Button, Harry S. Truman, 1948

Harry S. Truman assumed the presidency upon the death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. In the first months of his administration, Truman began to promote “fair dealing” domestically for farmers, labor, and business and internationally for persons recovering from the Second World War. Using words that reminded voters of earlier presidential visions—the Square Deal (Theodore Roosevelt) and the New Deal (Franklin D. Roosevelt)—by 1947 Truman was advocating that “if we get a fair deal for everybody, why the country will be all right.”

Truman ran for a full term in his own right in 1948. Even though his policy program would not become knowns as the “Fair Deal” until after the election, the phrase became part of his campaign. Truman won the election defeating three other candidates: Thomas Dewey (Republican), Strom Thurmond (States’ Rights Democratic), and Henry Wallace (Progressive) who finished in that order.