1944 United States elections 1944 United States elections The 1944 United States elections was held on November 7, 1944, taking place just a month after the Allies liberated Paris in World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was re-elected to an unprecedented fourth term, while the Democrats retained their majorities in both chambers of Congress. Seeking a record fourth term, Democratic incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt was challenged by Republican Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York. Dewey ran an energetic campaign, seeking a smaller government and a less-regulated economy as the end of World War II seemed in sight. Roosevelt dominated the electoral
Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt Criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt Both during and after his presidential terms and continuing today, there has been much criticism of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Critics have questioned not only his policies and positions, but also charged him with centralizing power in his own hands by controlling both the government and the Democratic Party. Many denounced his breaking the no-third-term tradition in 1940. By the middle of his second term, much criticism of Roosevelt centered on fears that he was heading toward a dictatorship by attempting to seize control of the Supreme Court in the Court-packing incident of 1937, attempting to