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August 17, 1948 MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT: Subject: The 1948 Campaign. HARRY ARCHIVES NATIONAL TRUMAN URRANT NECORDS SERVICE GOVERNMENT 1. What should be the main objectives of the Democratic campaign? a. The first objective is to win a large majority of the 15,000,000 independent voters who overwhelmingly followed the liberal leadership of the Democratic Party in the last four elections. This should be done by driving home to them the failures of the 80th Congress, by linking Dewey closely to the leadership of that Congress, and by presenting the President as a crusader rallying the people to save the tre- mendous social gains made under the New Deal and carried forward by his administration in a difficult post-war period over the opposition of a reactionary Congress. b. The second objective is to win support from three large groups in the Nation which can swing the election and are already pre- dominantly Democratic in their inclinations: workers, veterans, and Negroes. This does not mean that farmers, small businessmen, and other groups should be overlooked, but it does mean that the larger effort of the campaign should be concentrated on the three groups named above. C. The third objective is to cut through all party lines by showing that the President's policy has kept the Nation on a road lead- ing to peace, and that changes in this policy may lead to war.

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