Chapter 8
“Dewey was dealt a hell of a hand, but he played it was well, if not better, than any man could have.” – Allen Welsh Dulles , former Secretary of State
“Serving under Tom Dewey was the honor of a life time. I can think of no greater man to have ever sat in the oval office.” – Former Vice-President Robert M. La Follette Jr.
The Life and Times of Thomas Dewey: Victory in Defeat
By: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
[Boston: Harvard University Press, 1992]
On January 20th, 1949 Thomas Dewey was sworn in as the 34th President of the United States. He was to be the first Republican to serve in that capacity in 14 years, ever since the victory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt over Herbert Hoover in 1932. Across the nation, Republicans took heart in Dewey’s defeat of Truman; their long exile, it seemed, had finally come to an end.
However, as the new President well knew, grave challenges presented themselves to the incoming administration. While America had elected a Republican president, it had also returned a Democratic Congress; evidence that Truman’s attacks against the radical 80th Congress had born fruit. Most ominous was the solid Democratic gains in rural states, where the former President had sown fears of Dewey and the Republican farm policies.
Dewey must also have been aware of the deep chasms which existed within his own party. Although the Republicans were momentarily united, as a result of their victory, the split between the liberal and conservative wings of the party, those who honored the memory of Theodore Roosevelt and those who longed for the return of Calvin Coolidge, would soon reemerge.
The new President, as was his nature, had taken months, if not years, researching these issues, and was ready to make decisive steps to correct them. For instance, Dewey understood that he needed to sooth the fears of farmers. He was noticeably hesitant to nominate a Senator for the position, considering the 6 seat majority the Democrats held. Instead, he chose Congressman Usher Burdick, who had been a sincere supporter during the election, was considered a moderate liberal, and came from a largely rural state.
The split within his own party was much more difficult to mend. During their time in the wilderness the conservative wing of the Republican Party had come to, if not dominate the Party, at least become its strongest faction. Dewey had learned the lesson of the election of 1948, where the walkout by the Southern conservative faction of the Democrats, had cost Truman the election.
Dewey had always been a staunch believer in promoting the best and brightest, and he now turned his attention towards promoting young men within the Party who were ideologically sympathetic towards his own views and who might grow into leadership positions in the future. One of these young figures was Senator Richard Milhous Nixon of California
A Life of Service: the Life of Richard M. Nixon
Erik Carlson
[New York: Simon and Schuster, 1998]
Richard Nixon’s election to the Senate in 1950 helped create the image of a young leader on the rise. Thomas Dewey, who was on the lookout for just such figures, took a particular interest in Nixon, and helped promote him within the party leadership. With the Republicans having gained a narrow majority in both the House and Senate, following the advent of the Korean War, Dewey was able encourage a top assignment for Nixon, promoting him to the Chairmanship of the Special Investigative Committee, which had previously been held by Vice-President La Follette.
…
Within months of the beginning of Nixon’s investigations into the State Department and other governmental agencies for connections to Organized Crime and Communist infiltration, the Chairman received a strange call from former Ambassador Joseph Kennedy Sr. Nixon had, of course, knew of Kennedy, and it is likely that his opinion was not favorable; Kennedy was seen, in internationalists circles, as an appeaser, and the elder Kennedy’s relations to the Eastern Establishment must have initially horrified the self-made Nixon.
However, despite his initial impressions, Nixon agreed to meet with the Boston politician. As it turned out, Kennedy was hoping to acquire a job for his younger son, Robert. After meeting with the Old Joe, Nixon later stated, “That god damned Mick could talk your ear off. But under the blarney, he was one tough son-of-a-bitch.” Despite his reluctance, Nixon agreed to take the younger Kennedy onto his staff.
“There was something about Bob”, Nixon would later state, “a certain fighting spirit that I recognized in myself as a young man. He was tougher than the old man in a lot of ways, and was sharp. Sharp as a tack.”
It seems likely that Nixon’s agreement to take on Robert Kennedy was done mostly for political purposes. The Senator had already set his eyes upon higher national office, and connections with the powerful Kennedy family, despite the differences in parties, wouldn’t hurt him in the Northeast. And, as for Joe, the up-and-coming Nixon might be equally useful in his quest to elect his sons to the Presidency.
No matter the political arithmetic which motivated the decision to offer a job to Robert Kennedy, Nixon’s offer proved the beginning of one of the strangest friendships of 20th century American politics. [FN1]
The Life and Times of Thomas Dewey: Victory in Defeat
By: Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.
[Boston: Harvard University Press, 1992]
…
Dewey’s first years in the White House were frustrating. Faced with a Congress controlled by the opposition, and a deeply divided party, Dewey had difficulty in passing much of his legislative package. The situation was enraging; as Governor of New York, Dewey had had tight control over the state’s legislature, which rarely attempted to pass bills against his own wishes. However, the situation in Washington was different, and Dewey found himself having difficulty in maneuvering around the established Party bosses of Congress, many of whom were Southern Democrats and in alliance with the conservatives of his own party.
Dewey was not without any victories, however; during the course of the 81st Congress, the Central Intelligence Agency Act passed, and john Foster Dulles, brother of the Secretary of State and a longtime Dewey ally, was named to head the agency. Congress also passed a revised version of Taft-Hartley, which slightly loosened restrictions upon labor unions. [FN2]
Most of Dewey’s greatest victories came in the field of foreign affairs, where his policies built upon that of his predecessors. In 1950, Congress passed the Asian Reconstruction Act, dubbed as a “Marshall Plan for Asia” which gave much needed aid to the nations of East Asia. The collapse of the Republic of China, and the flight of the government to Taiwan, gave credence to Dewey’s long standing conviction that ignoring the well being of East Asia would lead to the entire continent falling to Communism. In a similar vein, Dewey pushed for a NATO-like alliance with Asian nations; the South Pacific Treaty Organization (SPTO) would eventually be ratified in 1953.
In order to pass even these bills, however, the President was forced to rely on a loose coalition of votes in Congress, usually consisting of Moderates and Liberals of his own Party, and moderate New Dealers in the Democratic Party. Except in matters of foreign policy, he often found himself frustrated by the Southern Democrat-Conservative Republican coalition. This coalition sent Dewey his greatest set back during the 81st Congress, when it refused to act on Voting rights in the South, a campaign promise on the part of Dewey, and one which he sincerely believed in. Frustrated, the President signed an executive order, further desegregating the federal government, and creating harsh penalties for those government contractors who practiced segregated hiring practices. This act as hailed by the newly elected Senator from Minnesota, Hubert Humphrey, who w quickly becoming the administrations messenger to liberal Democrats. [FN3]
Such domestic concerns, however, would be greatly overshadowed as the Korean War began to break out in 1950.
[FN1] In OTL one of the biggest factors the lead to RFK working with McCarthy was Joe Sr.’s to create alliances with other Catholic politicians, no matter the party that they belonged too. However, there is every reason to believe that RFK and, one must assume, his Father both believes strongly in the Anti-Communist cause. Even later in life, when asked about his involvement, Kennedy would often respond that he had been a true believer at the time, although he had since come to be somewhat embarrassed about it.
I think there is something about the investigative life which RFK enjoyed, and would do so likewise in the ATL. Furthermore, considering the reputation of Joe Sr. as an appeaser, RFK working to defeat the internal enemies of the United States works to help rehabilitate the family’s reputation. As a result, I think it somewhat reasonable, that Joe would still try to swing such a job for Robert.
As to Nixon’s agreement? Well, it may well help him with the Catholic vote in the future, and it is unlikely to do him any harm.
I have to admit, the thought of Nixon as a mentor-life figure to RFK in his early life is … almost too good to pass up J
[FN2] In OTL, Dewey admitted some troubles with Taft-Hartley, and promised that, if elected, he would look into the bill to make it more manageable. In the ATL he has the chance to do so. Working to loosen the restrictions is good politics in trying to snap away some of the Union vote from the Democrats, in any case. Besides, Dewey had a passion for strong organization, and a clean running government. Streaming lining a bill like this just seems too perfect.
[FN3] Dewey, much like Nelson Rockefeller later on, had a good deal of admiration for HHH. In OTL he once said, and I’m going to paraphrase somewhat, “There isn’t three degrees of separation between his politics and ours.” Considering the HHH is even more ostracized in the ATL Democratic Party than in OTL (his civil rights plank drove the Dixiecrats out and cost the Democrats the election), and just how utterly lonely he was in OTL until meeting LBJ (who is also gone in this TL) it seems likely the HHH might fall into the supporters of the administration crowd. Everything has two sides however, and I could see his standing amongst liberals being a bit higher in the ATL (“he stood up for his principals, and sacrificed his party the Presidency, and his own reputation. That takes guts!)
And here is the promised post about Dewey's domestic policy, in brief. The next chapter i'm going to focus a bit more on his foreign policy (where there are some small, but significant, differences which will have ramifications later)\
I understand this was a bit brief; I wanted to get back into the habit of writing this TL after the Christmas break, but didn't want to overly bog the post down either. If you have any questions or suggestions, let me know, and I'd be happy to try to work them into the next update or two.
