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Thomas Dewey (1902-1971)Thomas Dewey was born in Owosso, Michigan, on March 24, 1902. He graduated from the University of Michigan and went on to receive a law degree from Columbia University in 1925. Dewey's reputation grew with his appointment as special prosecutor of New York. He became known for breaking up organized crime. His success gave rise to a political career and he was elected the district attorney of Manhattan in 1937. Dewey continued to pursue his political career by running in the 1938 gubernatorial race. He promised to end corruption in New York politics; however, Dewey lost the election. Although he thought the New Deal excessive, Dewey believed the federal government had a responsibility to promote the public interest. In 1940, he tried to gain the Republican presidential
nomination, but lost. His success came in 1941, when he
was elected governor of New York State. Dewey kept his
promise by setting in place reforms, including the first
statewide civil rights
legislation in the nation, and an increase in aid to the
New York State Education Department. In 1944, he won the
Republican presidential nomination and campaigned vigorously
against FDR. Although
he lost the election, he won 46 percent of the popular
vote,
the highest Republican total since Herbert Hoover's 1928
victory. Reelected governor of New York in 1946, a fiscally
conservative Dewey introduced progressive education, health,
civil rights, and transportation policies while insisting
upon a balanced budget. Dewey received the Republican
nomination again in 1948 to run against Harry Truman
after
he defeated Harold Stassen in the Oregon presidential primary
by attacking Stassen's proposal to outlaw the Communist
party. Unexpectedly, Truman won with 49 percent to Dewey's
45 percent, in a four-party race. Dewey ended his third
term as governor in 1955 and returned to private law. He
died in March of 1971, still an active member of the
GOP. Sources:The Concise Dictionary of American Biography. 5th ed. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1997, 304. Graham, Otis L., Jr. and Meghan Robinson Wander. Franklin D. Roosevelt, His Life and Times. New York: Da Capo Press, 1985, 101-2. Smith, Richard Norton. Thomas E. Dewey and His Times.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1982, 393-542. For more information on Thomas Dewey, visit the following web sites: |