The Mormon Tabernacle was a prominent Salt Lake City venue during Harry S. Truman’s 1948 Western campaign tour. The account uses it both as a setting for Truman’s speeches and as a point of comparison with his opponent’s campaign: both candidates could fill the hall, but the crowds beyond its doors told a different story.

Truman’s Campaign Appearance

At the Mormon Tabernacle, Truman delivered one of the forceful attacks on Republicans that defined his campaign approach. He warned that selfish interests sought to take the cream from the country’s resources and charged that the Republican Party of the United States served those interests. The cavernous hall was packed to standing room, giving the speech a large audience for his argument against the party’s leadership and policies.

Family History and Audience Response

The venue also gave Truman an occasion to connect national campaigning with his own family history. At the Tabernacle, as at Grand Junction, he recalled his grandfather Solomon Young’s journeys across the plains and his friendship with Brigham Young. His spontaneous wish that his grandfather could see him there first drew laughter and then prolonged applause. The response linked the campaign’s public spectacle to Truman’s recurring appeal to pioneer faith and energy.

A Measure of Crowds, Not of Victory

The Tabernacle offered a striking comparison between the two campaigns. Thomas E. Dewey, like Truman, filled it to overflowing, yet his campaign staff noticed that the street turnout in Salt Lake City had been far smaller than Truman’s. The venue could hold an impressive crowd for either candidate; the book’s contrast suggests that the surrounding public reception, not the packed hall alone, better conveyed the difference between their campaigns.