“The Progressive party stands, as Jefferson stood and Lincoln stood. For the right of any idea and all ideas to the market place of thought, there to be accepted or rejected by the American people. When free speech and free thought die, this nation dies.” [1]
- Henry Wallace, 1948
- Henry Wallace, 1948
About Wallace's Presidential Campaign Speech in Philadelphia, 1948
"This [Truman's] two-timing, double-talk doesn't fool anyone... It is not the result of malice. It is the result of a frantic effort to please the people while he is a candidate, to please Wall Street while he is President. It should be clear to everyone everywhere now that a wasted vote is a vote for Truman.” [2] - Henry Wallace, 1948 |
Articles Assessing Wallace's Candidacy
“‘We are not fighting a single campaign,’” he [Wallace] announced. ‘We have organized ourselves into a party that will endure until the American people control this land their work has built.’ Mr. Wallace declared that the Progressive party had ‘restored to the American people the right of choice.’ He said that the Democratic and Republican parties, to which he referred as ‘both the old corporation parties,’ were, for all practical purposes, he said, one and the same party. ‘Everywhere in the nation,’ he said Mr. Wallace, ‘the people’s party will force the two degenerate parties to unite outwardly as they have long been United inwardly. The days of sham political battles between sham political parties are over.’” [3]
- Henry Wallace, 1948 |
Wallace ran for president in 1948 under a third party, referred to today as the Progressive party, which was comprised of communists as well as anti-communist liberals, and its existence can be largely attributed to the American Communist Party. Referred to as the “outgrowth of liberals’ profound disillusionment with the Truman administration,” the party interpreted fascism to be their real enemy and denounced the United States’ "imperialist" agenda. [4] Wallace, as their candidate, emphasized peace through collective security, specifically the United Nations. He condemned the Truman Doctrine because it gave aid to a fascist regime in Greece, as well as the Marshall Plan, which he considered to be one of the many imperialist plots. Criticizing the Marshall Plan led to a loss of some of his followers, specifically “New Dealers,” who appreciated the program’s focus on economic aid instead of military aid. This went against many Democrats who stood firmly behind the Marshall Plan and the established containment policy.
Wallace criticized Republicans, represented by Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election, for prioritizing alliance-making with Britain, something Wallace deemed, “the height of folly.” [5] He accused Republicans of being isolationist. [6] Republicans led by Dewey actually departed from this trend in their approach to Cold War policy. [7] They supported the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and sought to emphasize that although their foreign policy tended to be bipartisan, they were just as capable of creating strong policy as the Democrats. Dewey and many Republicans also tended to criticize Democrats for mishandling the Soviet threat and for betraying Poland and China at the Yalta conference in 1945. They wanted to provide more aid to China and vamp up the military. [8]
Wallace criticized Republicans, represented by Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election, for prioritizing alliance-making with Britain, something Wallace deemed, “the height of folly.” [5] He accused Republicans of being isolationist. [6] Republicans led by Dewey actually departed from this trend in their approach to Cold War policy. [7] They supported the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan and sought to emphasize that although their foreign policy tended to be bipartisan, they were just as capable of creating strong policy as the Democrats. Dewey and many Republicans also tended to criticize Democrats for mishandling the Soviet threat and for betraying Poland and China at the Yalta conference in 1945. They wanted to provide more aid to China and vamp up the military. [8]
Defeated by Truman in 1948
Wallace became a victim of red-baiting, and of McCarthyism. Truman and the media viciously attacked Wallace’s third party attempt for being a communist initiative, which lessened his credibility amongst an increasingly anxious public. The Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), an organization of anti-Communist liberals, also staunchly opposed Wallace and depicted his campaign as an effort to destroy Truman. [9] Thus, Wallace was ultimately unsuccessful, as he was virtually doomed from the start. [10] His defeat essentially forced him out of public office. He continued to advocate for social justice in Latin America, share his views on pressing issues of the time like NATO, intervention in the conflict in Korea, and scientifically experiment with various crops. [11]
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Was Henry Wallace Right?
"Henry Wallace was essentially right and Harry Truman was essentially and tragically wrong. Henry Wallace said that the United States cannot purchase reliable friends. He said that the United States would end up supporting corrupt, incompetent, and repressive dictators all over the world. He said that the United States would not be able to stamp out revolution the world over. He said that the effort to contain communism would be costly in American blood and treasure. He said that a crusade against communism would lead to the repression of civil liberties at home. He said that American foreign policy would lead to militarism. He said that the Truman doctrine, the Marshall plan, and NATO would divide the world into hostile camps. He said that Truman’s foreign policy would cause the colonial peoples of the world to identify Russia and communism as their friends and the United States as their enemy. He said, in short, that Harry Truman‘s foreign policy would lead to disaster at home and abroad. Henry Wallace was right.” [12]
- Richard Walton, 1976 |
Footnotes
[1] "Text of Address by Henry A. Wallace in Philadelphia," New York Times, October 31, 1948, New York Times Archives.
[2] "Text of Address by Henry A. Wallace in Philadelphia," New York Times, October 31, 1948, New York Times Archives.
[3] Quoted in Charles Grutzner, Henry Wallace, New York Times, 1948.
[4] Thomas W. Devine, Henry Wallace’s 1948 Presidential Campaign and the Future of Postwar Liberalism (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013), 1-4.
[5] Quoted in Richard Walton, Henry Wallace (New York: The Viking Press, 1976), 102.
[6] Quoted in Richard Walton, Henry Wallace (New York: The Viking Press, 1976), 102.
[7] Robert A. Divine, “The Cold War and the Election of 1948,” The Journal of American History 59, no. 1 (1972): 100.
[8] Divine, 99-101.
[9] Richard S. Kirkendall, “Wallace, Henry Agard.” American National Biography, Oxford University Press, February, 2000.
[10] Walton, 2-3.
[11] “Henry Agard Wallace, 33rd Vice President.” United States Senate, Accessed October 25, 2020. https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Henry_Wallace.htm.
[12] Walton, 355.
[1] "Text of Address by Henry A. Wallace in Philadelphia," New York Times, October 31, 1948, New York Times Archives.
[2] "Text of Address by Henry A. Wallace in Philadelphia," New York Times, October 31, 1948, New York Times Archives.
[3] Quoted in Charles Grutzner, Henry Wallace, New York Times, 1948.
[4] Thomas W. Devine, Henry Wallace’s 1948 Presidential Campaign and the Future of Postwar Liberalism (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2013), 1-4.
[5] Quoted in Richard Walton, Henry Wallace (New York: The Viking Press, 1976), 102.
[6] Quoted in Richard Walton, Henry Wallace (New York: The Viking Press, 1976), 102.
[7] Robert A. Divine, “The Cold War and the Election of 1948,” The Journal of American History 59, no. 1 (1972): 100.
[8] Divine, 99-101.
[9] Richard S. Kirkendall, “Wallace, Henry Agard.” American National Biography, Oxford University Press, February, 2000.
[10] Walton, 2-3.
[11] “Henry Agard Wallace, 33rd Vice President.” United States Senate, Accessed October 25, 2020. https://www.senate.gov/about/officers-staff/vice-president/VP_Henry_Wallace.htm.
[12] Walton, 355.