1956 United States presidential election in Tennessee
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| Elections in Tennessee |
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The 1956 United States presidential election in Tennessee took place on November 6, 1956, as part of the 1956 United States presidential election. Tennessee voters chose eleven[3] representatives, or electors, to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president. Incumbent Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower narrowly carried the state over Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, becoming the first Republican nominee ever to carry the state more than once.
For over a century after the Civil War, Tennessee was divided according to political loyalties established in that war. Unionist regions covering almost all of East Tennessee, Kentucky Pennyroyal-allied Macon County, and the five Western Highland Rim counties of Carroll, Henderson, McNairy, Hardin, and Wayne[4] voted Republican — generally by landslide margins — as they saw the Democratic Party as the "war party" who had forced them into a war they did not wish to fight.[5] Contrariwise, the rest of Middle and West Tennessee who had supported and driven the state's secession was equally fiercely Democratic as it associated the Republicans with Reconstruction.[6] After the disfranchisement of the state's African-American population by a poll tax was largely complete in the 1890s,[7] the Democratic Party was certain of winning statewide elections if united,[8] although unlike the Deep South Republicans would almost always gain thirty to forty percent of the statewide vote from mountain and Highland Rim support.
Between 1896 and 1948, the Republicans would win statewide contests three times but only in the second amiss the national anti-Wilson tide of 1920[9] did they receive down-ballot coattails by winning three congressional seats in addition to the rock-ribbed GOP First and Second Districts.[10] After the beginning of the Great Depression, however, for the next third of a century the Republicans would rarely contest statewide offices seriously despite continuing dominance of East Tennessee and half a dozen Unionist counties in the middle and west of the state.[11] State GOP leader B. Carroll Reece is widely believed to have had agreements with E. H. Crump and later Frank G. Clement and Buford Ellington that Republicans would not contest offices statewide or outside their traditional pro-Union areas.[12] The Crump machine would abruptly fall in 1948 after its leader supported Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond but his own subordinates dissented knowing that a Democratic split would hand the state to the Republicans:[13] even Crump’s long-time ally Senator Kenneth D. McKellar broke with him,[14] and a Middle Tennessee liberal, Estes Kefauver, won Tennessee's other Senate seat in 1948. In 1949, after a failed effort six years before,[15] Tennessee would substantially modify its poll tax and entirely abolish it two years later,[15] largely due to the fact that the Crump machine had “block bought” voters’ poll taxes.[16] Only eight years later, Kefauver would be on the ballot in Tennessee as the Democrats' candidate for Vice President in this election.
Polls
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Chattanooga Daily Times[17] | Likely D (flip) | September 19, 1956 |
| Spokane Chronicle[18] | Tossup | October 16, 1956 |
Results
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dwight D. Eisenhower (inc.) | 462,288 | 49.21% | |
| Democratic | Adlai Stevenson | 456,507 | 48.60% | |
| Dixiecrat | T. Coleman Andrews | 19,820 | 2.11% | |
| Prohibition | Enoch Holtwick | 789 | 0.08% | |
| Total votes | 939,404 | 100% | ||
Results by county
[edit]| County[21] | Dwight D. Eisenhower Republican |
Adlai Stevenson Democratic |
T. Coleman Andrews States’ Rights |
Enoch Holtwick Prohibition |
Margin | Total votes cast | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Anderson | 11,071 | 52.42% | 9,368 | 44.35% | 682 | 3.23% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,703 | 8.07% | 21,121 |
| Bedford | 2,258 | 33.08% | 4,517 | 66.18% | 50 | 0.73% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,259 | -33.10% | 6,825 |
| Benton | 1,279 | 36.22% | 2,231 | 63.18% | 21 | 0.59% | 0 | 0.00% | -952 | -26.96% | 3,531 |
| Bledsoe | 1,429 | 56.57% | 1,079 | 42.72% | 18 | 0.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 350 | 13.85% | 2,526 |
| Blount | 12,667 | 70.90% | 5,076 | 28.41% | 113 | 0.63% | 11 | 0.06% | 7,591 | 42.49% | 17,867 |
| Bradley | 6,247 | 65.00% | 3,225 | 33.56% | 139 | 1.45% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,022 | 31.44% | 9,611 |
| Campbell | 5,065 | 64.78% | 2,628 | 33.61% | 126 | 1.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,437 | 31.17% | 7,819 |
| Cannon | 919 | 37.13% | 1,547 | 62.51% | 9 | 0.36% | 0 | 0.00% | -628 | -25.38% | 2,475 |
| Carroll | 4,235 | 55.80% | 3,232 | 42.58% | 123 | 1.62% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,003 | 13.22% | 7,590 |
| Carter | 11,218 | 78.80% | 2,933 | 20.60% | 85 | 0.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,285 | 58.20% | 14,236 |
| Cheatham | 498 | 17.72% | 2,297 | 81.71% | 11 | 0.39% | 5 | 0.18% | -1,799 | -63.99% | 2,811 |
| Chester | 1,460 | 48.85% | 1,495 | 50.02% | 32 | 1.07% | 2 | 0.07% | -35 | -1.17% | 2,989 |
| Claiborne | 3,377 | 62.21% | 1,973 | 36.35% | 34 | 0.63% | 44 | 0.81% | 1,404 | 25.86% | 5,428 |
| Clay | 902 | 48.31% | 948 | 50.78% | 17 | 0.91% | 0 | 0.00% | -46 | -2.47% | 1,867 |
| Cocke | 5,526 | 82.29% | 1,121 | 16.69% | 39 | 0.58% | 29 | 0.43% | 4,405 | 65.60% | 6,715 |
| Coffee | 2,389 | 32.42% | 4,930 | 66.90% | 50 | 0.68% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,541 | -34.48% | 7,369 |
| Crockett | 1,026 | 33.02% | 1,964 | 63.21% | 105 | 3.38% | 12 | 0.39% | -938 | -30.19% | 3,107 |
| Cumberland | 3,200 | 62.00% | 1,925 | 37.30% | 36 | 0.70% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,275 | 24.70% | 5,161 |
| Davidson | 37,077 | 39.08% | 56,822 | 59.89% | 975 | 1.03% | 0 | 0.00% | -19,745 | -20.81% | 94,874 |
| Decatur | 1,512 | 48.76% | 1,554 | 50.11% | 35 | 1.13% | 0 | 0.00% | -42 | -1.35% | 3,101 |
| DeKalb | 1,690 | 45.76% | 1,982 | 53.67% | 21 | 0.57% | 0 | 0.00% | -292 | -7.91% | 3,693 |
| Dickson | 1,247 | 24.38% | 3,799 | 74.29% | 68 | 1.33% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,552 | -49.91% | 5,114 |
| Dyer | 2,682 | 36.21% | 4,524 | 61.08% | 201 | 2.71% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,842 | -24.87% | 7,407 |
| Fayette | 358 | 18.19% | 639 | 32.47% | 971 | 49.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -332[b] | -16.87% | 1,968 |
| Fentress | 2,233 | 69.52% | 934 | 29.08% | 30 | 0.93% | 15 | 0.47% | 1,299 | 40.44% | 3,212 |
| Franklin | 1,727 | 26.19% | 4,791 | 72.65% | 77 | 1.17% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,064 | -46.46% | 6,595 |
| Gibson | 3,481 | 29.72% | 7,884 | 67.31% | 348 | 2.97% | 0 | 0.00% | -4,403 | -37.59% | 11,713 |
| Giles | 1,401 | 22.65% | 4,750 | 76.79% | 35 | 0.57% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,349 | -54.14% | 6,186 |
| Grainger | 2,497 | 72.40% | 913 | 26.47% | 39 | 1.13% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,584 | 45.93% | 3,449 |
| Greene | 7,396 | 64.87% | 3,949 | 34.63% | 57 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,447 | 30.24% | 11,402 |
| Grundy | 918 | 30.36% | 2,076 | 68.65% | 23 | 0.76% | 7 | 0.23% | -1,158 | -38.29% | 3,024 |
| Hamblen | 5,608 | 67.77% | 2,592 | 31.32% | 75 | 0.91% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,016 | 36.45% | 8,275 |
| Hamilton | 34,429 | 53.11% | 28,287 | 43.63% | 2,114 | 3.26% | 0 | 0.00% | 6,142 | 9.48% | 64,830 |
| Hancock | 1,939 | 83.29% | 350 | 15.03% | 26 | 1.12% | 13 | 0.56% | 1,589 | 68.26% | 2,328 |
| Hardeman | 818 | 24.40% | 1,754 | 52.31% | 781 | 23.29% | 0 | 0.00% | -936 | -27.91% | 3,353 |
| Hardin | 2,898 | 61.92% | 1,734 | 37.05% | 48 | 1.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,164 | 24.87% | 4,680 |
| Hawkins | 6,916 | 68.04% | 3,180 | 31.29% | 37 | 0.36% | 31 | 0.30% | 3,736 | 36.75% | 10,164 |
| Haywood | 516 | 17.04% | 2,217 | 73.22% | 295 | 9.74% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,701 | -56.18% | 3,028 |
| Henderson | 3,294 | 66.91% | 1,613 | 32.76% | 16 | 0.33% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,681 | 34.15% | 4,923 |
| Henry | 2,337 | 28.97% | 5,625 | 69.72% | 106 | 1.31% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,288 | -40.75% | 8,068 |
| Hickman | 1,040 | 29.75% | 2,439 | 69.77% | 11 | 0.31% | 6 | 0.17% | -1,399 | -40.02% | 3,496 |
| Houston | 340 | 24.55% | 1,033 | 74.58% | 8 | 0.58% | 4 | 0.29% | -693 | -50.03% | 1,385 |
| Humphreys | 713 | 19.99% | 2,841 | 79.67% | 12 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,128 | -59.68% | 3,566 |
| Jackson | 881 | 33.13% | 1,743 | 65.55% | 35 | 1.32% | 0 | 0.00% | -862 | -32.42% | 2,659 |
| Jefferson | 4,870 | 77.63% | 1,338 | 21.33% | 65 | 1.04% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,532 | 56.30% | 6,273 |
| Johnson | 3,690 | 87.44% | 503 | 11.92% | 27 | 0.64% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,187 | 75.52% | 4,220 |
| Knox | 46,167 | 60.09% | 29,768 | 38.74% | 800 | 1.04% | 96 | 0.12% | 16,399 | 21.35% | 76,831 |
| Lake | 512 | 22.80% | 1,673 | 74.49% | 61 | 2.72% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,161 | -51.69% | 2,246 |
| Lauderdale | 1,049 | 18.94% | 4,383 | 79.12% | 108 | 1.95% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,334 | -60.18% | 5,540 |
| Lawrence | 4,588 | 51.67% | 4,227 | 47.60% | 44 | 0.50% | 21 | 0.24% | 361 | 4.07% | 8,880 |
| Lewis | 522 | 28.16% | 1,321 | 71.25% | 11 | 0.59% | 0 | 0.00% | -799 | -43.09% | 1,854 |
| Lincoln | 1,207 | 21.21% | 4,434 | 77.90% | 51 | 0.90% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,227 | -56.69% | 5,692 |
| Loudon | 4,583 | 60.91% | 2,844 | 37.80% | 75 | 1.00% | 22 | 0.29% | 1,739 | 23.11% | 7,524 |
| Macon | 2,207 | 66.96% | 1,069 | 32.43% | 20 | 0.61% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,138 | 34.53% | 3,296 |
| Madison | 6,642 | 41.42% | 8,540 | 53.25% | 810 | 5.05% | 45 | 0.28% | -1,898 | -11.83% | 16,037 |
| Marion | 2,925 | 50.45% | 2,781 | 47.96% | 92 | 1.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 144 | 2.49% | 5,798 |
| Marshall | 1,527 | 26.58% | 4,100 | 71.37% | 94 | 1.64% | 24 | 0.42% | -2,573 | -44.79% | 5,745 |
| Maury | 2,853 | 29.39% | 6,662 | 68.64% | 191 | 1.97% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,809 | -39.25% | 9,706 |
| McMinn | 6,075 | 59.83% | 3,950 | 38.90% | 93 | 0.92% | 35 | 0.34% | 2,125 | 20.93% | 10,153 |
| McNairy | 3,349 | 57.37% | 2,403 | 41.16% | 86 | 1.47% | 0 | 0.00% | 946 | 16.21% | 5,838 |
| Meigs | 847 | 51.93% | 759 | 46.54% | 21 | 1.29% | 4 | 0.25% | 88 | 5.39% | 1,631 |
| Monroe | 4,998 | 58.28% | 3,511 | 40.94% | 55 | 0.64% | 12 | 0.14% | 1,487 | 17.34% | 8,576 |
| Montgomery | 2,778 | 25.41% | 8,034 | 73.48% | 122 | 1.12% | 0 | 0.00% | -5,256 | -48.07% | 10,934 |
| Moore | 270 | 23.14% | 893 | 76.52% | 4 | 0.34% | 0 | 0.00% | -623 | -53.38% | 1,167 |
| Morgan | 2,402 | 62.83% | 1,379 | 36.07% | 42 | 1.10% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,023 | 26.76% | 3,823 |
| Obion | 2,349 | 30.76% | 5,185 | 67.89% | 103 | 1.35% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,836 | -37.13% | 7,637 |
| Overton | 1,508 | 38.44% | 2,385 | 60.80% | 15 | 0.38% | 15 | 0.38% | -877 | -22.36% | 3,923 |
| Perry | 694 | 39.43% | 1,052 | 59.77% | 14 | 0.80% | 0 | 0.00% | -358 | -20.34% | 1,760 |
| Pickett | 985 | 63.30% | 560 | 35.99% | 11 | 0.71% | 0 | 0.00% | 425 | 27.31% | 1,556 |
| Polk | 2,136 | 58.22% | 1,533 | 41.78% | 0 | 0.00% | 0 | 0.00% | 603 | 16.44% | 3,669 |
| Putnam | 3,492 | 43.63% | 4,481 | 55.98% | 31 | 0.39% | 0 | 0.00% | -989 | -12.35% | 8,004 |
| Rhea | 2,516 | 55.70% | 1,930 | 42.73% | 71 | 1.57% | 0 | 0.00% | 586 | 12.97% | 4,517 |
| Roane | 6,147 | 56.82% | 4,531 | 41.88% | 131 | 1.21% | 9 | 0.08% | 1,616 | 14.94% | 10,818 |
| Robertson | 1,517 | 23.25% | 4,961 | 76.02% | 34 | 0.52% | 14 | 0.21% | -3,444 | -52.77% | 6,526 |
| Rutherford | 2,713 | 29.15% | 6,494 | 69.78% | 99 | 1.06% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,781 | -40.63% | 9,306 |
| Scott | 3,282 | 79.10% | 842 | 20.29% | 25 | 0.60% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,440 | 58.81% | 4,149 |
| Sequatchie | 683 | 43.89% | 859 | 55.21% | 14 | 0.90% | 0 | 0.00% | -176 | -11.32% | 1,556 |
| Sevier | 6,950 | 86.46% | 1,043 | 12.98% | 40 | 0.50% | 5 | 0.06% | 5,907 | 73.48% | 8,038 |
| Shelby | 65,690 | 48.65% | 62,051 | 45.96% | 7,284 | 5.39% | 0 | 0.00% | 3,639 | 2.69% | 135,025 |
| Smith | 1,267 | 29.96% | 2,949 | 69.73% | 8 | 0.19% | 5 | 0.12% | -1,682 | -39.77% | 4,229 |
| Stewart | 560 | 20.77% | 2,120 | 78.64% | 16 | 0.59% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,560 | -57.87% | 2,696 |
| Sullivan | 18,903 | 56.42% | 14,106 | 42.10% | 206 | 0.61% | 291 | 0.87% | 4,797 | 14.32% | 33,506 |
| Sumner | 2,123 | 22.28% | 7,368 | 77.34% | 36 | 0.38% | 0 | 0.00% | -5,245 | -55.06% | 9,527 |
| Tipton | 983 | 16.26% | 4,828 | 79.87% | 234 | 3.87% | 0 | 0.00% | -3,845 | -63.61% | 6,045 |
| Trousdale | 209 | 16.76% | 1,032 | 82.76% | 6 | 0.48% | 0 | 0.00% | -823 | -66.00% | 1,247 |
| Unicoi | 3,978 | 77.71% | 1,111 | 21.70% | 30 | 0.59% | 0 | 0.00% | 2,867 | 56.01% | 5,119 |
| Union | 2,154 | 79.69% | 535 | 19.79% | 14 | 0.52% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,619 | 59.90% | 2,703 |
| Van Buren | 381 | 38.45% | 602 | 60.75% | 8 | 0.81% | 0 | 0.00% | -221 | -22.30% | 991 |
| Warren | 1,954 | 32.58% | 4,014 | 66.92% | 30 | 0.50% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,060 | -34.34% | 5,998 |
| Washington | 13,471 | 71.23% | 5,314 | 28.10% | 127 | 0.67% | 0 | 0.00% | 8,157 | 43.13% | 18,912 |
| Wayne | 2,557 | 70.67% | 1,045 | 28.88% | 16 | 0.44% | 0 | 0.00% | 1,512 | 41.79% | 3,618 |
| Weakley | 2,720 | 36.22% | 4,717 | 62.81% | 61 | 0.81% | 12 | 0.16% | -1,997 | -26.59% | 7,510 |
| White | 1,346 | 35.81% | 2,378 | 63.26% | 35 | 0.93% | 0 | 0.00% | -1,032 | -27.45% | 3,759 |
| Williamson | 1,979 | 31.86% | 4,174 | 67.20% | 58 | 0.93% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,195 | -35.34% | 6,211 |
| Wilson | 2,266 | 30.04% | 5,221 | 69.21% | 57 | 0.76% | 0 | 0.00% | -2,955 | -39.17% | 7,544 |
| Totals | 462,288 | 49.21% | 456,507 | 48.60% | 19,820 | 2.11% | 789 | 0.08% | 5,781 | 0.61% | 939,404 |
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
[edit]Counties that flipped from Democratic to Unpledged
[edit]Analysis
[edit]In 1952, Dwight D. Eisenhower, aided by acquisition of 1948 Dixiecrat votes in West Tennessee cotton counties,[22] would carry the state for the Republicans by an 0.28 percent margin. Unlike in 1952, neither Eisenhower nor Stevenson visited the state.[17] For the 1956 presidential election, Senator Kefauver would seek the presidential nomination but was ultimately chosen by second-time Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson II as his running mate. Despite some campaigners writing the state off for the GOP,[23] Tennessee was won by Eisenhower with 49.21 percent of the popular vote, against Stevenson’s 48.60 percent. This was a slight increase upon Eisenhower’s 1952 margin, due entirely to large gains from 1952 amongst the substantial black electorate of Memphis.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Although he was born in Texas and grew up in Kansas before his military career, at the time of the 1952 election Eisenhower was president of Columbia University and was, officially, a resident of New York. During his first term as president, he moved his private residence to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and officially changed his residency to Pennsylvania.[2]
- ^ In this county where Andrews came first with Stevenson second and Eisenhower third, margin given is Stevenson vote minus Andrews vote and percentage margin Stevenson percentage minus Andrews percentage.
References
[edit]- ^ "United States Presidential election of 1956 — Encyclopædia Britannica". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ "The Presidents". David Leip. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
Eisenhower's home state for the 1956 Election was Pennsylvania
- ^ "1956 Election for the Forty-Fourth Term (1957-61)". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ Wright, John K. (October 1932). "Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps". Geographical Review. 22 (4): 666–672. Bibcode:1932GeoRv..22..666W. doi:10.2307/208821. JSTOR 208821.
- ^ Key (Jr.), Valdimer Orlando; Southern Politics in State and Nation (New York, 1949), pp. 282-283
- ^ Lyons, William; Scheb (II), John M.; Stair, Billy (2001). Government and Politics in Tennessee. Univ. of Tennessee Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 1572331410.
- ^ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 208, 210 ISBN 9780691163246
- ^ Grantham, Dewey W. (Fall 1995). "Tennessee and Twentieth-Century American Politics". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 54 (3): 210–229.
- ^ Reichard, Gary W. (February 1970). "The Aberration of 1920: An Analysis of Harding's Victory in Tennessee". The Journal of Southern History. 36 (1): 33–49. doi:10.2307/2206601. JSTOR 2206601.
- ^ Phillips; The Emerging Republican Majority, p. 287
- ^ Majors, William R. (1986). Change and continuity: Tennessee politics since the Civil War. Mercer University Press. p. 72. ISBN 9780865542099.
- ^ Vile, John R.; Byrnes, Mark Eaton, eds. (1998). Tennessee government and politics: democracy in the volunteer state. Vanderbilt University Press. pp. 2–3. ISBN 0826513093.
- ^ Guthrie, Paul Daniel (1955). The Dixiecrat Movement of 1948 (Thesis). Bowling Green State University. pp. 181–182. Docket 144207.
- ^ Langsdon, Phillip Royal (2000). Tennessee: A Political History. Franklin, Tennessee: Hillsboro Press. pp. 336–343. ISBN 9781577361251.
- ^ a b Ogden, Frederic D. (1958). The poll tax in the South. University of Alabama Press. p. 193.
- ^ Ogden, The poll tax in the South, pp. 97-99
- ^ a b Bartlett, Charles (September 19, 1956). "No Tennessee Visit Planned by Eisenhower, Stevenson". Chattanooga Daily Times. p. 1.
- ^ Edson, Arthur (October 16, 1956). "Eisenhower Popularity in Tennessee Seems to Be Waning". Spokane Chronicle. p. 18.
- ^ "1956 Presidential General Election Results — Tennessee". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ "The American Presidency Project — Election of 1956". Retrieved July 5, 2017.
- ^ "TN US President, November 06, 1956". Our Campaigns.
- ^ Strong, Donald S. (August 1955). "The Presidential Election in the South, 1952". The Journal of Politics. 17 (3). The University of Chicago Press: 343–389. doi:10.1017/S0022381600091064.
- ^ "Dewey Sees Ike Gaining in State". The Knoxville Journal. October 30, 1956. p. 10.
