WI: Henry Wallace picks Paul Robeson as his Running Mate

Paul Robeson sang in and was conversant in more than 20 languages, and at one time carried enough clout to be considered for a vice presidential spot on Henry A. Wallace's 1948 Progressive Party ticket.

So What If former VP Henry Wallace picked Paul Robeson as his Running Mate in 1948. How might the election turn out? Could the ticket possibly win any states? Would It hurt a major part of Truman's base and cause the Dixecrats to have something to rally behind?
 
The election results would not change by much. The Communist Party in the U.S. supported the Progressives that year and there was no chance in hell any ticket with Communist support would be able to win a significant amount of votes. At best, they may garner a few more black votes due to Robeson.
 
The election results would not change by much. The Communist Party in the U.S. supported the Progressives that year and there was no chance in hell any ticket with Communist support would be able to win a significant amount of votes. At best, they may garner a few more black votes due to Robeson.

You see that's the problem is the Communist Party support in '48...What we need is an earlier POD...Let's say FDR doesn't drop Wallace from the the ticket in '44 and Wallace becomes our nations 33rd President in 1945.

The Wallace first term(1945-1949) would be served without a VP as was in OTL with Truman. However in 1948, Wallace being the closet Progressive he trully is, decides to pick up his good friend and loyal supporter Paul Robeson as his Running Mate.

So what happens next? How does the 1948 election look in TTL during a Wallace Presidency? Does Truman run on a Third Party ticket? What about the Dixicrats?
 
So what happens next? How does the 1948 election look in TTL during a Wallace Presidency? Does Truman run on a Third Party ticket? What about the Dixicrats?

Short version: Thomas Dewey can draw up plans for moving into the White House in January 1949.

The Dixiecrats would surely come on as in OTL, with a stronger showing: guessing they'd carry Georgia, Arkansas, and Tennessee in addition to Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana. In addition, look for defections from the Democrats in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio sufficient to tilt those states into the GOP column.

Truman and perhaps a few others (Alben Barkley, for example) would have contested Wallace's nomination, but it's tough to unseat an incumbent. And those men were staunch party members who would be unlikely to bolt, unlike the southerners.
 
Short version: Thomas Dewey can draw up plans for moving into the White House in January 1949.

The Dixiecrats would surely come on as in OTL, with a stronger showing: guessing they'd carry Georgia, Arkansas, and Tennessee in addition to Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana. In addition, look for defections from the Democrats in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio sufficient to tilt those states into the GOP column.

Truman and perhaps a few others (Alben Barkley, for example) would have contested Wallace's nomination, but it's tough to unseat an incumbent. And those men were staunch party members who would be unlikely to bolt, unlike the southerners.

So what your saying is that you believe those states of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio all of which a pretty significant Black Population would tilt GOP during the election?

Also, If a Stronger Dixiecrat race wins a few more states than it did in OTL, might it force the vote to the House of Representatives and In that way force Wallace/Robeson to make concessions of the Civil Rights issues?
 

Xen

Banned
So what your saying is that you believe those states of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio all of which a pretty significant Black Population would tilt GOP during the election?

In 1948 certainly! I can see the KKK keeping blacks from voting, the split in the Democratic Party is more than enough to turn those states to the GOP for the 1948 election, and give Dewey the Presidency.
 
wasn't Robeson alredy known for being a Communist in 1948? If he gets enough black votes for Wallace, it might swing New York and Pennsylvania to Dewey, forcing the election to the house, where Dewey or Truman would have to make concessions to the arch-segregationist Thurmond...all of which would be very counterproductive for Robeson and his fellow African-Americans.
 
wasn't Robeson alredy known for being a Communist in 1948? If he gets enough black votes for Wallace, it might swing New York and Pennsylvania to Dewey, forcing the election to the house, where Dewey or Truman would have to make concessions to the arch-segregationist Thurmond...all of which would be very counterproductive for Robeson and his fellow African-Americans.

What Kinda Concessions do you think Wallace/Robeson would have to make to the Dixicrats? Probably a more laxed stance on Segregration? How might Wallace handle Korea with a Communist Sympthizer in his back pocket?
 
What Kinda Concessions do you think Wallace/Robeson would have to make to the Dixicrats? Probably a more laxed stance on Segregration? How might Wallace handle Korea with a Communist Sympthizer in his back pocket?

Wallace had no chance of winning. He probably knew that.

Please re-read what I wrote: Wallace would not have made concessions to the Dixiecrats even if he were in a position where he had to do so to win the presidency. Thurmond's plan was to force the election into the house, where he and his fellow southern democrats could extract concessions to protect Jim Crow from Dewey or Truman.
 
Wallace had no chance of winning. He probably knew that.

Please re-read what I wrote: Wallace would not have made concessions to the Dixiecrats even if he were in a position where he had to do so to win the presidency. Thurmond's plan was to force the election into the house, where he and his fellow southern democrats could extract concessions to protect Jim Crow from Dewey or Truman.

Although...If Wallace was already the President in TTL where FDR doesn't drop him from the ticket but picks Robeson up for during his reelection campaign in 1948? would it still go down with a Wallace as the Incumbent?
 
Although...If Wallace was already the President in TTL where FDR doesn't drop him from the ticket but picks Robeson up for during his reelection campaign in 1948? would it still go down with a Wallace as the Incumbent?
picking an avowed Communist as his VP would doom Wallace. The Democratic party would never accept it, and it would probably kick out Wallace from the top slot.
 
picking an avowed Communist as his VP would doom Wallace. The Democratic party would never accept it, and it would probably kick out Wallace from the top slot.

It seems though through some of the research ive done a late...that Robeson didn't make his Communist's sympathy's none till about 49-50. During the years of an ATL Wallace serving under FDR expired 4th term(45-49) Robeson was much more of a Civil Rights Activist than his later years.

On his frequent trips to Western Europe and the Soviet Union he was highly critical of the conditions experienced by black Americans, especially in the segregated southern states. Robeson was an activist against lynching. He pressed President Harry S. Truman aggressively on the issue in 1946, and said black people would fight back to defend themselves if the government did not. Also in 1946, he founded the American Crusade Against Lynching. Robeson‘s advocacy for the Soviet Union was controversial and led to his becoming a target by political critics.

Civil rights

Robeson spoke out against racist conditions experienced by Asian and Black Americans; he condemned segregation in both the North and the South. In particular, Robeson spoke out against lynching and, in 1946, he founded the American Crusade Against Lynching.


Might Wallace in TTL Be more supportive about Robeson and his A.C.A.L. and actively try to get some serious Anti-Lynching Legistlation passed? He is likely to recieve more Enemies when the Dixiecrats decide to leave the party in 48...But could a more defining stance on Civil Rights and his nomination of a Robeson pull enough votes for relection in '48?
 
So what your saying is that you believe those states of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio all of which a pretty significant Black Population would tilt GOP during the election?

Also, If a Stronger Dixiecrat race wins a few more states than it did in OTL, might it force the vote to the House of Representatives and In that way force Wallace/Robeson to make concessions of the Civil Rights issues?

That wasn't my initial thought: my sense is that there would be enough (covert or overt) Dixiecrat sympathizers in those states to split the otherwise-orthodox Democrat vote such that the Republicans would wind up with a plurality (not necessarily a majority!) in those states. It might have been something along the lines of a split of 34% GOP / 33 % Democrat / 31% Dixiecrat / 2% others but all that would be needed is that certified plurality to hand that state's electoral votes to the GOP.

Tougher to call that proposition for the election going into the House: if a Democrat/Dixiecrat split occurs such that the key larger states go to the GOP, that could well be avoided (and in those days, the south didn't have a lot of electoral clout). I'm guessing probably not, but that seems to be subject to more unknowns.
 
So what your saying is that you believe those states of Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and Ohio all of which a pretty significant Black Population would tilt GOP during the election?

Also, If a Stronger Dixiecrat race wins a few more states than it did in OTL, might it force the vote to the House of Representatives and In that way force Wallace/Robeson to make concessions of the Civil Rights issues?

On your first point in Illinois and Ohio they would tilt GOP as would Indiana. The Southern States would go Dixiecrat as Their large Black populations were not allowed to vote.

On your second the GOP would carry every state the Dixiecrats did not as their is no state in 1948 that is going to vote for a Black VP.
 
That wasn't my initial thought: my sense is that there would be enough (covert or overt) Dixiecrat sympathizers in those states to split the otherwise-orthodox Democrat vote such that the Republicans would wind up with a plurality (not necessarily a majority!) in those states. It might have been something along the lines of a split of 34% GOP / 33 % Democrat / 31% Dixiecrat / 2% others but all that would be needed is that certified plurality to hand that state's electoral votes to the GOP.

Tougher to call that proposition for the election going into the House: if a Democrat/Dixiecrat split occurs such that the key larger states go to the GOP, that could well be avoided (and in those days, the south didn't have a lot of electoral clout). I'm guessing probably not, but that seems to be subject to more unknowns.


Interesting so we could very much end up with a plurality...Anway for the Wallace Dem's to recieve the certified plurality...What States might tilt their way?
 
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