1948 Democratic National Convention

Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox National Political Convention 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.<ref name="UnplannedDel1948">Template:Cite web</ref>

Keynote speech

The convention was called to order by the permanent chairman, Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky.<ref name="taylor_2013">Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref name="taylor_2013" /> 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!"<ref name="1948 Election">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Barkley continued by recalling the bad times of the Great Depression of the 1930s to turn the Republicans' most-repeated attack back on them.<ref name="1948 Election" /> Republicans proposed "to clean the cobwebs" from the federal government.<ref name="1948 Election" /> 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!"<ref name="1948 Election" /> 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.<ref name="1948 Election" /> His rhetorical effort energized delegates, who began to recover their enthusiasm.<ref name="1948 Election" /> It also propelled Barkley towards the vice presidential nomination.<ref name="1948 Election" />

Dispute over civil rights

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>

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).<ref>Katagiri, Yasuhiro. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission: Civil Rights and States' Rights Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001; p. xxiv.</ref>

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,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> with North Carolina being the only Southern state to give Truman any delegates.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

• 
  President
  Harry S. Truman
  of Missouri
• 
  Senator
  Richard Russell Jr.
  of Georgia
• 
  Former Representative
  James A. Roe
  of New York
  (Not Nominated -
  Supported Eisenhower Draft)
• 
  Former Ambassador
  Paul V. McNutt
  of Indiana
• 
  Governor
  Benjamin T. Laney
  of Arkansas
  (Not Nominated)
• 
  Governor
  Earl Long
  of Louisiana
  (Not Nominated)

Balloting for president and vice president took place on July 15.<ref name="1948 Election" /> While Southerners who opposed the expansion of civil rights contested Truman for the nomination, he was easily nominated on the first ballot.<ref name="1948 Election" />

Balloting

In the absence of Southern delegates who walked out of the convention with Thurmond, Truman was nominated on a revised first ballot:

Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st (Before Shifts)	1st (After Shifts)
Truman	926	947.5
Russell	266	263
Roe	15	0
McNutt	2.5	0.5
Barkley	1	0
Absent	22	22
Not Voting	1.5	1

Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (July 15, 1948)

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
  (Before Shifts)
• 
  1st Presidential Ballot
  (After Shifts)

Vice presidential nomination

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.<ref name="slp-d_1948-07-13">Template:Cite news</ref> A group of women delegates also made an unsuccessful effort to put forward former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt as a candidate.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In addition, Truman tried to interest William O. Douglas in the nomination, but Douglas declined.<ref name="slp-d_1948-07-13" /> During the convention, Barkley's keynote speech won over the delegates,<ref name="slp-d_1948-07-13" /> and when it became clear Barkley had more than enough support to win the nomination, Truman agreed to accept him as his running mate.<ref name="slp-d_1948-07-13" />

Barkley was nominated by acclamation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

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.<ref name="Pietrusza_2014">Template:Cite web</ref> 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!"<ref name="Pietrusza_2014" /> 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.<ref name="Pietrusza_2014" /> 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.<ref name="1948 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

Works cited

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

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 Convention at Smithsonian Magazine
• President Truman's Address to the 1948 Democratic National Convention Template:Webarchive
• 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 DNCTemplate:Dead link
• Race for the White House: Truman vs. Dewey (YouTube)