Henry Agard Wallace and Latin America (1932-1946): The Limits of American Liberalism

<p>The crowd waited anxiously, expecting the nominations for Vice President to begin momentarily. Throughout the galleries the chant began, "We want Wallace!" It swelled into an uproar and the chairman of the convention, Sam Jackson, despite all of his efforts, could not stop the chanting and the noise. Finally Jackson called for adornment. The entire stadium retorted "No!" Sam Jackson spoke up, "The ayes have it" and the days work at the convention ended despite all the booing the Chairman's action instigated. The next day, the anti-Wallace forces had manipulated enough delegates to nominate Harry S. Truman for Vice President on the second ballot at the 1944 Democratic convention as the regulars within the party flexed their muscle.</p> <p>The fight between the liberal New Dealers and the more conservative Dixiecrats and City Bosses within the Democratic party had been won by the latter. The defeat of Wallace was supposedly proof of this fact. Political and economic democracy which Wallace believed to be at the foundation of the liberal principles guiding the Democratic party were only a myth. The conservative elements within the Democratic party, worried over the idealistic rhetoric Wallace used, fought to maintain the status quo. In his seconding speech for President Roosevelt, Wallace states that: "The future belongs to those who go down the line unswervingly for the liberal principles of both political and economic democracy regardless of race, color or religion. In a political, educational and economic sense there must be no inferior races." These goals were not be realized. Yet despite the fears of the city bosses and southern politicians caused by this type of rhetoric, Henry A. Wallace was a liberal and his reform measures were limited.

Name thesis:degree_name

BA

Level thesis:degree_level

bachelors

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History

Grantor dc:publisher

Oberlin College Honors Theses

Year dc:date

1981

Author dc:creator

• Steiker, Jason

Contributors dc:contributor

• Koppes, Clayton

• History
• Political Science
• liberals
• Vice President
• Democratic convention
• 1944
• Wallace
• Henry A Wallace
• Truman
• Harry S Truman
• Roosevelt
• Latin America
• race

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=oberlin1363184498

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:oberlin1363184498