circa 1947 With fewer than four months remaining before the
1948 presidential election, Truman's public
approval rating stood at only 36 percent. Two years earlier, Congress had been won by the
Republican Party for the first time in 15 years. His opponent,
Thomas Dewey, seemed to be planning his own move to the
White House. In search of a bold political gesture, the president turned to
Article II, Section 3, of the
Constitution, which provides that the president "may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses [of Congress], or either of them." On rare occasions, presidents have called both houses into a special session to deal with urgent matters of war and economic crisis. On July 15, several weeks after the Republican-controlled
US Congress had adjourned for the year and left much business unfinished, Truman took the unprecedented step of using his
presidential nomination acceptance speech to call both houses back into session. He delivered the speech under trying circumstances. With no
air conditioning, delegates sweltered in the
Philadelphia convention hall's oven-like atmosphere. When Truman finally stepped before the
cameras in the first televised
Democratic convention in 1948, organizers had lost all hope of controlling the schedule. At 1:45 a.m., speaking only from an outline, Truman quickly electrified the tired delegates. In announcing the special session, he challenged the Republican majority to live up to its own
platform from its own recently concluded convention to pass laws to ensure
civil rights, extend
Social Security, and establish a national healthcare program. "They can do this job in fifteen days, if they want to do it." he challenged. The two-week session would begin on July 26, 1948, called "Turnip Day" in
Missouri. == Reaction ==