1924 Democratic National Convention

U.S. political event held in Madison Square Garden in New York City February 2026 January 2025 1924 Democratic John_William_Davis (3x4).jpg Charles_Wayland_Bryan (3x4 A).jpg NomineesDavis and Bryan June 24 – July 9, 1924 Madison Square Garden New York, New York John W. Davis West Virginia Charles W. Bryan Nebraska 1920 1928 thumb|446x446px The 1924 Democratic National Convention, held at the Madison Square Garden in New York City from June 24 to July 9, 1924, was the longest continuously running convention in United States political history. It took a record 103 ballots to nominate a presidential candidate. It was the first major party national convention that saw the name of a woman, Lena Springs, placed in nomination for vice president. John W. Davis, a dark horse, eventually won the presidential nomination on the 103rd ballot, a compromise candidate following a protracted convention fight between distant front-runners William Gibbs McAdoo and Al Smith. Davis and his vice presidential running-mate, Governor Charles W. Bryan of Nebraska, went on to be defeated by the Republican ticket of President Calvin Coolidge and Charles G. Dawes in the 1924 presidential election. Site selection New York had not been chosen for a convention since 1868, and its selection as the site for the 1924 convention was based in part on the state party's recent success. Two years earlier, thirteen Republican congressmen had lost their seats to Democrats. Wealthy New Yorkers, who had outbid other cities, declared their purpose "to convince the rest of the country that the town was not the red-light menace generally conceived by the sticks". Though "dry" organizations that supported continuing the prohibition of alcohol opposed the choice, in the fall of 1923 it won the grudging consent of McAdoo, a dry, before McAdoo's connection to the Teapot Dome scandal made Smith a serious threat. (McAdoo's candidacy was hurt by the revelation that he had accepted money from Edward L. Doheny, an oil tycoon implicated in Teapot Dome.) McAdoo's adopted state, California, had played host to the Democrats in 1920.History of American Presidential Elections 1789–1968 Arthur M. Jr. Schlesinger 2467–2470 Logistics The convention was the first Democratic National Convention to have its proceedings broadcast on radio.https://books.google.com/books?id=dmmLAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA258 The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio Routledge Sterling, Christopher H. O'Dell, Cary 2011 258 9781135176846Coming Soon The Chicago Spectacular; Democratic Convention Wheel of Fortune to Spin August 13 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1271720974 Relman Morin Newspapers.com subscription San Antonio Express The Associated Press May 9, 2026 August 5, 1956 Millions across the United States heard the broadcasts.Coming Soon The Chicago Spectacular; Democratic Convention Wheel of Fortune to Spin August 13 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1271720974 Relman Morin Newspapers.com subscription San Antonio Express The Associated Press May 9, 2026 August 5, 1956 Despite very heated disputes arising among delegates to the convention, political violence was mostly averted. The New York Herald Tribune reported, "there was no bloodshed only because 1,000 New York policemen had been sent there to preserve order in a convention, the leaders of which believed was going to become a riot." Nevertheless, there were some instances of violence, such as a convention floor fistfight in which Colorado Governor William Ellery Sweet was knocked to the ground and stepped on. Amid this fight, the convention chairman pounded his gavel so furiously in attempting to call for order, that he accidentally caused the head of his gavel to break off and fly into the head of a man (who consequentially suffered a concussion). The primaries Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1924 McAdoo swept the primaries in the first real race in the history of the party, although most states chose delegates through party organizations and conventions, giving most of their projected votes to local or hometown candidates, referred to as "favorite sons". Ku Klux Klan presence 1924 Democratic National Convention#"Klanbake" meme 210px 210px right A Broken Party (1924) Conventional Wisdom, 5:56, 2016, Retro ReportA Broken Party (1924): Conventional Wisdom Retro Report 2016 https://www.retroreport.org/voices/a-broken-party-1924-conventional-wisdom/ February 23, 2017 The Ku Klux Klan had surged in popularity after World War I, due to its leadership's connections to passage of the successful Prohibition Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.Laackman Dale W. For the Kingdom and the Power 2014 S. Woodhouse Books 978-1-893121-98-0 43–44 First This made the Klan a political power throughout many regions of the United States, and it reached the apex of its power in the mid-1920s, when it exerted deep cultural and political influence on both Republicans and Democrats.Mendelsohn Jennifer Shulman Peter A. How social media spread a historical lie https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/made-by-history/wp/2018/03/15/how-social-media-spread-a-historical-lie/ 15 March 2018 The Washington Post 15 Mar 2018 Its supporters had successfully quashed an anti-Klan resolution before it ever went to a floor vote at the 1924 Republican National Convention earlier in June, and proponents expected to exert the same influence at the Democratic convention. Instead, tension between pro- and anti-Klan delegates produced an intense and sometimes violent showdown between convention attendees from the states of Colorado and Missouri.Kent Frank B. Democrats Split Wide Open in Row Over Klan Issue https://www.newspapers.com/image/57562155/ 15 March 2018 The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 180 Newspapers.com 29 Jun 1924 84 Klan delegates opposed the nomination of New York governor Al Smith because Smith was a Roman Catholic and an opponent of Prohibition, and most supported William Gibbs McAdoo. Non-Klan delegates, led by Sen. Oscar Underwood of Alabama, attempted to add condemnation of the organization for its violence to the Democratic Party's platform. The measure was narrowly defeated, and the anti-KKK plank was not included in the platform. Policy disputes Heated policy disputes arose at the convention, dividing delegates. One was the proposed anti-KKK platform plank. Others included disagreements over prohibition and whether the United States should join the League of Nations.Glimpses Of Past Democratic Conventions https://www.newspapers.com/image/1010451892 Newspapers.com subscription Nevada State Journal May 17, 2026 19 July 20, 1952 Roosevelt comeback Happy Warrior speech Smith's name was placed into nomination by Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a speech in which Roosevelt dubbed Smith "The Happy Warrior".Roosevelt Franklin 1928 The Happy Warrior, Alfred E. Smith https://archive.org/stream/happywarrioralfr006717mbp#page/n7/mode/2up Boston, MA Houghton Mifflin 25–40 Roosevelt's speech, which has since become a well-studied example of political oratory,Reid Loren Dudley 1961 American Public Address: Studies in Honor of Albert Craig Baird https://books.google.com/books?id=3Q8MAAAAMAAJ&q=%22happy+warrior%22 Columbia, MO University of Missouri Press 216 9780826200099 was his first major political appearance since the paralytic illness he had contracted in 1921.Houck Davis W. Kiewe Amos 2003 FDR's Body Politics: The Rhetoric of Disability https://books.google.com/books?id=_q2aQ1bJn9MC&pg=PA11 College Station, TX Texas A&M University Press 11 978-1-58544-233-1 The success of this speech and his other convention efforts in support of Smith signaled that he was still a viable figure in politics, and he nominated Smith again in 1928.Ryan Halford Ross 1995 U.S. Presidents as Orators: A Bio-critical Sourcebook https://books.google.com/books?id=Efqq9cYYqq0C&pg=PA147 Westport, CT Greenwood Press 147 978-0-313-29059-6 U.S. Presidents as Orators Roosevelt succeeded Smith as governor in 1929, and went on to win election as president in 1932.U.S. Presidents as Orators 147 Results Presidential candidates thumb|Franklin D. Roosevelt placing Al Smith's name into nomination The first day of balloting (June 30) brought the predicted deadlock between the leading aspirants for the nomination, William G. McAdoo of California and Gov. Alfred E. Smith of New York, with the remainder divided mainly between local "favorite sons". McAdoo was the leader from the outset, and both he and Smith made small gains in the day's fifteen ballots, but the prevailing belief among the delegates was that the impasse could only be broken by the elimination of both McAdoo and Smith and the selection of one of the other contenders; much interest centred about the candidacy of John W. Davis, who also increased his vote during the day from 31 to 61 (with a peak of 64.5 votes on the 13th and 14th ballots). Most of the favorite son delegations refused to be stampeded to either of the leading candidates and were in no hurry to retire from the contest.Oulahan, Richard V., "M'Adoo Ahead on 15th Ballot With 479, Smith 305 1/2; Governor Gains 64 1/2 During Day to his Rival's 47 1/2; J.B. Davis Third With 61: Adjourn to 10:30 a.m. Today", The New York Times, July 1, 1924. In the early balloting many delegations appeared to be jockeying for position, and some of the original votes were purely complimentary and seemed to conceal the real sentiments of the delegates. Louisiana, for example, which was bound by the "unit rule" (all the state's delegate votes would be cast in favor of the candidate favored by a majority of them), first complimented its neighbor Arkansas by casting its 20 votes for Sen. Joseph T. Robinson, then it switched to Sen. Carter Glass, and on another ballot Maryland Gov. Albert C. Ritchie got the twenty, before the delegation finally settled on John W. Davis. There was some excitement on the tenth ballot, when Kansas abandoned Gov. Jonathan M. Davis and threw its votes to McAdoo. There was an instant uproar among McAdoo delegates and supporters, and a parade was started around the hall, the Kansas standard leading, with those of all the other McAdoo states coming along behind, and pictures of "McAdoo, Democracy's Hope", being lifted up. After six minutes the chairman's gavel brought order and the roll call resumed, and soon the other side had something to cheer, when New Jersey made its favorite son, Gov. George S. Silzer, walk the plank and threw its votes into the Smith column. This started another parade, the New York and New Jersey standards leading those of the other Smith delegations around the hall while the band played "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching". First ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 1st ballotMurray Robert K. 1976 The 103rd Ballot: Democrats and the Disaster in Madison Square Garden New York Harper & Row 0-06-013124-1 https://archive.org/details/103rdballotdemoc0000murr registration CandidateVotesPercentage William G. McAdoo 431.5 39.4% Alfred E. Smith24122.0%James M. Cox595.4%Pat Harrison43.54.0%Oscar W. Underwood42.53.9% George S. Silzer383.5%John W. Davis312.8%Samuel M. Ralston302.7%Woodbridge N. Ferris302.7%Carter Glass252.3% Albert C. Ritchie22.52.1% Joseph T. Robinson211.9%Jonathan M. Davis201.8%Charles W. Bryan181.6%Fred H. Brown171.6%William Ellery Sweet121.1%Willard Saulsbury70.6%John Kendrick60.5% Houston Thompson10.1% Fifteenth ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 15th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo47943.6%Alfred E. Smith305.527.8%John W. Davis615.6%James M. Cox605.5%Oscar W. Underwood39.53.6%Samuel M. Ralston312.8%Carter Glass252.3%Pat Harrison20.51.9%Joseph T. Robinson20.51.9%Albert C. Ritchie17.51.6%Jonathan M. Davis111.0%Charles W. Bryan111.0%Fred H. Brown90.8%Willard Saulsbury60.5%Thomas J. Walsh10.1%Newton D. Baker10.1% Twentieth ballot McAdoo and Smith each evolved a strategy to build up his own total slowly. Smith's trick was to plant his extra votes for his opponent, so that McAdoo's strength might later appear to be waning; the Californian countered by holding back his full force, though he had been planning a strong early show. But by no sleight of hand could the convention have been swung around to either contestant. With the party split into two assertive parts, the rule requiring a two-thirds vote for nomination crippled the chances of both candidates by giving a veto each could—and did—use. McAdoo himself wanted to drop the two-thirds rule, but his Protestant supporters preferred to keep their veto over a Catholic candidate, and the South regarded the rule as protection against a northern nominee unfavorable to southern interests. At no point in the balloting did Smith receive more than a single vote from the South and scarcely more than 20 votes from the states west of the Mississippi; he never won more than 368 of the 729 votes needed for nomination, though even this performance was impressive for a Roman Catholic. McAdoo's strength fluctuated more widely, reaching its highest point of 528 on the seventieth ballot. Since both candidates occasionally received purely strategic aid, the nucleus of their support was probably even less. The remainder of the votes were divided among dark horses and favorite sons who had spun high hopes since the Doheny testimony; understandably, they hesitated to withdraw their own candidacies as long as the convention was so clearly divided. Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 20th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo43239.5%Alfred E. Smith307.528.0%John W. Davis12211.3%Oscar W. Underwood45.54.1%Samuel M. Ralston302.7%Carter Glass252.3%Joseph T. Robinson211.9%Albert C. Ritchie17.51.6%Others97.58.6% Thirtieth ballot As time passed, the maneuvers of the two factions took on the character of desperation. Daniel C. Roper even went to Franklin Roosevelt, reportedly to offer Smith second place on a McAdoo ticket. For their part, the Tammany men tried to prolong the convention until the hotel bills were beyond the means of the delegates who had traveled to the convention. The Smith backers also attempted to stampede the delegates by packing the galleries with noisy rooters. Senator James Phelan of California, among others, complained of "New York rowdyism". But the rudeness of Tammany, particularly their delegates' booing of William Jennings Bryan when he spoke to the convention, only steeled the resolution of the country delegates. McAdoo and Bryan both tried unsuccessfully to adjourn and then reconvene in another city, perhaps Washington, D.C., or St. Louis. Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 30th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo415.537.7%Alfred E. Smith323.529.4%John W. Davis126.511.5%Oscar W. Underwood39.53.6%Samuel M. Ralston333.0%Carter Glass242.2%Joseph T. Robinson232.1%Albert C. Ritchie17.51.6%Others95.59.9% Forty-second ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 42nd ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo503.445.7%Alfred E. Smith318.628.9%John W. Davis676.0%Others209.019.4% Sixty-first ballot As a last resort, McAdoo supporters introduced a motion to eliminate one candidate on each ballot until only five remained, but Smith delegates and those supporting favorite sons managed to defeat the McAdoo strategy. Smith countered by suggesting that all delegates be released from their pledges—to which McAdoo agreed on condition that the two-thirds rule be eliminated—although Smith fully expected that loyalty would prevent the disaffection of Indiana and Illinois votes, both controlled by political bosses friendly to him. Indeed, Senator David Walsh of Massachusetts expressed the sentiment that moved Smith backers: "We must continue to do all that we can to nominate Smith. If it should develop that he cannot be nominated, then McAdoo cannot have it either." For his part, McAdoo would angrily quit the convention once he lost: but the sixty-first inconclusive round—when the convention set a record for length of balloting—was no time to admit defeat. Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 61st ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo469.542.6%Alfred E. Smith335.530.5%John W. Davis605.4%Others23321.5% Seventieth ballot thumb|229x229px|Samuel Moffett Ralston It had seemed for a time that the nomination could go to Senator Samuel Ralston of Indiana.https://blog.history.in.gov/tag/governor-ralston/ Complicity in Neutrality? Samuel Ralston Denies Klan Affiliation Indiana Historical Bureau Indiana History Blog 17 July 2018 Indiana State Library Indianapolis, IN June 13, 2019 Advanced by Indiana party boss Thomas Taggart, Ralston's candidacy might attract support from the Bryans, given that Charles Bryan had written, "Ralston is the most promising of the compromise candidates."Murphy Paul L. 1974 Political Parties in American History: 1890-present https://books.google.com/books?id=FGfuAAAAMAAJ&q=%22ralston+is+the+most+promising%22+candidates%22 New York, NY G. P. Putnam's Sons 1075 9780399109911 Ralston was also a favorite of the Klan and a second choice of many McAdoo delegates. In 1922, he had launched an attack on parochial schools that the Klan saw as an endorsement of its own views, and he won several normally Republican counties dominated by the Klan. Commenting on the Klan issue, Ralston said that it would create a bad precedent to denounce any organization by name in the platform. Much of Ralston's support came from the South and West—states including Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nevada that had strong Klan elements. According to Claude Bowers, McAdoo said: "I like the old Senator, like his simplicity, honesty, record"; and it was reported that he told Smith supporters he would withdraw only in favor of Ralston. As with John W. Davis, Ralston had few enemies, and his support from men as divergent as the Bryans and Taggart cast him as a viable compromise choice. He passed Davis, the almost consistent third choice, on the fifty-second ballot; but Taggart then discouraged the boom for the time being because the McAdoo and Smith phalanxes showed no signs of weakening. On July 8, the eighty-seventh ballot showed a total for Ralston of 93 votes, chiefly from Indiana and Missouri; before the day was over, the Ralston total had risen to almost 200, a larger tally than Davis had ever received. Most of these votes were drawn from McAdoo, to whom they later returned. Numerous sources indicate that Taggart was not exaggerating when he later said: "We would have nominated Senator Ralston if he had not withdrawn his name at the last minute. It was a near certainty as anything in politics could be. We had pledges of enough delegates that would shift to Ralston on a certain ballot to have nominated him." Ralston wavered on whether to make the race; despite his doctor's stern recommendation not to run and the illness of his wife and son, Ralston had told Taggart that he would be a candidate, albeit a reluctant one. But the 300-pound Ralston finally telegraphed his refusal to go on; sixty-six years old at the time of the convention, he died the following year.Pearcy Gus June 10, 2019 Who is Sam Ralston? Lebanon to erect historical marker for 28th governor https://www.timessentinel.com/indiana/news/who-is-sam-ralston-lebanon-to-erect-historical-marker-for/article_7a074b67-2841-596d-9f4c-ee4801e2d4f4.html Zionsville Times Sentinel Zionsville, IN Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 70th ballotCandidateVotesPercentage William G. McAdoo528.548.0%Alfred E. Smith334.530.4%John W. Davis676.0%Others17015.6% Seventy-seventh ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 77th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageWilliam G. McAdoo51347.7%Alfred E. Smith36733.3%John W. Davis76.56.9% Others13412.1% Eighty-seventh ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 87th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageAlfred E. Smith361.532.8%William G. McAdoo333.530.3%John W. Davis66.56.0%Others336.530.9% One hundredth ballot Democratic National Convention presidential vote, 100th ballotCandidateVotesPercentageAlfred E. Smith351.532.4%John W. Davis203.518.7%William G. McAdoo19017.5%Edwin T. Meredith75.57.0%Thomas J. Walsh52.54.8%Joseph T. Robinson464.2%Oscar W. Underwood41.53.8%Carter Glass353.2%Josephus Daniels242.2%Robert L. Owen201.8%Albert C. Ritchie17.51.6%James W. Gerard100.9%David F. Houston90.8%Willard Saulsbury60.6%Charles W. Bryan20.2%George L. Berry10.1%Newton D. Baker10.1% One hundred third ballot The nomination was finally awarded to John W. Davis, a compromise candidate, on the one hundred third ballot, after the withdrawal of Smith and McAdoo. Davis had never been a genuine dark horse candidate; he had almost always been third in the balloting, and by the end of the 29th round he was the betting favorite of New York gamblers. There had been a Davis movement of considerable size at the 1920 San Francisco convention; however, Charles Hamlin wrote in his diary, Davis "frankly said ... that he was not seeking [the nomination] and that if nominated he would accept only as a matter of public duty". For Vice President, the Democrats nominated Charles W. Bryan, the governor of Nebraska and the brother of William Jennings Bryan, and for many years editor of The Commoner. Full Balloting A total of 58 candidates received votes over the 103 ballots, and the second ballot was the one where most candidates were voted for (20 in total). The alphabetically sorted list of all 58 candidates: Henry Tureman Allen, retired Major general from Washington, D.C. Newton D. Baker, former Secretary of War from Ohio John T. Barnett, president of the Military Order of Foreign Wars from Indiana George G. Battle Martin Behrman, former Mayor of New Orleans George L. Berry, president of the IPPU union from Tennessee Fred H. Brown, Governor of New Hampshire Charles W. Bryan, Governor of Nebraska William Jennings Bryan, former Secretary of State from Nebraska John M. Callahan, convention delegate from Wisconsin Marcus A. Coolidge, former mayor of Fitchburg, Massachusetts Royal S. Copeland, U.S. senator from New York James M. Cox, former governor of Ohio William Coyne, businessman from Delaware Homer Stille Cummings, former chairman of the DNC from Connecticut Josephus Daniels, former secretary of the Navy from North Carolina Jonathan M. Davis, Governor of Kansas John W. Davis, former congressman from West Virginia William Emmett Dever, Mayor of Chicago Edward L. Doheny, businessman from California Edward I. Edwards, U.S. senator from New Jersey Woodbridge N. Ferris, U.S. senator from Michigan William Alexander Gaston, businessman from Massachusetts James W. Gerard, former U.S. ambassador to Germany from New York Carter Glass, U.S. senator from Virginia Pat Harrison, U.S. senator from Mississippi Gilbert Hitchcock, former U.S. senator from Nebraska David F. Houston, former secretary of the treasury from New York Cordell Hull, congressman from Tennessee John Holmes Jackson, Mayor of Burlington, Vermont John B. Kendrick, U.S. senator from Wyoming J. Richard Kevin Roland Krebs William Maloney Thomas R. Marshall, former vice president from Indiana Fred C. Martin William G. McAdoo, former secretary of the treasury from California Edwin T. Meredith, former secretary of agriculture from Iowa Emma Guffey Miller, convention delegate from Pennsylvania Albert A. Murphree, president of the University of Florida Robert Latham Owen, U.S. senator from Oklahoma Atlee Pomerene, former U.S. senator from Ohio Samuel M. Ralston, U.S. senator from Indiana Albert Ritchie, Governor of Maryland Joseph Taylor Robinson, U.S. senator from Arkansas Will Rogers, actor from Oklahoma Franklin D. Roosevelt, former assistant secretary of the Navy from New York Willard Saulsbury Jr., former U.S. senator from Delaware George Sebastian Silzer, Governor of New Jersey Al Smith, Governor of New York Thomas J. Spellacy, former U.S. Attorney from Connecticut Cora Wilson Stewart, president of the Kentucky Education Association William Ellery Sweet, Governor of Colorado Samuel Huston Thompson, Chair of the FTC from Pennsylvania Oscar Underwood, U.S. senator from Alabama David I. Walsh, U.S. senator from Massachusetts Thomas J. Walsh, U.S. senator from Montana Burton K. Wheeler, U.S. senator from Montana (1-20)Presidential Ballot1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th J.W. Davis 3132343434.555.555576357.5596064.564.56163646684.5122McAdoo 431.5431437443.6443.1443.1442.6444.6444.6471.6476.3478.5477475.5479478471.5470.5474432Smith241251.5255.5260261261.5261.5273.5278299.5303.2301303.5306.5305.5305.5312.5312.5311.5307.5Cox5961605959595960606060606060606060606060Harrison43.523.523.520.520.520.520.520.520.531.520.521.520.520.520.500000Underwood42.5424241.541.542.542.54845.543.942.541.540.540.539.541.54239.539.545.5Silzer38302828282828282800000000000Ferris303030303030306.5000000000000Ralston303030303030303030.530.532.531.531.531313130303130Glass2525294525252526252525.5262524252544303025Ritchie22.521.522.521.542.922.920.919.917.517.517.517.517.517.517.517.517.518.517.517.5Robinson2141411919191921212020191919204628222221J.M. Davis202320292827302932.4121113.5111111111010910C.W. Bryan1818191919181816151211111011111111111011Brown1712.512.59.98.5889889999910000Sweet1212000000000000000000Saulsbury76666666666666666666Kendrick66600000000000000000Thompson11111111111100000000T.J. Walsh01111111111111111228W.J. Bryan00000001100000000000Baker00000000011011100001Berry00000000001000000000Krebs00000000000010000000Copeland0000000000000000.50.5010Hull000000000000000002000Hitchcock00000000000000000001Dever00000000000000000000.5 (21–40)Presidential Ballot21st 22nd23rd 24th 25th 26th27th28th29th30th31st32nd33rd34th35th36th37th38th39th40thJ.W. Davis 125123.5129.5129.5126125128.5126124.5126.5127.5128121107.5107106.51071057170McAdoo 439438.5438.5438.5436.5415.5413412415415.5415.5415.5404.5445439429444.5444499506.4Smith307.5307.5308308308.5311.5316.5316.5321323.5322.5322310.5311323.5323321321320.5315.1Cox6060606059595959595757575754505555555555Underwood45.545.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.538.541.5Ralston30323233313232343433323232313333.532323231Glass2425302929292925252424242424292424242524Robinson2222232223232324232324242324242424242324Ritchie17.517.517.517.517.517.518.518.517.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.517.517.518.517.5Saulsbury1212666666666666666666T.J. Walsh88.5891614771.51.52.53.52.51.50.50.50.51.510J.M. Davis55555566666663333433Baker10000000000000000000Miller0.50000000000000000000Pomerene00010000000000000000Owen00000202024242525242552525242444Daniels00000001100000000000Martin00000000100000000000Gaston0000000000000.50000000Gerard00000000000000110000Doheny00000000000000010000Jackson00000000000000000010 (41–60)Presidential Ballot41st42nd43rd44th45th46th47th48th49th50th51st52nd53rd54th55th56th57th58th59th60thJ.W. Davis 70677171737170.570.563.56467.559636262.558.558.540.56060McAdoo 504.9503.4483.4484.4483.4486.9484.4483.5462.5461.5442.5413.5423.5427426.5430430495473.5469.5Smith317.6318.6319.1319.1319.1319.1320.1321320.5320.5328320.5320.5320.5320.5320.5320.5331.5331.5330.5Cox5556545454545454535455545454545454545454Underwood39.539.540393837.538.538.54242.54338.542.5404039.539.5384042Ralston303031313131313157586393949297979740.542.542.5Glass2428.5242424242425252425242524242525252525Robinson2423444444444544454443424343434343232323Ritchie17.517.517.517.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.5Saulsbury66666666666666666666Owen4444444444444344442424J.M. Davis33323333222000000000Cummings10000000000000000000Spellacy11000000000000000000T.J. Walsh00111111112.5101111103Edwards00010000000000000000C.W. Bryan00000000000667333322Battle000000000000020000000Roosevelt00000000000001000000Behrman0000000000000.50000000 (61–80)Presidential Ballot61st62nd63rd64th65th66th67th68th69th70th71st72nd73rd74th75th76th77th78th79th80thJ.W. Davis 6060.56261.571.574.575.572.5646767656678.578.575.576.573.57173.5McAdoo 469.5469446.5488.5492495490488.5530528.5528.5527.5528510513513513511507.5454.5Smith335.5338.5315.5325336.5338.5336.5336.5335334334.5334335364366368367363.5366.5367.5Cox544949541000000001111000Underwood424039.539.54039.546.546.53837.537.537.538.54746.547.547.5495046.5Ralston37.538.55610000000003.54.54.56.5545Glass2526252525252526252525252528282927211768Owen2424242424222222222222444001Robinson232323242321212121212121212325252422.528.529.5Ritchie16.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.5Saulsbury66666666666667666666C.W. Bryan24433233232234444334.5T.J. Walsh33333321001224.5222664Ferris002824.56.5000000000000171817.5D.I. Walsh0002.50000000000000000Baker00004855545756565657.5545211000Wheeler000020000000020000000Rogers00000001000000000000Coolidge00000000.5000000000000Daniels000000002.500000000001Kevin00000000000001000000Roosevelt00000000000000001111Gerard00000000000000000110 (81–100)Presidential Ballot81st82nd83rd84th85th86th87th88th89th90th91st92nd93rd94th95th96th97th98th99th100thJ.W. Davis 70.57172.5666865.566.559.564.565.566.569.56881.75139.25171.5183.25194.75210203.5McAdoo 432413.5418388.5380.5353.5336.5315.5318.5314318310314395417.5421415.5406.5353.5190Smith365366368365363360361.5362357354.5355.5355.5355.5364.5367.5359.5359.5354354351.5Glass73787672.567.572.57166.566.530.528.526.52737343939363835Underwood484948.540.540.53838394142.546.545.2544.7546.2544.2538.537.2538.2539.541.5Robinson29.528.527.52527.52520.52320.52020201937313222252546Owen212120202020202020000000011320Ritchie16.516.516.516.516.523.52322.522.516.516.516.516.516.520.521.519.518.517.517.5Ferris16127.500000000000000000T.J. Walsh7441.535453.554.54.54.542446452.5Saulsbury66666666666660006666C.W. Bryan4.54.55.56.59.57799158889976552Ralston424248687929398100.5159.5187.5196.75196.2537000000Barnett10000000000000000000Daniels11000002319.51900000000024Roosevelt11111111110002210000Miller00000010000000000000Wheeler00100000000000000000Coyne00010000000000000000Baker00006000000020000004Meredith00000262626262626262626260003775.5Maloney00000100000000000000J.M. Davis0000002020202240020000000Cox0000000.50000000000000Cummings00000000008.58.58.51000000Houston00000000000200000009Callahan00000000000100000000Copeland000000000000017200000Stewart00000000000001000000Marshall00000000000000002320Berry00000000000000000011Gerard000000000000000000010 (101–103) Presidential Ballot101st102nd103rdbefore shifts103rdafter shiftsJ.W. Davis 316415.5575.5844Underwood229.5317250.5102.5T.J. Walsh9812384.558Glass59677923Robinson22.5212120Meredith13066.542.515.5McAdoo 522114.511.5Smith1214410.57.5Gerard16787Hull2111Daniels1210Thompson0110Berry01.500Allen0100C.W. Bryan0100Ritchie0.50.500Owen23000Cummings9000Houston9000Murphree4000Baker1000 Vice presidential nomination Vice presidential candidates Thirteen names were placed into nomination for Davis' vice-presidential running mate, two of which were withdrawn before the balloting commenced. Early in the nominating process, the permitted length of speeches was limited to five minutes each. Despite this, the only ballot was chaotic, with thirty people, including five women, getting at least one vote for the nomination. The party leaders first asked Montana senator Thomas J. Walsh to run for vice president, but Walsh refused since he desired re-election to the Senate as opposed to being a guaranteed unsuccessful vice presidential candidate. New Jersey governor George Sebastian Silzer, Newton D. Baker, and Maryland governor Albert Ritchie were also considered. Eventually, Charles W. Bryan, Governor of Nebraska, was proposed as a candidate who could unite the Smith and McAdoo factions.Democrats Nominate Davis and C. W. Bryan; Former, Acclaimed, Calls Party to Battle; Smith Promises to Work Hard for the Ticket https://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/240710convention-dem-ra.html October 8, 2015 The New York Times July 10, 1924 Bryan had been chosen by a group of party leaders, including Davis and Al Smith. George Berry, a labor union leader from Tennessee, led Governor Bryan by a vote of 263.5 to 238 on an unrevised first ballot. Before the finalization of the first ballot, however, a cascade of switches from various candidates to Bryan took place, and Bryan was nominated with 740 votes. Notably, he remains, as of 2024, the only brother of a previous nominee (William Jennings Bryan) to be nominated by a major party. The official tally was: Vice Presidential BallotingCandidate1st (Before Shifts)1st (After Shifts)C. Bryan238740Berry263.5208Owsley15216Hylan1106Davis56.54Springs *4418Gerard4210B. Clark2441Greenway322Fields260Farrell211Flynn2115Walsh160Silzer1210Baker77Pittman66Enright55Shuler40Miller *33Renshaw *33Chadbourne *20Meredith20Bird *10M. Clark10Erwin10Gardner10Ritchie11Thompson10Upshaw11Whitlock11 Vice Presidential Balloting / 14th Day of Convention (July 9, 1924) Prayers Each of the convention's 23 sessions opened with an invocation by a different nationally prominent clergyman. The choices represented the party's coalition at the time: there were five Episcopalian ministers; three Presbyterians; three Lutherans; two Roman Catholics; two Baptists; two Methodists; one each from the Congregationalists, Disciples of Christ, Unitarians, and Christian Scientists; and two Jewish rabbis. All of the clergy were white men; African-American denominations were not represented. With the convention deadlocked over the choice of a nominee, some of the invocations became calls for the delegates and candidates to put aside sectionalism and ambition in favor of party unity.Thrills Come Early in Morning After Session Opens Tamely The New York Times July 9, 1924 https://www.nytimes.com/1924/07/09/archives/thrills-come-early-in-morning-after-session-opens-tamely-galleries.html Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 886Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 948 Among the clergy who spoke to the convention: Catholics included Patrick Joseph Hayes, Archbishop of New York,Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), pp. 3-4 and Francis Patrick Duffy, Chaplain of the New York National Guard.Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 385 Episcopalians, such as Thomas F. Gailor, Bishop of Tennessee,Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 45 and Wythe Leigh Kinsolving, Chaplain of the Virginian Society of New York. The roster included, on different days, two fierce antagonists and frequent debaters on the theory of evolution and Biblical inerrancy, John Roach Straton, a Baptist conservative,Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), pp. 221-22 and Charles Francis Potter, a Unitarian Modernist.Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 852 Rabbi Stephen Samuel Wise, founder of the Free Synagogue, who was also a delegate from New York.Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), p. 227 Dr. Frederick Hermann Knubel, president of the United Lutheran Churches in America.Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, published by the Democratic National Committee (1924), pp. 538-39 Legacy In his acceptance speech, Davis made the perfunctory statement that he would enforce the prohibition law, but his conservatism prejudiced him in favor of personal liberty and home rule and he was frequently denounced as a wet. The dry leader Wayne Wheeler complained of Davis's "constant repetition of wet catch phrases like 'personal liberty', 'illegal search and seizure', and 'home rule'". After the convention Davis tried to satisfy both factions of his party, but his support came principally from the same city elements that had backed Cox in 1920.History of American Presidential Elections 1789–1968 Arthur M. Jr. Schlesinger 2467–2478 Broadcasting the convention's 103 ballots, and the debate over the Klan, embarrassed the Democrats. Neither Davis nor Bryan was a good radio speaker, unlike Republican president Calvin Coolidge.Michael Delli Carpini Radio's Political Past Media Studies Journal July 1993 7 3 https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=asc_papers 30 May 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20221127151757/https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=asc_papers 27 November 2022 dead The last surviving participant from the convention was Diana Serra Cary, who as a five-year-old child film star was the convention's official mascot; she died on February 24, 2020, at the age of 101. The convention featured the first seconding address by a woman in either national political parties was given by Izetta Jewel at this convention, seconding John Davis, and Abby Crawford Milton, seconding McAdoo.Izetta Jewel, wvencyclopedia.org accessed September 1, 2012Teel Ray The Public Press, 1900–1945: The History of American Journalism 2006 109 9780275981662 https://books.google.com/books?id=tHgdCLTPn0EC&pg=PA109 During his 1960 campaign, John F. Kennedy cited the dilemma of the Massachusetts delegation at the 1924 Democratic National Convention when making light of his own campaign problems: "Either we must switch to a more liberal candidate or move to a cheaper hotel."Theodore White The Making of the President 1960 New York Atheneum Publishers 1961 ? https://archive.org/details/makingofpresiden1960whit registration March 2016 Both Franklin D. Roosevelt and Al Smith were filmed during the convention by Lee de Forest using his Phonofilm sound-on-film process. These films are in the Maurice Zouary collection at the Library of Congress.January 2011 "Klanbake" meme "Klanbake" meme In 2015, conservative blogs and Facebook pages started circulating a photo of hooded Klansmen, marching at the 1924 DNC. In early 2017, a pro-Donald Trump Facebook group called "ElectTrump2020" turned the photo into a meme which was shared more than 18,000 times on Facebook alone. Author Dinesh D'Souza shared the photo and the meme on Twitter in September 2017.D'Souza Dinesh Hey @Kaepernick7 check out some of your fellow Democrats https://twitter.com/DineshDSouza/status/912019757892870144 Twitter.com 24 September 2017Shapira Ian No, Dinesh D'Souza, that photo isn't the KKK marching to the Democratic National Convention https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/09/26/no-dinesh-dsouza-that-photo-isnt-the-kkk-marching-to-the-democratic-national-convention/ The Washington Post 18 March 2018 26 September 2017 In fact, the widely circulated photo depicted a December 1924 march by Klansmen in Madison, Wisconsin, and had no connection to any political convention.Ku Klux Klan Parade (photo) https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM1902 wisconsinhistory.org December 2003 Wisconsin Historical Society 23 May 2022 The term "Klanbake" appears to have been coined by New York Daily News columnist Joseph A. Cowan, in a satirical column reporting on the Convention at the time. Cowan also used the derisive terms "klanvention" and "klandidate."Cowan Joseph A. Pat's Swig Peppers His Patter https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26161314/ Daily News Newspapers.com 22 May 2022 36 25 June 1924 In 2000, a Daily News reporter included the term in an historical article about the 1924 convention, stating erroneously that "newspapers" referred to the convention as the Klanbake, when in fact Cowan was the only writer to use the term.Maeder Jay "Big Town Chronicles" https://www.newspapers.com/image/478114853/ Daily News Newspapers.com 22 May 2022 21 8 March 2000 Opening session of the 1924 Democratic convention.png 1100px Panorama of the convention's opening session See also History of the United States Democratic Party Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1924 List of Democratic National Conventions U.S. presidential nomination convention 1924 Republican National Convention 1924 United States presidential election References 30em Further reading Burner, David. The Politics of Provincialism: The Democratic Party in Transition, 1918-1932 (1968) Chalmers, David. "The Ku Klux Klan in politics in the 1920's." Mississippi Quarterly 18.4 (1965): 234-247 online. Craig, Douglas B. "Don't You Hear all the Railroad Men Squeak?": William G. McAdoo, the United States Railroad Administration, and the Democratic Presidential Nomination of 1924." Journal of American Studies 48.3 (2014): 777-795. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875814000607 Devine, Christopher J. "It Wasn't Just the Economy, Stupid: How Calvin Coolidge Won the 1924 Presidential Election." Presidential Studies Quarterly 55.3 (2025): e70007. online Faykosh, Joseph D. "A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924" (thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2016) online. Goldberg, David J. "Unmasking the Ku Klux Klan: The northern movement against the KKK, 1920-1925." Journal of American Ethnic History (1996): 32-48 online. Robert K. Murray The 103rd Ballot: Democrats and the Disaster in Madison Square Garden New York Harper & Row 1976 0-06-013124-1 https://archive.org/details/103rdballotdemoc0000murr registration McVeigh, Rory. "Power Devaluation, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Democratic National Convention of 1924." Sociological Forum 16#1 (2001) abstract. Martinson, David L. "Coverage of La Follette Offers Insights for 1972 Campaign." Journalism Quarterly 52.3 (1975): 539–542. Murray, Robert Keith. The 103rd Ballot: The Legendary 1924 Democratic Convention That Forever Changed Politics (HarperCollins, 2016). online Prude, James C. "William Gibbs McAdoo and the Democratic National Convention of 1924." Journal of Southern History 38.4 (1972): 621-628 online. Roberts, Jason. "The Biographical Legacy of Calvin Coolidge and the 1924 Presidential Election." in A Companion to Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover (2014): 191-211. Stratton, David H. "Splattered with Oil: William G. McAdoo and the 1924 Democratic Presidential Nomination" Southwestern Social Science Quarterly 44#1 (1963): 62-76. online Tucker, Garland. High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 Election (Greenleaf Book Group, 2012) online Voss, Kevin E. "Voss wins the Presidency! A commentary essay on "Predicting elections from biographical information about candidates: A test of the index method" Journal of Business Research 64.4 (2011): 345-347. External links Democratic Party Platform of 1924 at The American Presidency Project 1920San Francisco, California Democratic National Conventions 1928Houston, Texas Democratic National Convention Democratic National Convention Democratic National Convention Category:United States presidential nominating conventions in New York City Category:New York State Democratic Committee Category:Democratic National Conventions Democratic National Convention Category:1920s in Manhattan