In one of the greatest upsets in presidential election history,
Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York, by just
over two million popular votes. In the days preceding the vote,
political analysts and polls were so behind Dewey that on
election night, long before all the votes were counted, the
Chicago Tribune published an early edition with the banner
headline “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN (above).”

Rare Truman Defeats Dewey Newspaper.

On June 8, 1864, Abraham Lincoln was nominated for another
term as president during the National Union (Republican) Party’s convention in Baltimore.

On February 17, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was elected the third
president of the United States. He served until 1809. The election constitutes the first peaceful transfer of power from one political
party to another in the United States. Jefferson had previously
served as the second vice president under John Adams.

Congress set January 7, 1789 as the date by which states are
required to choose electors for the country’s first presidential 
election. A month later, on February 4, George Washington was 
elected president by state electors and sworn into office (above) 
on April 30, 1789.

George Washington 1789 Election Poster.

ED DANAHUE