1948 United States presidential election
Okay kiddo, in 1948, the people in the United States had to choose who would be their leader. This is called the presidential election. It's like when you and your friends vote for who will be the leader of your game.
There were two big groups, or political parties, that wanted to win. One was called the Democrats and the other was called the Republicans. The Democrats wanted a man named Harry Truman to be their leader. He was already the president because the last leader had died, so he wanted to keep doing the job.
The Republicans wanted a man named Thomas Dewey to be their leader. They thought he would be better than Truman at being president. They ran a big campaign with lots of people talking about why Dewey should be the leader.
But, something really interesting happened. There was another man who wanted to be president, and his name was Strom Thurmond. He didn't want to be a Democrat or a Republican, so he made his own party called the Dixiecrats. They were mostly from southern states and they didn't like the things that the Democrats were doing. So, he ran against Truman too.
When it was time for the people to vote, everybody thought that Dewey was going to win because he had so many people on his side. But, when they counted all the votes, it turned out that Truman won! It was a big surprise because people thought the opposite was going to happen.
Truman was very happy and he went out and gave a speech to all the people who voted for him. He thanked them and promised to keep being a good leader for everyone in the country. And that's how he won the 1948 United States Presidential Election, even though people thought he was going to lose.
There were two big groups, or political parties, that wanted to win. One was called the Democrats and the other was called the Republicans. The Democrats wanted a man named Harry Truman to be their leader. He was already the president because the last leader had died, so he wanted to keep doing the job.
The Republicans wanted a man named Thomas Dewey to be their leader. They thought he would be better than Truman at being president. They ran a big campaign with lots of people talking about why Dewey should be the leader.
But, something really interesting happened. There was another man who wanted to be president, and his name was Strom Thurmond. He didn't want to be a Democrat or a Republican, so he made his own party called the Dixiecrats. They were mostly from southern states and they didn't like the things that the Democrats were doing. So, he ran against Truman too.
When it was time for the people to vote, everybody thought that Dewey was going to win because he had so many people on his side. But, when they counted all the votes, it turned out that Truman won! It was a big surprise because people thought the opposite was going to happen.
Truman was very happy and he went out and gave a speech to all the people who voted for him. He thanked them and promised to keep being a good leader for everyone in the country. And that's how he won the 1948 United States Presidential Election, even though people thought he was going to lose.