Historical Context: February, 1944

The Star Theatre in Hays, Kansas advertised Four Jills in a Jeep at the end of February, 1944, part of a double-bill.

Earlier in February of ’44, Wendell Willkie (R) announced he would again seek his party’s nomination to run against Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who would seek a fourth term.

Willkie had run against Roosevelt in 1940 for the presidency. Ultimately, he won only 10 states (82 electoral votes to Roosevelt’s 449). His showing in the popular vote totaled some 22 million and was the largest ever received by a Republican to that time.

Support of Roosevelt’s war policies brought considerable opposition to Willkie’s renomination in 1944, and after his defeat in the Wisconsin primary, he withdrew from the race. Thomas E. Dewey would be the ultimate Republican candidate, and Roosevelt would defeat him to win an unprecedented fourth term.