News on Screen

Series

Series Name

The March of Time 13th Year

Issue

Issue No.

3

Date Released

1948

Length of issue (in feet)

1334

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. the Presidential Year

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

The March of Time synopsis: This month’s March of Time deals with the burning question of who will succeed in winning the U.S. Presidency in 1948. Will the Democrats extend their sixteen-year tenure or will the Republican Party be voted into power? The film introduces the likely candidates, discusses their merits and weighs their respective chances in this hotly contested race to reach the White House.

In prestige and power, the film points out, the Presidency has developed greatly since George Washington established the original scope of the Chief Executive’s duties one hundred and fifty-nine years ago. Outstanding personalities such as Jackson, Lincoln, Cleveland, Theodore Roosevelt and Wilson all added to the duties and functions of the office, while under Franklin D. Roosevelt, who assumed extra ordinary powers in dealing with both domestic and international problems, it became the world’s most influential position. At Democratic headquarters the main concern is not with finding a nominee but in keeping for their sole candidate, Harry Truman, the support of nearly twenty-six million voters who brought victory to their party in 1944. Truman’s chances of being elected to the office he inherited from Roosevelt, depend upon the incalculable effect of his every action. His administration is under the most critical scrutiny in dealing with such domestic problems as the high cost of living, the acute housing shortage, labour relations and taxes, while every expression of foreign policy in relation to such vital world problems as the spread of Communism or the Marshall Plan for European Recovery will be weighed by the public in the coming election.
Leading r
epublican in popularity polls throughout 1947 was New York’s Governor Thomas Dewey, who in 1944 gave Roosevelt strong opposition and succeeded in polling twenty two million votes. Chief rival to Dewey is ex-Isolationist Senator Taft, co-author of the Taft-hartley Labour Bill and one of the most vocal critics of the present administration’s policies. More internationally minded is Senator Vandenberg, whose skilful handling of the European Recovery Programme Bill has brought him increased popularity, and though Vandenberg is reluctant about nomination, many political observers believe he may be called upon in the event of a deadlock between Dewey and Taft. Harold Stassen, regarded by many as an excellent choice, was the first to announce that he would seek Republican nomination. Since his demobilisation from the U.S. Navy, Stassen has devoted himself to politics and, despite some antagonism from influential party members, has worked hard to gain popularity with the electorate. Another early contender is Earl Warren of California, who broke political precedent in 1946 by winning both the Democratic and Republican nominations for Governor in his home state. Among the "dark horses" is General Douglas MacArthur, whose principal appeal springs from his role as conquering hero of the Pacific. Leverett Saltonstall, who served three terms as Governor of the Bay State, is Massachusett’s popular candidate, while Speaker of the House Joseph Martin, now first in line of succession to the Presidency, is also regarded ass a likely nominee. Today, says the March of Time, the nation’s press awaits the result of long months of campaigning by the candidates, their supporters and their opponents. This climax comes with the Democratic and Republican Conventions, form which will emerge two rival candidates between whom the people of the United States will make their choice.

Researcher Comments

This story was included in Vol.14 No.5 of the US edition.

Keywords

Politics and government

Written sources

The March of Time Promotional Material   Lobby Card, Used for synopsis

Credits:

Production Co.

Time Inc.