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In 1948, the U.S. presidential election was approaching, and Republican candidate Thomas Dewey was confident. On the eve of the announcement of the election results, he boldly said to his wife: "Are you ready to sleep with the president of the United States?" This may seem like arrogant rhetoric, but it has its merits.
In the history of American politics, the Democrats have been saddled with defeats in the Civil War, so unless there are huge problems within the Republican Party, they are almost certain to win the presidential election once a candidate is identified. Poll data at the time also showed that the public was more inclined to support the Republican candidate, and it seemed that Dewey had won the battle.
However, the presidential election in the United States is full of uncertainty, and like the Trump election before it, both polls and media predictions may completely deviate from the final result. The Republican Party eventually lost to Democrat Harry Truman, which made Dewey's wife make fun of him, joking about whether he should go to the White House or let Truman visit. Dewey was immediately embarrassed.
The 1948 U.S. election may seem like a small part of history, but in reality, it had a profound impact on China's liberation war and Chiang Kai-shek's fate.
So what exactly is the connection between Chiang Kai-shek and Republican candidate Dewey? This photo can reveal some clues.
The photograph, taken in front of the Palace Museum, shows many Chinese holding banners that read "Dewey is lucky" and the corresponding English "good luck dewey," alongside someone holding the head of Republican elector Dewey. The photo sends a clear message: there are those who want Republicans and Dewey to win the US election, and Chiang Kai-shek is behind this photo.
If anyone in China at that time most wanted Dewey to win the US election, it was definitely Chiang Kai-shek. In the summer of 1948, Chiang Kai-shek secretly sent representatives to the United States to donate campaign funds to Republican candidate Dewey. Although presidential electors were not allowed to accept donations from foreigners under U.S. law, Dewey accepted the grant from Chiang Kai-shek due to lack of funds.
Chiang Kai-shek's funding came from previous U.S. aid to the Chinese Kuomintang army. In fact, the thing of supporting Americans with American money is truly breathtaking. After accepting Chiang Kai-shek's funding, Dewey repeatedly showed favor to Chiang Kai-shek and the Kuomintang, and even promised in his letter that if elected president of the United States, he would fully support Chiang Kai-shek in reversing the situation of China's civil war and ensuring his safe presidency of China.
However, after the election results, Chiang Kai-shek's actions backfired. Truman won the presidential election, and Chiang Kai-shek's fate was sealed.
On November 2, 1948, Truman won the support of 28 states by a landslide, receiving 303 electoral votes. Dewey was out of reach in either the universal suffrage or the electoral vote, and it was the largest presidential victory in Democratic history.
However, Chiang Kai-shek bet all his chips on Dewey, and even personally donated election funds, but ultimately lost the election. This triggered Truman's dissatisfaction with Chiang Kai-shek, who wrote in his autobiography: "Chiang Kai-shek's army was never an excellent force, we provided Chiang Kai-shek's army with 3.5 million US dollars of military equipment, and as a result, from Beijing to Nanjing, Chiang Kai-shek's army of five million men lost to the army of 300,000 communists, and even the communists took away the equipment we aided..."
After Chiang Kai-shek's defeat, he remained unwilling and repeatedly asked the Truman administration to send American military assistance, but Truman refused his request. Truman wrote in his autobiography: "He asked me to send millions of American troops to rescue him, and I refused... Chiang Kai-shek is really hopeless, his decay is innate, I will never waste American lives to save him ... Chiang Kai-shek and his army, this bunch of bastards should be thrown into prison. ”
After Chiang Kai-shek's exile to Taiwan, the attitude of the US government became subtle
Change.
In 1950, the Liberation War had long ended, and Chiang Kai-shek went into exile in Taiwan with a group of Kuomintang troops. At that time, the Truman administration issued a statement on the Taiwan issue, making it clear that "the United States has no intention of interfering in China's internal affairs." This means that the U.S. government is no longer willing to support Chiang Kai-shek's regime, which considers Taiwan to be part of China.
However, a major event changed the way the United States views the Taiwan issue - the Korean War. When the Korean War broke out, the Truman administration revived its economic aid program for Taiwan in response to changes in the Far East. This allowed Chiang Kai-shek to gain a firm foothold in Taiwan and continue to maintain his regime.
Nevertheless, after Chiang Kai-shek lost American aid, Taiwan also faced serious economic problems. He ran out of gold reserves brought to Taiwan, the government fell into a financial crisis, and the stability of Chiang Kai-shek's regime was in jeopardy.
The development of history has fully shown that the results of the US presidential election have a far-reaching impact on the international political landscape. If Dewey had been elected, Chiang Kai-shek might have received more support and the situation might have been different. However, contrary to expectations, Chiang Kai-shek's regime encountered a major challenge in Taiwan, and the attitude of the US government changed.
Ultimately, Chiang Kai-shek's administration persisted in Taiwan for decades, but U.S. policy toward Taiwan remained complex and volatile. This history teaches us that the development of international politics is often volatile, and that the choice of a country's leader has a direct impact on the situation around the world.
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