the paper were published before the Tribune issued a second edition that backed off from proclaiming a winner. The headline is a cautionary tale for journalists about the dangers of being first to break a story without being certain of its accuracy.
The story by reporter Arthur Sears Henning[1] also reported Republican control of the House and Senate that would work with President Dewey. Henning wrote "Dewey and Warren won a sweeping victory in the presidential election yesterday. The early returns showed the Republican ticket leading Truman and Barkley pretty consistently in the western and southern states," and added that "indications were that the complete returns would disclose that Dewey won the presidency by an overwhelming majority of the electoral vote."[2] As it turned out, Truman won the electoral vote by a 303-189 majority over Dewey and Strom Thurmond, and the Democrats regained control of both the House and the Senate. Truman was handed a copy of the paper and displayed it to a crowd of well-wishers from his train in St. Louis.
In later years, the publishers of the Tribune were able to laugh about the blunder. As the 25th anniversary of the 1948 election approached, the Tribune had planned to give Truman a plaque containing a replica of the erroneous banner headline. However, Truman died on December 26, 1972 before the gift could be bestowed.[3]
The Tribune was not the only paper to make the mistake. The Daily Journal of Commerce had eight articles in its Nov. 3 edition about what could be expected of President Dewey. The paper's five column headline read, "Dewey Victory Seen as Mandate to Open New Era of Government-Business Harmony, Public Confidence."[4]
[edit] Popular culture references
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- The Canadian rock group Rush featured the "Dewey Defeats Truman" edition on the cover of their album Permanent Waves. The headline was eventually blanked out, after the Chicago Tribune refused to give its permission.
- In the satirical book America (The Book), the headline is mentioned and the book goes further to claim that the Chicago Tribune never backed down, writing articles for the next four years as though Dewey had been president.
- In an episode of The Simpsons, Lisa and Homer watch a History Channel documentary on the election, with Homer betting on Dewey winning.
- In another episode of The Simpsons, Martin Prince is shown holding a newspaper with the headline "Simpson Defeats Prince" after winning the election for class president against Bart. This was due to the fact that only Martin and one of his friends bothered to vote.
- In the video game Turning Point: Fall of Liberty Dewey is the winner of the election.
- In Settling Accounts: In at the Death, an alternate-history novel by Harry Turtledove, The Chicago Tribune publishes a headline announcing "La Follette Beats Dewey" in the 1944 election, when in fact, the Dewey-Truman ticket carried the election.
[edit] References
- ^ "Chicago Tribune's headline draws laugh from Barkley," The Zanesville Signal, November 3, 1948, p. 1.
- ^ "DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN," Chicago Tribune November 3, 1948
- ^ "Years Mellowed Breach Between Paper, Truman", The San Antonio Light, December 27, 1972, p. 11.
- ^ The JoC: 175 Years of Change
