Five Days in Philadelphia : The Amazing "We Want Wilkie!" Convention of 1940 and How It Freed FDR to Save the Western World

by Peters, Charles

• ISBN13: 9781586481124
• ISBN10: 1586481126
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-05
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

There were four strong contenders when the Republican party met in June of 1940 in Philadelphia to nominate its candidate for president: the crusading young attorney and rising Republican star Tom Dewey, solid members of the Republican establishment Robert Taft and Arthur Vandenberg, and dark horse Wendell Willkie, utilities executive, favorite of the literati and only very recently even a Republican. The leading Republican candidates campaigned as isolationists. The charismatic Willkie, newcomer and upstager, was a liberal interventionist, just as anti-Hitler as FDR. After five days of floor rallies, telegrams from across the country, multiple ballots, rousing speeches, backroom deals, terrifying international news, and, most of all, the relentless chanting of "We Want Willkie" from the gallery, Willkie walked away with the nomination.The story of how this happened and of how essential his nomination would prove in allowing FDR to save Britain and prepare this country for entry into World War II is all told in Charles Peters'Five Days in Philadelphia. As Peters shows, these five action-packed days and their improbable outcome were as important as the Battle of Britain in defeating the Nazis.

Author Biography

Charles Peters managed John F. Kennedy's 1960 primary in West Virginia's largest county, then moved to Washington D.C. to help launch the Peace Corps and to found the Washington Monthly, which he edited for thirty-one years. He won the Columbia Journalism Award and the first Richard M. Clurman award for mentoring young journalists, such as James Fallows, Nicholas Lemann, Michael Kinsley, and Pulitzer Prize winners Katharine Boo and Taylor Branch. His previous books include How Washington Really Works, which the New York Times called, "wise, funny."

Table of Contents

PART I DANGER LOOMS
``World of Tomorrow''	3	(19)
``A Stunning Combination of Intellect and Homely Warmth''	22	(20)
The Hurricane of Events	42	(15)
PART II THE GREATEST CONVENTION
``Just the Next President of the United States''	57	(14)
Monday, June 24, 1940	71	(6)
Tuesday, June 25, 1940	77	(10)
Wednesday, June 26, 1940	87	(11)
Thursday, June 27, 1940	98	(11)
Friday, June 28, 1940	109	(10)
PART III ``SAVING FREEDOM AT A MOMENT OF GREAT PERIL''
``I Still Don't Want to Run''	119	(14)
``The Convention Is Bleeding to Death''	133	(21)
The Deal and the Muster	154	(20)
``Sail on O Ship of State!''	174	(25)
Notes	199	(52)
Bibliography	251	(10)
Photo Credits	261	(2)
Acknowledgments	263	(2)
Index	265