Seventy-five years ago today (December 29, 1947) The New Republic announced that its editor, Henry A. Wallace, was resigning. The news came on the same day that Wallace delivered a radio address announcing his intention to run as an independent candidate in the 1948 presidential election. "When the old parties rot, the people have a right to be heard through a new party," he told listeners.
Neither announcement came as a total surprise. A week earlier The New Republic's publisher, Michael Straight, said publicly that Wallace would have to leave his post if he ran for office, adding that the magazine "will not be the organ of a third party."
Wallace had joined the magazine in December 1946 after serving one term (1941 to 1945) as vice president of the U.S., followed by a brief stint as secretary of commerce (1945 to 1946). Earlier in his career he had been the editor of a newspaper for farmers.
Ultimately, Wallace's Progressive Party ticket finished fourth in the election, trailing Harry Truman, who won in what was perceived as an upset; the Republican Thomas E. Dewey; and another independent candidate, the Southern segregationist Strom Thurmond. In total, Wallace received about 2.4% of the popular vote and exactly 0% of the electoral vote.
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