Truman's Presidential campaign in Illinois, sex research, and the 1964 orange-ballot election featured in latest Journal of Illinois History

SPRINGFIELD - Harry S. Truman's 1948 whistle-stop Presidential campaign as it came through Illinois, sex research done in Peoria that helped build the Kinsey reports, and the notorious 1964 election that featured all 177 Illinois House candidates on a single three-foot-long orange ballot are featured in the latest issue of the Journal of Illinois History, a scholarly publication about the state's history.

Few observers thought the President Harry S. Truman could win the election of 1948. Nowhere was the picture grimmer than in Illinois, where Democratic Party officials feared that the Republican ticket headed by presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey and incumbent governor Dwight Green would sweep the field. If Truman were to reverse the tide and achieve the impossible, Illinois was a "must-win" state with its 28 electoral votes. Truman ended up spending more time in Illinois than in most any other state during the campaign. He made a 140-mile motorcade journey through southern Illinois, a day-long whistle-stop trip through central Illinois with a lengthy appearance in Springfield, a quick morning train stop in Rock Island, and attended a huge rally in Chicago days before the election. Truman's unprecedented campaign and his surprise victory shocked even the Chicago Tribune, which had printed the famous headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" before the incumbent President's victory became apparent. The article was written by long-time author and journalist Robert E. Hartley.

When Illinois native Glenn V. Ramsey was finishing his doctorate in education at Indiana University, he took part in the first session of the university's marriage course, led by Alfred C. Kinsey, in 1938. Ramsey was one of the first students to give his sex history to Kinsey, who was just beginning to collect them for his famous studies of human sexuality. But Ramsey had already done some research of his own on the behavior of adolescent boys in Peoria, Illinois, which he shared with the delighted Kinsey. Ramsey's early research and his further suggestions helped Kinsey gather the data he needed for his world-famous books. The article was written by Donna J. Drucker, Ph.D. candidate in history at Indiana University, Bloomington.

The Illinois legislature adopted a reapportionment amendment in the 1950s that required the state's legislative districts to be redrawn every ten years. The law stated that if an agreement to redraw the districts could not be reached, then all of Illinois' 177 members (at that time) of the House of Representatives would have to be elected at-large. The failure of the Legislature to re-draw the districts in 1963 resulted in the strange election of November 1964, where all of the state's voters were handed a three-foot-long, orange-colored paper ballot listing all of the candidates for the 177 House seats. The penalty provision that caused this unprecedented election has been removed from the books, but the lesson apparently has not been learned - the Illinois General Assembly has only been able to redraw legislative districts once in more than a century (1965). After handing the matter over to the Legislative Redistricting Commission, they also have only accomplished the task once, in 1971. The article was written by James L. McDowell, professor of political science at Indiana State University.

The Journal of Illinois History is the foremost publication for readers who value documented research on the state's history, and features articles, book reviews, essays and bibliographies that have been reviewed by some of the country's leading historians. The Journal is published by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (www.Illinois-History.gov). Subscriptions are $18 per year for four issues. To obtain a sample copy, contact: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Publications Section, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield, IL 62701, or call (217) 524-6045.