The Also-Rans
Mark A. Lempke explores what losing presidential candidates can tell us about United States history. There's a lot more than elections here; we'll explore U.S. culture, religion, politics, and society along the way. Intended for politics nerds, history buffs, and all those who have suffered some kind of humiliating defeat.
The Also-Rans
Episode 7: We Want Willkie!
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Mark A. Lempke
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Season 1
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Episode 7
In 1940, with World War II already underway in Europe, the Republicans nominate...a former Democrat who had never held office before. How did Wendell Willkie, "the barefoot boy from Wall Street", come to take the GOP by storm? And why is it so important that both parties nominated an internationalist that year?
To fully understand these questions, we need to delve deep into the final chapter of Willkie's public life-- his "One World" tour across the globe during the middle of the war. Samuel "Sandy" Zipp from Brown University is our guest expert.