CLEP US History II

Answer: A - In the 1948 presidential election, Dixiecrat presidential contender Strom Thurmond successfully replaced Harry S. Truman on the ballot as the “Democratic” candidate in four states: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Thurmond’s candidacy was a hotly debated issue in Arkansas, though, where the sitting governor was a vehement Thurmond supporter. Ultimately, the Dixiecrats (under the name Democrats) carried all four states in which they were one of the two principal candidates. In every other state, the Dixiecrats were required to run under their own name as a third party. The votes that they siphoned away from Truman nearly cost him the election, but he ultimately prevailed, to everyone’s surprise (including his own).