Sign, anti-Harry S. Truman, 1952

In April 1945, three months into his fourth term, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died and Vice President Harry S. Truman ascended to the presidency. Truman won a full term in his own right in 1948 and was eligible to run again in 1952. (The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution which limits presidential terms was ratified in 1951 but Truman, as sitting president, was exempt from its restrictions.) However, by the time the primary season started, Truman’s approval rating had fallen to approximately 22%. As this campaign novelty made by J.B. McMullen predicted, Truman was through in 1952. Less than three weeks after finishing second in New Hampshire, the opening primary, President Truman announced he would not seek re-election. The Democratic nomination went to Adlai Stevenson who lost the general election to his Republican opponent, Dwight Eisenhower.