November 10th 1944. It was a week after FDR had won the reelection for the unprecedented fourth term. In one of the rare photos from 1944 Presidential Election, haggard-looking President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Vice President-elect Harry S. Truman sit in a car with sitting Vice President Henry Wallace relocated into the backseat. Taken at Union Station in Washington, D.C., by Abbie Rowe
In one of the most ruthless backdoor dealings in recent political history, Wallace was dumped as the Vice Presidential candidate in favor of Truman when the Democratic Party doubted FDR’s chances of getting elected for the fourth term. Wallace was unpopular with the leaders of his party, who didn’t like his liberal politics and considered him unreliable and eccentric. The nomination went to Harry S. Truman, who did not actively seek it, and whom Roosevelt hardly knew. Within six months, FDR would be dead, and Truman would be President.
Just for what it’s worth, you might want to edit the title of this article, since it’s FDR not FRD 🙂