1948 Democratic National Convention

US political convention in 1948 July 2022 July 2022 1948 Democratic July 12–15, 1948 DPP48.png DPVP48.png 150 Nominees Truman and Barkley Philadelphia Convention Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Harry S. Truman Missouri Alben W. Barkley Kentucky 1944 1952 150 The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 12 to July 15, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of President Harry S. Truman for a full term and Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky for vice president in the 1948 presidential election. One of the decisive factors in convening both major party conventions in Philadelphia that year was that the eastern Pennsylvania area was part of the newly developing broadcast television market. In 1947, TV stations in New York City, Washington and Philadelphia were connected by a coaxial cable. By the summer of 1948 two of the three new television networks, NBC and CBS, had the ability to telecast along the east coast live gavel-to-gavel coverage of both conventions. In television's early days, live broadcasts were not routinely recorded, but a few minutes of Kinescope film of the conventions has survived.http://www.philasun.com/local/first-televised-democratic-convention-70-years-later-unplanned-delegate-remembers/ The first televised Democratic Convention, 70 years later: An unplanned delegate remembers Philadelphia Sun 5 August 2016 6 August 2016 Simmons, Amy V. Keynote speech The convention was called to order by the permanent chairman, Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky.Jeff Taylor (politician) Taylor Jeff 2013 Politics on a Human Scale: The American Tradition of Decentralism https://books.google.com/books?id=uVwrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA212 Lanham, MD Lexington Books 212 978-0-7391-7575-0 With delegates demoralized by Republican wins in 1946 that had given them control of Congress, and what appeared to be Truman's slim chance for reelection in his own right, on July 13 Barkley gave the keynote speech, as he had in 1932 and 1936. He roused the delegates with his opening declaration "We have assembled here for a great purpose. We are here to give the American people an accounting of our stewardship in the administration of their affairs for sixteen outstanding, eventful years, for not one of which we make an apology!"Shogan Robert June 1968 1948 Election http://www.americanheritage.com/content/1948-election American Heritage Rockville, MD American Heritage Publishing Company Barkley continued by recalling the bad times of the Great Depression of the 1930s to turn the Republicans' most-repeated attack back on them. Republicans proposed "to clean the cobwebs" from the federal government. Said Barkley: "I am not an expert on cobwebs. But if my memory does not betray me, when the Democratic party took over ... sixteen years ago, even the spiders were so weak from starvation they could not weave a cobweb in any department of the government in Washington!" Barkley concluded his hour-long oration with a visionary call for the Democrats to "lead the children of men ... into a free world and a free life," which inspired the delegates to cheer for more than 30 minutes. His rhetorical effort energized delegates, who began to recover their enthusiasm. It also propelled Barkley towards the vice presidential nomination. Dispute over civil rights thumb|right|Hubert Humphrey speaks at the convention On July 14, Northern Democrats led by Minneapolis Mayor Hubert Humphrey and Illinois Senate candidate Paul Douglas pushed for the convention to adopt a strong civil rights platform plank and endorse President Truman's pro-civil rights actions.https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94011842 In 1948, Democrats Weathered Civil Rights Divide Steve Inskeep, Ron Elving npr.org August 27, 2008 They were opposed by conservatives opposed to racial integration and by moderates who feared alienating Southern voters (regarded as essential to a Democratic victory), including some of Truman's own aides. They were supported by northeastern urban Democratic leaders, who thought the plank would appeal to the growing black vote in their cities, traditionally Republican.http://www.sas.upenn.edu/polisci/sites/www.sas.upenn.edu.polisci/files/Steven%20White.pdf "The Crackpots Hope the South Will Bolt": Civil Rights Liberalism & Roll Call Voting by Northern State Delegations at the 1948 Democratic National Convention Steven White sas.upenn.edu March 15, 2013 October 3, 2015 October 9, 2022 https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.sas.upenn.edu/polisci/sites/www.sas.upenn.edu.polisci/files/Steven%20White.pdf dead In a speech to the convention, Humphrey urged the Democratic Party to "get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights." The convention adopted the civil rights plank in a close vote (651½–582½).Katagiri, Yasuhiro. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission: Civil Rights and States' Rights Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001; p. xxiv. thumb|right|DNC vote on the civil rights plank at the 1948 DNC by state delegation The southern delegates planned on conducting a walkout during the roll call vote on the party's platform starting with the Alabama delegation, but Sam Rayburn, chair of the convention, instead used a voice vote as he believed a walkout would ruin Truman's presidential campaign. Only 35 of the 278 southern delegates, thirteen from Alabama and the entire twenty-two member Mississippi delegation, left the convention on July 15, although 23 of Alabama's 30 alternate delegates also left. The remaining southern delegates gave their support to Senator Richard Russell Jr. on the presidential ballot,Black Black 1992 98Hardeman Bacon 1990 336-338July 15, 1948 Scene Is Dramatic As Southerners Stalk Out Of Convention; Boos And Cheers Echo 1 Talladega Daily Home https://www.newspapers.com/article/talladega-daily-home-and-our-mountain-ho/129532397/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230806153239/https://www.newspapers.com/article/talladega-daily-home-and-our-mountain-ho/129532397/ August 6, 2023 Newspapers.com with North Carolina being the only Southern state to give Truman any delegates.44 The walls of Jericho Mann Robert 1996 Harcourt Brace 978-0-15-100065-4 https://archive.org/details/wallsofjericholy00mann The bolted delegates and other Southerners then formed the States' Rights Democratic Party ("Dixiecrats"), which nominated Strom Thurmond for president and Fielding L. Wright for vice president. The fight over the civil rights plank at the 1948 convention was a launching point for Humphrey as a political figure of national stature. He was elected to the Senate in November, and in 1964, Vice President of the United States. Kennedy attempt to influence convention In a phone conversation with later U.S. President Lyndon Johnson on January 27, 1968, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, who was at time of the convention not yet mayor but rising in Chicago machine politics, noted how the Kennedy family was trying to influence the 1948 Democratic National Convention, and were at the time opposed to Truman being the Democratic nominee.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tc0wT9P7nc LBJ and Richard Daley, 1/27/68, 10.58A. YouTube September 6, 2013 According to Daley, he would hurt the Kennedy attempt to influence the convention to some degree by "buying" Ed Kelly and then getting Kelly off the Democratic National Committee. Presidential nomination Presidential candidates Balloting for president and vice president took place on July 15. While Southerners who opposed the expansion of civil rights contested Truman for the nomination, he was easily nominated on the first ballot. Balloting In the absence of Southern delegates who walked out of the convention with Thurmond, Truman was nominated on a revised first ballot: Presidential BallotingCandidate1st (Before Shifts)1st (After Shifts)Truman 926947.5Russell 266263Roe 150McNutt 2.50.5Barkley 10Absent 2222Not Voting1.51 Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (July 15, 1948) Vice presidential nomination thumb|Truman and Barkley shaking hands at the convention Various Democratic Party leaders had promoted candidates for the vice presidential nomination, including Alben W. Barkley and Wilson W. Wyatt of Kentucky, William Preston Lane Jr. and Millard Tydings of Maryland, Oscar R. Ewing of Iowa, James Roosevelt of California, and Joseph C. O'Mahoney of Wyoming.July 13, 1948 Truman Happy to Take Barkley After Trying to Stop Him https://www.newspapers.com/image/139256339 St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, MO subscription Newspapers.com 1 A group of women delegates also made an unsuccessful effort to put forward former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt as a candidate.Brandon Dorothy Mrs. Conkey Has Doubts India Edwards Can Win https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-conkey/158393925/ Newspapers.com The Boston Daily Globe 26 July 2024 en July 17, 1952 2 In addition, Truman tried to interest William O. Douglas in the nomination, but Douglas declined. During the convention, Barkley's keynote speech won over the delegates, and when it became clear Barkley had more than enough support to win the nomination, Truman agreed to accept him as his running mate. Barkley was nominated by acclamation.Cornell Douglas B. July 14, 1948 Truman OK's Barkley Boom https://www.newspapers.com/image/376553521/ Owensboro Messenger Owensboro, KY subscription Newspapers.com 1 Truman's acceptance Truman was scheduled to give his acceptance speech at 10 pm on July 14, but the convention was behind schedule, so he spoke in the early morning hours of July 15.https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Truman.pdf Harry S. Truman's Speech at the 1948 Democratic National Convention—Harry S. Truman (July 15, 1948) Pietrusza David 2014 www.loc.gov Library of Congress Washington, DC 3, 4 In his opening, Truman told the delegates "Senator Barkley and I will win this election and make these Republicans like it — don't you forget that!" His pugnacious attack on what he termed the "Do-Nothing 80th Congress", further energized the delegates who had not taken part in the Dixiecrat walkout. Truman's speech was looked on in retrospect as the start of the "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" campaign theme that enabled Truman to win the November general election. See also History of the United States Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1948 List of Democratic National Conventions U.S. presidential nomination convention 1948 Republican National Convention 1948 United States presidential election Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution References 30em Works cited Black Earl Earl Black (political scientist) Black Merle Merle Black The Vital South: How Presidents Are Elected Harvard University Press 1992 https://archive.org/details/vitalsouthhowpre0000blac 0674941306 Hardeman D. Bacon Donald Rayburn: A Biography Texas Monthly 1990 https://archive.org/details/rayburnbiography0000hard 0932012035 External links Democratic Party Platform of 1948 at The American Presidency Project Truman Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project 1948 Democratic National ConventionJuly 2026 InternetArchiveBot at Smithsonian Magazine President Truman's Address to the 1948 Democratic National Convention https://web.archive.org/web/20090130011009/http://trumanlibrary.org/educ/1948.htm January 30, 2009 Hubert Humphrey's Civil Rights Speech (YouTube) Video of Truman nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube) Audio of Truman nomination acceptance speech for President at DNCFebruary 2021 InternetArchiveBot yes Race for the White House: Truman vs. Dewey (YouTube) 1944Chicago, Illinois Democratic National Conventions 1952Chicago, Illinois Democratic National Convention Democratic National Convention Democratic National Convention, 1948 Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in Philadelphia Category:Pennsylvania Democratic Party Category:Political events in Pennsylvania Category:Democratic National Conventions Democratic National Convention