Richard Norton Smith and Thomas E. Dewey, III, talked about the life and career of 1944 and '48 Republican presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey (1902-1971). They responded to telephone calls and electronic communications from the Governor’s Suite in the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City. The suite was named for the three-term New York governor who, with his family, spent much of his time there. It is where he learned of his famous defeat by President Truman in 1948. Governor Dewey also lost against President Roosevelt in 1940. Prior to that he was one of the most famous prosecuting attorneys in the country and he remained powerful in the Republican Party. A debate audio clip and numerous video clips of speeches, newsreels, and campaign films were shown.
“The Contenders: They Lost the Election But Changed Political History” is a C-SPAN series of live programs about 14 presidential candidates before 1996 who lost the election but who had a lasting effect on U.S. politics.