Presidential Election 1956

As the first term of Eisenhower was coming to an end, there was talk about his health; given he had just suffered a serious heart attack.  In the years leading up to the next Election the United States saw a progressive decision by the Supreme Court in Brown vs the Board of Education.  A major medical breakthrough in the form of a miracle vaccine against Polio was discovered and it was the patriotic thing to do by taking the vaccine.  But perhaps the greatest achievement for President Eisenhower was the creation of a federal highway system.  The president had a record to run on.

There was a Primary challenge within the Democratic Party in 1956.  Adlai Stevenson, the once hand picked candidate by Harry Truman in 1952 saw the former president throw his support to New York governor Averell Harriman.  Estes Kefauver, a 1952 rival for the Democratic Nomination was again vying in 1956.  Both Stevenson and Kefauver would square off in a Florida Democratic Primary Debate.  But at the convention, Adlai Stevenson was victorious in winning the Nomination for a second time and would face Dwight Eisenhower in a rematch for the presidency.

What came out of the 1956 Democratic National Convention was something that had not been done since.  Stevenson would let the delegates vote on whom they wanted as his running mate.  After a series of “favorite son candidates”, the contest came down to four serious candidates; Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Senator John F. Kennedy (who would be the Democratic Presidential Nominee in 1960) of Massachusetts, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey (who would challenge Kennedy for the Nomination in 1960, serve as Lyndon Johnson's Vice President from 1965 to 1969, and was the Democratic Residential Nominee in 1968) of Minnesota, and Senator Albert Gore, Sr. (father of future Vice President under Bill Clinton from 1993 to 2001 and 2000 Democratic Presidential Nominee Al Gore) of Tennessee.

For most of the balloting, Kefauver and Kennedy were the two to beat.  For a brief moment though, Kennedy was within 20 votes of the vice presidential nomination.  Then, Albert Gore, Sr. had withdrawn from the race surrendering his delegates to Senator Kefauver.

In the end, Estes Kefauver won the Nomination.  Joe Kennedy through this whole thing was against Jack Kennedy doing it.  He explained that Stevenson was a loser and had he been on the ticket when they lost Kennedy's Catholicism would be the blame for the loss.  Robert Kennedy saw it differently and was so upset with the Democratic Party not nominating his brother that he cast his vote in the 1956 Presidential Election for Eisenhower and Nixon.

By November 6, 1956, Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon won re-election winning 457 Electoral Votes and 35,579,180 or 57.4 percent of the Popular Vote to Adlai Stevenson and Estes Kefauver's 73 Electoral Votes or 26,028,028 or 42.0 percent of the Popular Vote.

But the real winner or the rising star of that election was John F. Kennedy.  By placing Adlai Stevenson's name in nomination and running briefly and coming in a strong second for the Vice Presidential Nomination introduced the 39 year old freshman US Senator to the nation and the Democratic Party, paving the way to run a successful campaign in the Presidential Election of 1960.

See also:

• Presidential Election 1940
• Presidential Election 1944
• Presidential Election 1948
• Presidential Election 1952
• Presidential Election 1956
• Presidential Election 1960
• Presidential Election 1964
• Presidential Election 1968
• Presidential Election 1972
• Presidential Election 1976
• Presidential Election 1980
• Presidential Election 1984
• Presidential Election 1988
• Presidential Election 1992
• Presidential Election 1996
• Presidential Election 2000
• Presidential Election 2004
• Presidential Election 2008
• Presidential Election 2012
• Presidential Election 2016
• Presidential Election 2020