Truman's whistle-stop campaign / Steven R. Goldzwig.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Goldzwig, Steven R.

Series:

Library of presidential rhetoric.

Library of presidential rhetoric

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.

Truman, Harry S.

Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972--Oratory.

Presidents--United States--Election--1948.

Presidents.

Presidential candidates--United States--Biography.

Presidential candidates.

Political oratory--United States--History--20th century.

Political oratory.

Rhetoric--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century.

Rhetoric.

Political campaigns--United States--History--20th century.

Political campaigns.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1953.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (160 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

College Station : Texas A&M University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Faced with the likely loss of the 1948 presidential elections, Harry S. Truman decided to do what he did best: talk straight. When Truman boarded the train to head west in June 1948, he and his campaign advisors decided to shift from prepared text to extemporaneous stump speeches. The "new Truman" emerged as a feisty, engaged speaker, brimming with ideas on policies and programs important to the common citizen. Steven R. Goldzwig engagingly chronicles the origins of Truman's "give 'em hell" image and the honing of his rhetorical delivery during his ostensibly nonpolitical train trip west, which came to be known as his "whistle-stop tour." At the time, Truman was both applauded and derided by the public, but his speeches delivered at each stop helped win him the presidency. Goldzwig's detailed look at the background of the campaign, Truman's preparations and goals, the train trip itself, and the text and tone of the speeches helps us better understand how Truman carried the 1948 election and came to represent the plainspoken "man of the people" who returns from behind to win, against all odds.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Text of Harry S. Truman's Rear-Platform Remarks in Decatur, Illinois, October 12, 1948

Chapter 1 Setting the Political and Rhetorical Strategy, January-May 1948

Chapter 2 The Western Tour, June 1948

Chapter 3 The Democratic National Convention and the Special Session of Congress, July 1948

Chapter 4 The Fall Campaign Begins, September 1948

Chapter 5 The Fall Campaign Continues, October-November 1948

Chapter 6 Why Truman Won: The Rhetorical Roots of a Homespun Victory

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [141]-143) and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-60344-398-3

OCLC:

650019191