WI: Dewey Defeats Truman

One of the more easy PODs to imagine is what-if NY Governor Tom Dewey defeated President Harry Truman. Quite a lot happened in Truman's second term, and it would be interesting to imagine what would happen if Dewey, a liberal/moderate Republican, had won the Presidency. So I ask you, forum members, what do you think?

Thomas Dewey/Earl Warren (R): 48% of the PV, 305 EVs
Harry Truman/Alben Barkley (D): 46% of the PV, 188 EVs
Strom Thurmond/Fielding Wright (SR): 2% of the PV, 38 EVs
Henry Wallace/Glen Taylor (P): 2% of the PV
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Technocrat

Banned
If I recall, Dewey will roll back some of the New Deal programs, which will probably make the late 40's and 50's a less prosperous and expansionist time. He might completely derail the home ownership boom that created commuter suburbs all over the country. He'll keep enough to keep people well-fed and content, but it'll be closer to living in postwar Britain than in the grand US FDR's legacy created. Oh, with the foreign markets cleared the rich will do as well as they did, business will grow as well, but that will be incapable of filtering down to the families of the country thanks to the teeth being taken out of the New Deal legacy.

So less small business, less self-employment, less college educations, less home ownership - more people living in cities post-war, really concentrated in cities maybe - with the farmers screwed by their subsidies taken away and wealthy corporations buying up all the land and letting it go to rot.

A poorer, hollower America that will basically be much more European in its economic condition would be the result; I think.
 
There's a good chance Earl Warren never gets on the supreme court, unless he quits as vice president during his second term. If Dewey wins reelection and Warren pursues the nomination in 1956, I think he'd be pretty tough to beat. Though much depends on both how Dewey's presidency goes and who the Democrats nominate.
Speaking of which, who would the Democrats most likely nominate in 1952? They're likely to be stronger than they were in OTL. If the Korean war is a mess(I'm not sure how Dewey would have handled it), maybe they'd be able to convince Eisenhower or some other general to run?

Also, our OTL presidents fates would be intresting. Johnson, Nixon, and Kennedy's pivotal senate elections might turn out differently with Dewey becoming president and the Republicans controlling goverment.
 
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If I recall, Dewey will roll back some of the New Deal programs, which will probably make the late 40's and 50's a less prosperous and expansionist time. He might completely derail the home ownership boom that created commuter suburbs all over the country. He'll keep enough to keep people well-fed and content, but it'll be closer to living in postwar Britain than in the grand US FDR's legacy created. Oh, with the foreign markets cleared the rich will do as well as they did, business will grow as well, but that will be incapable of filtering down to the families of the country thanks to the teeth being taken out of the New Deal legacy.

So less small business, less self-employment, less college educations, less home ownership - more people living in cities post-war, really concentrated in cities maybe - with the farmers screwed by their subsidies taken away and wealthy corporations buying up all the land and letting it go to rot.

A poorer, hollower America that will basically be much more European in its economic condition would be the result; I think.

But Dewey were not the same (politically speak) of Eisenhower (a moderate Repubblican)?

Will Dewey get us into NATO?

I think yes.
Dewey was not a isolationist,was very,very different from Taft.

If the Korean war is a mess

But if Dewey not commit the mistake to withdraw American troops from Korea in 1949 (like Truman and Acheson),we have a Korean war?

Following the elections, North and South Korea formed separate governments with territorial divisions. North Korea then asked for withdrawal of US and Soviet armies. In response, the Soviet Union that was geographically closer to Korea first started to withdraw troops in October 1948. In South Korea, there was a suggestion that US troops remain to contain North Korean threat. This led to temporary delay of withdrawal of the US troops. However, in June 1949, the US army completed withdrawal from South Korea leaving behind only a military supervisory group of about 500 people
 

Technocrat

Banned
No, you see Dewey was a liberal running on a "let's roll back some of the New Deal" platform, Eisenhower was a moderate to conservative running on a "we'll leave the New Deal alone, so elect a Republican already please" platform.

Confusing, I know, but after the Dewey defeat the Republicans realized they couldn't win if they kept challenging the New Deal.
 
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