The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

The Election of 1948 743

decided to fly supplies to the capital from Frankfurt,
Hannover, and Hamburg. American C-47 and C-54
transports shuttled back and forth in fair weather and
foul, carrying enough food, fuel, and other goods
necessary to maintain more than 2 million West
Berliners. The Berlin airliftput the Soviets in an
uncomfortable position; if they were determined to
keep supplies from West Berlin, they would have to
start the fighting. They were not prepared to do so.
In May 1949 they lifted the blockade.
American generals intensified preparation of con-
tingency plans in the event of a Soviet attack.

The Election of 1948

In the spring of 1948 President Truman’s fortunes
were at low ebb. Public opinion polls suggested that a
majority of the people considered him incompetent
or worse. The Republicans seemed so sure to win the
1948 presidential election that many prominent

Democrats began to talk of denying Truman the

nomination. Two of FDR’s sons came out for

General Eisenhower as the Democratic candidate.

Governor Dewey, who again won the Republican

nomination, ran confidently (even complacently), cer-

tain that he would carry the country.

Truman’s position seemed hopeless because he

had alienated both southern conservatives and north-

ern liberals. The Southerners were particularly dis-

tressed because in 1946 the president had established a

Committee on Civil Rights, which had recommended

antilynching and antipoll tax legislation and the cre-

ation of a permanent Fair Employment Practices

Commission. When the Democratic convention

adopted a civil rights plank, the southern delegates

walked out. Southern conservatives then founded the

States’ Rights (“Dixiecrat”) party and nominated

J. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina for president.

As for the liberals, in 1947 a group that believed

Truman’s containment policy a threat to world peace

North

Sea

Baltic

Sea

Berlin

EAST

BERLIN

WEST

BERLIN Soviet

Zone

British Zone

U.S.

Zone

French

Zone

Berlin Wall

(erected 1961) Hamburg

Bremen

Hannover

Bonn Leipzig

Frankfurt

Munich

WEST

GERMANY

EAST

GERMANY

SWITZ AUSTRIA

FRANCE

BELGIUM

LUX

POLAND

SWEDEN

DENMARK

NETHERLANDS

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

British

Zone

U.S. Zone

French

Zone

French

Zone

Vienna

Key airports, Berlin airlift, 1948–49

Soviet

Zone

Brandenburg Gate

Air corridor

Area of responsibility

and sector boundary

Railroad

Autobahn (freeway)

Under Soviet administration

Air Relief to Berlin, 1948–1949Americans countered Stalin’s attempt to starve West Berlin to force it to be

merged into communist East Germany by a massive airlift of foodstuffs, fuel, and medical supplies.