Thomas Edmund Dewey

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(b. Oswosso, Michigan, 24 Mar. 1902; d. 16 Mar. 1971) US; Governor of New York 1943 – 55, Republican presidential candidate 1944, 1948 Born in Michigan and educated at the University of Michigan, he moved to New York to take his LLB at Columbia University. He spent the rest of his career in New York state. He practised law in New York city and in 1935 was appointed special prosecutor to investigate organized crime. He gained a reputation as a "rackets buster", which won him prominence and enabled him to advance rapidly in his political career in the Republican Party in New York state. In 1942 he was elected governor of New York and was twice re-elected, in 1946 and in 1950. In 1944 he won the Republican nomination for president but lost to Franklin Roosevelt. In 1948 he was again the Republican nominee for president but lost to Harry Truman.

During his three terms as governor of New York, 1943 – 55, he was regarded as a moderate Republican. He developed the State University of New York, expanded the New York state highway system, opposed racial discrimination in employment and housing and expanded New York state's unemployment and welfare system. In The Case against the New Deal (1940) he expounded his philosophy of moderate Republicanism, opposing the New Deal but favouring limited government intervention in social and economic affairs. In foreign policy he was a moderate internationalist. He supported Roosevelt's wartime policies and also the initiatives to involve the United States in international affairs after the Second World War, especially the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. His standpoint as a moderate Republican who won acclaim as an effective governor of New York gave him an excellent prospect of winning the presidency. In 1944 Roosevelt's advantage of incumbency during wartime gave Dewey little chance of success. In 1948, however, he seemed virtually certain to defeat Truman in the presidential election. He chose Earl Warren, the governor of California, as his vice-presidential candidate, forming a Republican ticket of the governors of the two largest states, both moderate Republicans. Truman's popularity had sunk to a low ebb, while the Democratic Party had split, with Henry Wallace gaining liberal Democratic support running for President as a Progressive and Strom Thurmond winning Southern Democratic support running as a Dixiecrat. Opinion polls unanimously predicted a Dewey victory by a comfortable margin, but in one of the greatest upsets in American political history, Truman won re-election. Dewey was an overconfident and bland campaigner, and compared unfavourably to the charismatic Roosevelt or the feisty Truman. More significantly, as the Democratic victory in the congressional elections in 1948 illustrated, the majority of the American people supported the party of the New Deal, which offered them greater security. rather than the Republican Party, which was still associated with the Depression. In retrospect, Dewey's prospects for victory in 1948 were poorer than they appeared at the time.

In 1952 Dewey supported Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Republican nomination for president over Robert Taft. Dewey thus had the satisfaction of the victory of a candidate of his political persuasion, namely, Eisenhower, who was a moderate Republican in domestic and foreign affairs, even if he himself never attained the presidency.

Thomas Edmund Dewey (1902-1971) was governor of New York State from 1942 to 1954 and a Republican presidential candidate.

Thomas E. Dewey was born on March 24, 1902, at Owosso, Mich. In 1923 he received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan. After briefly studying music and law in Chicago, he entered Columbia University Law School. After his graduation in 1925, he toured England and France. Returning to New York, he entered the state bar, accepted a clerkship in a law office, and became active in the Young Republican Club. In 1928 Dewey married Frances E. Hutt; they had two children.

In 1931 the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York appointed Dewey his chief assistant. In addition to fundamental honesty and natural courage, Dewey possessed a capacity for careful and deliberate case preparation and an amazing self-control that enabled him to remain cool under pressure. With the resignation of the U.S. attorney in November 1933, Dewey took that position - at 31 the youngest U.S. attorney ever. When President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed a Democrat to the position 5 weeks later, Dewey returned to private law practice. In 1935 he was appointed special prosecutor for the Investigation of Organized Crime in New York. His campaign against narcotics and vice racketeers obtained 72 convictions in 73 prosecutions. In 1937 he was elected district attorney for New York County.

In 1942 Dewey was elected governor of New York. He quickly established a reputation for political moderation and administrative efficiency, enjoying cordial relations with the legislature. Success as governor, added to his reputation in fighting New York racketeers, sent Dewey's political stature soaring. In 1944 he was the Republican party's presidential nominee. He ran well, despite Roosevelt's record as a war leader and Dewey's lack of experience in international affairs. Reelected governor of New York in 1946, he proceeded to ram a series of liberal laws through the legislature.

As the acknowledged front-runner in his second presidential campaign - against Democrat Harry Truman in 1948 - Dewey refused to tax himself, made only a few speeches, avoided controversial issues, and scarcely recognized the opposition. He lost to Truman by a narrow margin. In 1950 he was elected to his third successive term as New York's governor.

At the suggestion of State Department adviser John Foster Dulles, Dewey visited 17 countries in the Pacific in 1951. In 1955 he reentered private practice with the New York firm of Dewey, Ballantine, Bushby, Palmer, and Wood. By 1957 Dewey had been awarded 16 honorary degrees. His books include The Case against the New Deal (1940), Journey to the Far Pacific (1952), and Thomas E. Dewey on the Two Party System (1966). He died on March 16, 1971, at Bal Harbour, Fla.

Further Reading

Writings on Dewey remain limited. Stanley Walker, Dewey: An American of This Century (1944), was prepared for Dewey's first presidential campaign. Several good chapters on Dewey's race against Truman are in Irwin Ross, The Loneliest Campaign: The Truman Victory of 1948 (1968).

Additional Sources

Beyer, Barry K., Thomas E. Dewey, 1937-1947: a study in political leadership, New York: Garland Pub., 1979.

Smith, Richard Norton, Thomas E. Dewey and his times, New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982.

Thomas E. Dewey was born March 24, 1902, in Owasso, Michigan. He received a bachelor of arts degree in 1923 from the University of Michigan and a bachelor of laws degree from Columbia University in 1925.

After his admission to the bar in 1925, Dewey established his legal practice before becoming U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York in 1933. During the next three years, Dewey achieved prominence for his campaign against crime in New York City, serving as special prosecutor to probe the activities of organized crime from 1935 to 1937 and as district attorney of New York county from 1937 to 1938.

Dewey's public service to the state of New York culminated in his election as governor in 1942; he remained in this post until 1954.

Twice during his years as governor, Dewey unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. presidency. He was the Republican candidate in 1944 but was defeated by Franklin Delano Roosevelt; he ran again in 1948 but lost by a small percentage of votes to Harry S. Truman.

As an author, Dewey is famous for several publications, including Journey to the Far Pacific (1952), which is a chronicle of his trip to the Far East.

Dewey died March 16, 1971, in Bal Harbour, Florida.

Quotes:

"Ours is an abiding faith in the cause of human freedom. We know it is God's cause."

"If you're not in New York, you're camping out."