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| Elections in Mississippi |
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The 1952 United States presidential election in Mississippi took place on November 4, 1952, as part of the United States presidential election of 1952. The Democratic Party candidate, Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois, won the state of Mississippi over Dwight D. Eisenhower, the former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and General of the Army by a margin of 59,600 votes, or 20.88 percentage points. Eisenhower went on to win the election nationally, with 442 electoral votes and a commanding 10.9 percent lead over Stevenson in the popular vote.
Mississippi in this time period was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party. The Republican Party was virtually nonexistent as a result of disenfranchisement among poor whites and African Americans, [2] including voter intimidation against those who refused to vote Democratic. The state Republican Party led by Perry Wilbon Howard II — who resided in Washington D.C. after 1928 — was entirely drawn from the state’s tiny black middle class and never contested non-presidential elections, [3] serving entirely to sell federal patronage, [4] mostly to white Democrats. [5] The 1948 election split the National Democratic Party and segregationist Southern Democrats over the issue of civil rights for African Americans. [6] In the 1952 election, Stevenson, a moderate on race issues, selected the segregationist Senator Sparkman as his running mate to avoid another split in the Democratic vote. However, this was not enough for some white Mississippians, who felt that the national Republican Party already offered a better prospect for their conservative social and economic goals. [3]
Campaign
Because the state Republican Party remained under black-and-tan control due to state politicians’ longstanding fear of competition with a lily-white GOP, [4] national Republican candidates Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon ran as “Independents for Eisenhower”. Both Howard’s black-and-tans and the long-insurgent “lily-white” faction led by George L. Sheldon of Clinton agreed to withdraw their slates in favour of the Eisenhower Democrats in mid-October. [7]
Despite Stevenson winning the state, Eisenhower won many Black Belt counties on the Mississippi River with large nonvoting African American populations. [8] Eisenhower won five of the nine counties with black populations above 70%. This was due to white Republican voters rather than black voters, who were ineligible to vote. [9]
Polls
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| The Columbus Ledger [10] | Safe D (Flip) | September 8, 1952 |
| Lansing State Journal [11] | Safe D (Flip) | September 17, 1952 |
| The Daily Herald [12] | Likely D (Flip) | October 23, 1952 |
| The Salt Lake Tribune [13] | Safe D (Flip) | October 24, 1952 |
| The Greeneville Sun [14] | Certain D (Flip) | October 25, 1952 |
| The Modesto Bee [15] | Safe D (Flip) | October 27, 1952 |
| Wichita Falls Times [16] | Likely D (Flip) | October 29, 1952 |
Results
| 1952 United States presidential election in Mississippi [17] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson | 172,566 | 60.44% | 8 | |
| Independent | Dwight Eisenhower | 112,966 | 39.56% | 0 | |
| Totals | 285,532 | 100.00% | 8 | ||
Results by county
| County | Adlai Stevenson II Democratic |
Dwight David Eisenhower Independent |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 1,697 | 41.71% | 2,372 | 58.29% | -675 | -16.59% | 4,069 |
| Alcorn | 3,275 | 73.93% | 1,155 | 26.07% | 2,120 | 47.86% | 4,430 |
| Amite | 1,121 | 59.06% | 777 | 40.94% | 344 | 18.12% | 1,898 |
| Attala | 2,258 | 65.72% | 1,178 | 34.28% | 1,080 | 31.43% | 3,436 |
| Benton | 963 | 81.68% | 216 | 18.32% | 747 | 63.36% | 1,179 |
| Bolivar | 1,843 | 46.79% | 2,096 | 53.21% | -253 | -6.42% | 3,939 |
| Calhoun | 2,284 | 76.77% | 691 | 23.23% | 1,593 | 53.55% | 2,975 |
| Carroll | 1,168 | 68.58% | 535 | 31.42% | 633 | 37.17% | 1,703 |
| Chickasaw | 1,805 | 72.49% | 685 | 27.51% | 1,120 | 44.98% | 2,490 |
| Choctaw | 1,387 | 72.58% | 524 | 27.42% | 863 | 45.16% | 1,911 |
| Claiborne | 496 | 46.97% | 560 | 53.03% | -64 | -6.06% | 1,056 |
| Clarke | 2,000 | 72.62% | 754 | 27.38% | 1,246 | 45.24% | 2,754 |
| Clay | 1,230 | 53.32% | 1,077 | 46.68% | 153 | 6.63% | 2,307 |
| Coahoma | 2,115 | 56.64% | 1,619 | 43.36% | 496 | 13.28% | 3,734 |
| Copiah | 2,050 | 57.31% | 1,527 | 42.69% | 523 | 14.62% | 3,577 |
| Covington | 1,535 | 66.59% | 770 | 33.41% | 765 | 33.19% | 2,305 |
| DeSoto | 1,288 | 63.08% | 754 | 36.92% | 534 | 26.15% | 2,042 |
| Forrest | 2,936 | 39.59% | 4,480 | 60.41% | -1,544 | -20.82% | 7,416 |
| Franklin | 1,166 | 69.40% | 514 | 30.60% | 652 | 38.81% | 1,680 |
| George | 1,351 | 69.14% | 603 | 30.86% | 748 | 38.28% | 1,954 |
| Greene | 1,247 | 71.14% | 506 | 28.86% | 741 | 42.27% | 1,753 |
| Grenada | 1,174 | 54.00% | 1,000 | 46.00% | 174 | 8.00% | 2,174 |
| Hancock | 1,578 | 53.95% | 1,347 | 46.05% | 231 | 7.90% | 2,925 |
| Harrison | 7,181 | 54.65% | 5,960 | 45.35% | 1,221 | 9.29% | 13,141 |
| Hinds | 10,933 | 46.62% | 12,520 | 53.38% | -1,587 | -6.77% | 23,453 |
| Holmes | 1,423 | 52.16% | 1,305 | 47.84% | 118 | 4.33% | 2,728 |
| Humphreys | 858 | 59.30% | 589 | 40.70% | 269 | 18.59% | 1,447 |
| Issaquena | 170 | 57.24% | 127 | 42.76% | 43 | 14.48% | 297 |
| Itawamba | 2,236 | 80.09% | 556 | 19.91% | 1,680 | 60.17% | 2,792 |
| Jackson | 4,146 | 65.64% | 2,170 | 34.36% | 1,976 | 31.29% | 6,316 |
| Jasper | 1,872 | 73.70% | 668 | 26.30% | 1,204 | 47.40% | 2,540 |
| Jefferson | 539 | 46.91% | 610 | 53.09% | -71 | -6.18% | 1,149 |
| Jefferson Davis | 1,626 | 77.47% | 473 | 22.53% | 1,153 | 54.93% | 2,099 |
| Jones | 5,884 | 59.30% | 4,039 | 40.70% | 1,845 | 18.59% | 9,923 |
| Kemper | 1,593 | 81.07% | 372 | 18.93% | 1,221 | 62.14% | 1,965 |
| Lafayette | 2,363 | 73.14% | 868 | 26.86% | 1,495 | 46.27% | 3,231 |
| Lamar | 1,260 | 54.93% | 1,034 | 45.07% | 226 | 9.85% | 2,294 |
| Lauderdale | 5,841 | 58.54% | 4,137 | 41.46% | 1,704 | 17.08% | 9,978 |
| Lawrence | 1,117 | 66.77% | 556 | 33.23% | 561 | 33.53% | 1,673 |
| Leake | 2,667 | 81.56% | 603 | 18.44% | 2,064 | 63.12% | 3,270 |
| Lee | 4,174 | 67.58% | 2,002 | 32.42% | 2,172 | 35.17% | 6,176 |
| Leflore | 1,845 | 43.12% | 2,434 | 56.88% | -589 | -13.76% | 4,279 |
| Lincoln | 2,271 | 52.83% | 2,028 | 47.17% | 243 | 5.65% | 4,299 |
| Lowndes | 1,618 | 37.73% | 2,670 | 62.27% | -1,052 | -24.53% | 4,288 |
| Madison | 1,425 | 48.78% | 1,496 | 51.22% | -71 | -2.43% | 2,921 |
| Marion | 2,597 | 64.65% | 1,420 | 35.35% | 1,177 | 29.30% | 4,017 |
| Marshall | 1,847 | 75.36% | 604 | 24.64% | 1,243 | 50.71% | 2,451 |
| Monroe | 3,512 | 71.25% | 1,417 | 28.75% | 2,095 | 42.50% | 4,929 |
| Montgomery | 1,356 | 61.75% | 840 | 38.25% | 516 | 23.50% | 2,196 |
| Neshoba | 3,567 | 76.74% | 1,081 | 23.26% | 2,486 | 53.49% | 4,648 |
| Newton | 2,460 | 74.30% | 851 | 25.70% | 1,609 | 48.60% | 3,311 |
| Noxubee | 758 | 46.08% | 887 | 53.92% | -129 | -7.84% | 1,645 |
| Oktibbeha | 1,666 | 53.72% | 1,435 | 46.28% | 231 | 7.45% | 3,101 |
| Panola | 2,047 | 66.48% | 1,032 | 33.52% | 1,015 | 32.97% | 3,079 |
| Pearl River | 2,060 | 54.20% | 1,741 | 45.80% | 319 | 8.39% | 3,801 |
| Perry | 782 | 60.48% | 511 | 39.52% | 271 | 20.96% | 1,293 |
| Pike | 2,495 | 46.18% | 2,908 | 53.82% | -413 | -7.64% | 5,403 |
| Pontotoc | 2,281 | 77.88% | 648 | 22.12% | 1,633 | 55.75% | 2,929 |
| Prentiss | 2,672 | 78.52% | 731 | 21.48% | 1,941 | 57.04% | 3,403 |
| Quitman | 1,158 | 70.18% | 492 | 29.82% | 666 | 40.36% | 1,650 |
| Rankin | 2,077 | 57.34% | 1,545 | 42.66% | 532 | 14.69% | 3,622 |
| Scott | 2,208 | 66.29% | 1,123 | 33.71% | 1,085 | 32.57% | 3,331 |
| Sharkey | 388 | 39.27% | 600 | 60.73% | -212 | -21.46% | 988 |
| Simpson | 2,767 | 75.91% | 878 | 24.09% | 1,889 | 51.82% | 3,645 |
| Smith | 2,288 | 75.61% | 738 | 24.39% | 1,550 | 51.22% | 3,026 |
| Stone | 965 | 62.91% | 569 | 37.09% | 396 | 25.81% | 1,534 |
| Sunflower | 2,049 | 50.52% | 2,007 | 49.48% | 42 | 1.04% | 4,056 |
| Tallahatchie | 2,350 | 75.86% | 748 | 24.14% | 1,602 | 51.71% | 3,098 |
| Tate | 1,575 | 80.28% | 387 | 19.72% | 1,188 | 60.55% | 1,962 |
| Tippah | 2,878 | 84.92% | 511 | 15.08% | 2,367 | 69.84% | 3,389 |
| Tishomingo | 1,595 | 70.14% | 679 | 29.86% | 916 | 40.28% | 2,274 |
| Tunica | 530 | 58.05% | 383 | 41.95% | 147 | 16.10% | 913 |
| Union | 2,749 | 74.99% | 917 | 25.01% | 1,832 | 49.97% | 3,666 |
| Walthall | 1,357 | 73.43% | 491 | 26.57% | 866 | 46.86% | 1,848 |
| Warren | 2,366 | 40.63% | 3,458 | 59.38% | -1,092 | -18.75% | 5,824 |
| Washington | 2,618 | 44.23% | 3,301 | 55.77% | -683 | -11.54% | 5,919 |
| Wayne | 1,604 | 69.11% | 717 | 30.89% | 887 | 38.22% | 2,321 |
| Webster | 1,765 | 79.58% | 453 | 20.42% | 1,312 | 59.15% | 2,218 |
| Wilkinson | 563 | 44.61% | 699 | 55.39% | -136 | -10.78% | 1,262 |
| Winston | 2,559 | 76.85% | 771 | 23.15% | 1,788 | 53.69% | 3,330 |
| Yalobusha | 1,346 | 64.13% | 753 | 35.87% | 593 | 28.25% | 2,099 |
| Yazoo | 1,702 | 50.28% | 1,683 | 49.72% | 19 | 0.56% | 3,385 |
| Totals | 172,566 | 60.44% | 112,966 | 39.56% | 59,600 | 20.87% | 285,532 |
Analysis
The Stevenson-Sparkman ticket carried Mississippi and its eight electoral votes with 60.44 percent of the popular vote, amounting to a total of 172,566 votes. These results, however, were the weakest for a state Democrat since the 1872 election when the state remained occupied by Union troops and Republican Ulysses S. Grant carried the state. [19] It represented a large swing for the Republicans from 1948, when Thomas E. Dewey won only 2.62 percent of the vote.
Stevenson carried 67 of Mississippi’s 82 counties, running up huge margins in the northeastern corner and rural areas of the state. Eisenhower, whose Mississippi electors were “Independent”, carried fifteen counties, the first time a national Republican had carried any since Herbert Hoover in 1928 carried Pearl River County, George County and Stone County, and only the second since Benjamin Harrison in 1888. [8] His main base of support came from the western counties along the Mississippi River, which had a high concentration of nonvoting African Americans, including Hinds County, home to the state capital Jackson. Three counties — Sharkey, Forrest, and Lowndes — gave Eisenhower over sixty percent of the vote. This was the first time ever that a national Republican won Forrest and Sharkey Counties; [8] the first since 1872 that the national Republicans won Claiborne, Hinds, Jefferson, Leflore, Lowndes, Madison, Noxubee, Pike, and Warren Counties; [8] the first time they carried Adams and Wilkinson Counties since 1876; [8] and the first time since 1888 that they won Bolivar and Washington Counties. [8]
In contrast, the northeastern hills, which had given President Truman his highest proportion in 1948, [20] along with the southeastern pineywoods both voted solidly for Stevenson, although not by the margins pre-1948 Democrats ran up throughout Mississippi. Whereas Delta whites had permanently estranged themselves from the Democratic Party over issues of economics and race, Hills and Pine Belt counties, much more economically populist although even more socially conservative, [21] had not shared much in the Dixiecrat upheaval despite all giving majorities to “Democrat” Strom Thurmond in 1948. The divide between traditional Democrat Stevenson and the independent electors pledged to Eisenhower was closely related to the cleavage between “Delta” and “Hills” [22] seen in Democratic white primaries during the first half of the twentieth century. [20]
1952 began to show signs of the impending collapse of Democratic dominance in Mississippi and the rest of the South. The vote share for the state Democratic candidate would decline in the next two subsequent elections, ultimately paving the way for Barry Goldwater’s victory in Mississippi and the Deep South in 1964.
References
-
^
"U.S. presidential election, 1952". Facts on File. Archived from
the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
Eisenhower, born in Texas, considered a resident of New York, and headquartered at the time in Paris, finally decided to run for the Republican nomination
- ^ Wright-Austin, Sharon D. (2006). The Transformation of Plantation Politics: Black Politics, Concentrated Poverty, and Social Capital in the Mississippi Delta. p. 45. ISBN 9780791468012.
- ^ a b Busbee, Westley F. (2014). Mississippi: A History. pp. 276–278. ISBN 9781118822722.
- ^ a b Heersink, Boris; Jenkins, Jeffery A. (2020). Republican Party Politics and the American South, 1865-1968. Cambridge University Press. pp. 329–331. ISBN 9781108850827.
- ^ Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks; Gates, Henry Louis, eds. (March 23, 2004). African American Lives. Oxford University Press. pp. 417–418. ISBN 9780199882861.
- ^ Kehl, James A. "Philadelphia, 1948: City of Crucial Conventions". Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies. 67 (2): 313–326.
- ^ "Merger of State Ike Factions Near: GOP Groups Set to Withdraw Electors". Hattiesburg American. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. October 20, 1952. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e f Menendez, Albert J. (2005). The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 91, 233–237. ISBN 0786422173.
- ^ Buchanan 1953, p. 5.
- ^ Lauderdale, W.M.; Allen, Robert S. (September 8, 1952). "Mississippi Is Still Democratic Although Eisenhower Is Strong". The Columbus Ledger. Columbus, Mississippi. p. 5.
- ^ Cornell, Douglas B. (September 17, 1952). "Ike Given 50–50 Chance To Break into Solid South". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. pp. 7, 16.
- ^ Fuller, Keith (October 23, 1952). "Survey by State Newspapers Indicates Mississippi Will Stay Democrat in Election". The Daily Herald. Biloxi, Mississippi. p. 4.
- ^ Cornell, Douglas B. (October 24, 1952). "Journalists Bet 50–50 Ike Will Dent South". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City. pp. 1–2.
- ^ "US Poll Shows — Eisenhower Leading Stevenson in Electoral Votes, but Governor Has More States in His Column". The Greeneville Sun. Greeneville, Tennessee. Princeton Research Service. October 25, 1952. pp. 1, 8.
- ^ "NY Times Survey Indicates Close Election Tuesday". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. October 27, 1952. p. 8.
- ^ Gallup, George (October 29, 1952). "Ferment in Dixie Is Big Campaign Issue". Wichita Falls Times. Wichita Falls, Texas. p. 15.
- ^ Leip, David. "1952 Presidential General Election Results – Mississippi". Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ Scammon, Richard M. (compiler); America at the Polls: A Handbook of Presidential Election Statistics 1920-1964; pp. 251-252 ISBN 0405077114
- ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Mississippi". Retrieved May 7, 2017.
- ^ a b Strong, Donald S. (August 1955). "The Presidential Election in the South, 1952". The Journal of Politics. 17 (3): 343–389.
- ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 262 ISBN 978-0-691-16324-6
- ^ Key, Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation, p. 227 Alfred A. Knopf (1949)
Works cited
- Buchanan, William (1953). "Recent Trends in Mississippi Voting". The Social Science Bulletin. 6 (4). Johns Hopkins University Press: 2–6. doi: 10.2307/45214742. JSTOR 45214742.
