Before the major parties’ nominating conventions turned into extravagantly staged, made-for-TV infomercials, these gatherings were often thrown into disarray by party splits and extended impasses over whom to nominate.
The Democratic National Convention in 1924 lasted more than two weeks and required more than 100 ballots before the delegates, hopelessly split between William McAdoo and Al Smith, settled on the unknown John W. Davis, who would lose in a landslide to Republican Calvin Coolidge.
In 1968, violent riots erupted on the streets of Chicago as police attacked antiwar protesters, leading Democratic Sen. Abe Ribicoff, standing at the podium to nominate Sen. George McGovern, to denounce the “Gestapo tactics” that were distracting the public’s attention from the task inside the convention hall. Chicago Mayor Richard Daley stood up to shout obscenities at Ribicoff for insulting his police department — just one unforgettable scene from a convention remembered for intraparty turmoil. The eventual nominee, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, lost a close election to Republican Richard Nixon.
In this episode of History As It Happens, historian Michael Kazin, an expert on political and social movements, discusses the fascinating history of open conventions and the reasons why both major parties adopted new rules in the early 1970s, turning their conventions into pre-determined affairs.
“Delegates to major party conventions were not chosen by primaries or open caucuses the way they have been since the early 1970s. They were chosen by party bosses in counties and states. They were chosen because the bosses thought a particular candidate was the most ’available man,’ which is the way they used to be described back in the 19th century. Conventions were pretty exciting events because they were open, and many went to several ballots,” said Mr. Kazin, a scholar at Georgetown University and author of “What It Took To Win: A History of the Democratic Party.”
A backlash against “bossism,” a desire to make the nominating process more diverse and democratic via primary elections, and the imperative of avoiding chaos, Mr. Kazin said, led to the modern made-for-TV convention system where the nominee is known in advance.
As prominent Democrats and donors coalesce around Vice President Kamala Harris as their preferred nominee following President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race, a free-for-all in Chicago next month appears unlikely.
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