CHAPTER 1
 INTRODUCTION

 In April 1952, Robert Taft's pre-convention campaign was in full swing as he

addressed a group of Republicans in Pittsburgh. After briefly acknowledging the local

and state politicians who made his trip possible, Taft emphasized the platform he had

preached for the past five months. Known as "Mr. Republican," the senior Senator

from Ohio laid out his political philosophy in clear terms, saying "We offer the

American workman a return to honesty and integrity in Washington, a reduction in his

tax burdens, a stimulation of the process of improved production to increase his

income and standard of living, a foreign policy which will protect his security without

drafting his boys for military service and limit his opportunity."1 Although he had

announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination in November 1951, Taft

and his closest advisors had been planning their campaign since 1948, when New

York Governor Thomas E. Dewey lost the presidential election to Democratic

incumbent Harry Truman.2 Often regarded as the most shocking upset in American

political history, Dewey's defeat galvanized Taft, his inner circle, and millions of his

supporters across the nation. Their efforts to secure the GOP nomination in 1952

helped lay the groundwork for the modern conservative movement.





1 Speech of Robert A. Taft, delivered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 15 April 1952. Copy in Folder
(Speeches and Notes 1952), Box 331, Speech File, Robert A Taft. Papers, Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress [Hereafter cited as Taft Papers].

2 Zachary Karabell, The Last Campaign: How Harry Truman Won the 1948 Election (New York:
Vintage Books, 2000); Gary A. Donaldson, Truman Defeats Dewey (Lexington, KY: University of
Kentucky Press, 1999); Sean J. Savage, Truman and the Democratic Party (Lexington, KY: University
of Kentucky Press, 1997).