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1912 Democratic National Convention

March 14, 2024

The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912.

1912 Democratic National Convention
1912 presidential election
Nominees
Wilson and Marshall
Convention
Date(s)June 25 – July 2, 1912
CityBaltimore, Maryland
VenueFifth Regiment Armory
Candidates
Presidential nomineeWoodrow Wilson of New Jersey
Vice presidential nomineeThomas R. Marshall of Indiana
‹ 1908 · 1916 ›
Convention in-session
Armory decorated for the convention
Delegates assembled on the convention floor
Scene outside the convention hall
Attendees and delegates entering the convention hall

The Convention edit

The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. It proved to be one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the 20th century.[citation needed]

1904 presidential nominee Judge Alton B. Parker of New York served as the Temporary chairman and Keynote Speaker while Representative Ollie M. James of Kentucky served as Permanent Convention chairman.

As of 2023, this is the last major party convention to be held in Baltimore.[1]

Presidential candidates edit

 
Urey Woodson, Roger Charles Sullivan, Norman E. Mack Edwin Orin Wood, and Robert Crain at the convention

Withdrew During Balloting edit

Declined edit

 
Joel Bennett Clark at the convention. His father, Champ Clark, initially appeared to be the frontrunner for the nomination.
 
William Jennings Bryan attending the convention. Bryan's speech against Champ Clark and endorsement of Woodrow Wilson would ultimately affect the outcome of the nomination.

The main candidates were House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey. Both Clark and Wilson had won a number of primaries, and Clark entered the convention with more pledged delegates than did Wilson. However, he lacked the two-thirds vote necessary to secure the presidential nomination.

Initially, the front runner appeared to be Clark, who received 440¼ votes on the first ballot to 324 for Wilson. Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio received 148 votes while U.S. Representative Oscar W. Underwood of Alabama, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, received 117¼ with the rest of the votes scattered among the other delegates. No candidate managed to gain a majority until the ninth ballot, when the New York delegation shifted its allegiance to Clark. Due to the then-official two-thirds rule used by the Democratic Party, Clark was never able to secure the presidential nomination as he failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote for victory.

C. Vann Woodward stated that the 1912 Democratic nomination was "the first in half a century in which the South played a conspicuous and perhaps even decisive part". Earl Black and Merle Black stated that Underwood was the first southerner following the Civil War to seriously seek the Democratic nomination. Clark was able to gain a majority of the delegate vote, but lacked support in the south which prevented him from passing the two-thirds requirement.[2]

In past conventions, once a candidate received a majority of the votes, it would start a bandwagon rolling to the nomination. Clark's chances were hurt when Tammany Hall, the powerful and corrupt Democratic political machine in New York City, threw its support behind him. This was the move that gave Clark a majority on the ninth ballot, but instead of propelling Clark's bandwagon towards victory, the endorsement led William Jennings Bryan to turn against the Speaker of the House. A three-time Democratic presidential candidate and still the leader of the party's liberals, Bryan delivered a speech denouncing Clark as the candidate of "Wall Street".

Up until the Tammany endorsement, Bryan had remained neutral, but once the corrupt machine put itself behind Clark, he threw his support to New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson, who was regarded as a moderate reformer.

Additionally Illinois Democratic Boss, Roger Charles Sullivan and Indiana Democratic Boss Thomas Taggart made a deal with a member of Wilson's campaign. In exchange for having Thomas R. Marshall be Wilsons running mate, Illinois and Indiana would put their support behind Wilson.[3]

Before these events, Wilson had consistently finished second to Clark on each ballot, Ironically, Wilson had nearly given up hope that he could be nominated, and he was on the verge of having a concession speech read for him at the convention freeing his delegates to vote for someone else. After receiving the support of Bryan, Sullivan, and Taggart, Wilson gradually gained in strength while Clark's support dwindled. Wilson received the presidential nomination on the 46th ballot.

Presidential balloting edit

The 46 ballots were the most cast at a convention since 1860.

Vice presidential candidates edit

Withdrew During Balloting edit
Declined edit

Clark and Bryan were both proposed as vice presidential nominees, but both declined, with Clark preferring to remain as Speaker and Bryan fearful of overshadowing Wilson.[4] Bryan instead proposed Oregon Senator George E. Chamberlain and North Dakota Governor John Burke, the latter of whom became the main progressive candidate.[4] Governor Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana, who had swung his state's delegate votes to Wilson in later ballots, became the major candidate of conservatives.[4] After the second ballot, Representative William Hughes, a leading campaign manager of Wilson's, successfully proposed making the nomination of Marshall unanimous.[4] Wilson and Marshall went on to win the 1912 presidential election against a split Republican Party.

 
Thomas R. Marshall speaks to a crowd at a notification ceremony in Indianapolis after receiving news of his nomination
Vice Presidential Balloting
Candidate 1st 2nd Unanimous
Marshall 389 644.50 1,088
Burke 304.67 386.33
Chamberlain 157 12.50
Hurst 78 0
Preston 58 0
Wade 26 0
McCombs 18 0
Osborne 8 0
Sulzer 3 0
Not Voting 46.33 44.67
Not Represented 6 6 6

Vice Presidential Balloting / 7th Day of Convention (July 2, 1912)

  •  
    1st Vice Presidential Ballot
  •  
    2nd Vice Presidential Ballot

References in popular culture edit

The primary battles leading up to the 1912 Democratic Convention are a pivotal event in Taylor Caldwell's 1972 novel Captains and the Kings. In the novel, the fictional Irish-Catholic Rory Daniel Armagh, a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, emerges as the front-runner for the 1912 Democratic presidential nomination after beating Woodrow Wilson in multiple primaries. (Unlike in real life, Champ Clark is not a factor in the novel.) Armagh is assassinated as part of a conspiracy of international power brokers before the convention.

Scenes of the convention are depicted in the 1944 biographical film Wilson.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Haynes, By Stan M. (August 5, 2020). "When Baltimore was convention central". baltimoresun.com. Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 85-86.
  3. ^ Roger C. Sullivan and the Triumph of the Chicago Democratic Machine, 1908-1920 p.82-101
  4. ^ a b c d "Woodrow Wilson is Nominated for President; Gov. Marshall of Indiana for Vice President". New York Times. July 3, 1912. Retrieved October 8, 2015.

Works cited edit

Bibliography edit

  • Official report of the proceedings of the Democratic national convention, held in Baltimore, Maryland, June 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and July 1 and 2, 1912
  • William Jennings Bryan, Virgil V. McNitt. A Tale of Two Conventions. Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1912.

External links edit

  • Democratic Party Platform of 1912 at The American Presidency Project

March 14, 2024
1912, democratic, national, convention, held, fifth, regiment, armory, north, howard, street, baltimore, from, june, july, 1912, 1912, presidential, electionnominees, wilson, marshallconventiondate, june, july, 1912citybaltimore, marylandvenuefifth, regiment, . The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2 1912 1912 Democratic National Convention1912 presidential electionNominees Wilson and MarshallConventionDate s June 25 July 2 1912CityBaltimore MarylandVenueFifth Regiment ArmoryCandidatesPresidential nomineeWoodrow Wilson of New JerseyVice presidential nomineeThomas R Marshall of Indiana 1908 1916 Convention in sessionArmory decorated for the conventionDelegates assembled on the convention floorScene outside the convention hallAttendees and delegates entering the convention hall Contents 1 The Convention 1 1 Presidential candidates 1 1 1 Withdrew During Balloting 1 1 2 Declined 1 2 Presidential balloting 1 2 1 Vice presidential candidates 1 2 1 1 Withdrew During Balloting 1 2 1 2 Declined 2 References in popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 Works cited 5 1 Bibliography 6 External linksThe Convention editThe convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2 1912 It proved to be one of the more memorable United States presidential conventions of the 20th century citation needed 1904 presidential nominee Judge Alton B Parker of New York served as the Temporary chairman and Keynote Speaker while Representative Ollie M James of Kentucky served as Permanent Convention chairman As of 2023 update this is the last major party convention to be held in Baltimore 1 Presidential candidates edit nbsp Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey nbsp Speaker of the House Champ Clark of Missouri nbsp Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio nbsp Governor Thomas R Marshall of Indiana nbsp Governor Simeon E Baldwin of Connecticut nbsp Urey Woodson Roger Charles Sullivan Norman E Mack Edwin Orin Wood and Robert Crain at the conventionWithdrew During Balloting edit nbsp House Majority Leader Oscar Underwood of Alabama nbsp Governor Eugene Foss of MassachusettsDeclined edit nbsp Governor John Burke of North Dakota nbsp Joel Bennett Clark at the convention His father Champ Clark initially appeared to be the frontrunner for the nomination nbsp William Jennings Bryan attending the convention Bryan s speech against Champ Clark and endorsement of Woodrow Wilson would ultimately affect the outcome of the nomination The main candidates were House Speaker Champ Clark of Missouri and Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey Both Clark and Wilson had won a number of primaries and Clark entered the convention with more pledged delegates than did Wilson However he lacked the two thirds vote necessary to secure the presidential nomination Initially the front runner appeared to be Clark who received 440 votes on the first ballot to 324 for Wilson Governor Judson Harmon of Ohio received 148 votes while U S Representative Oscar W Underwood of Alabama the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee received 117 with the rest of the votes scattered among the other delegates No candidate managed to gain a majority until the ninth ballot when the New York delegation shifted its allegiance to Clark Due to the then official two thirds rule used by the Democratic Party Clark was never able to secure the presidential nomination as he failed to get the necessary two thirds vote for victory C Vann Woodward stated that the 1912 Democratic nomination was the first in half a century in which the South played a conspicuous and perhaps even decisive part Earl Black and Merle Black stated that Underwood was the first southerner following the Civil War to seriously seek the Democratic nomination Clark was able to gain a majority of the delegate vote but lacked support in the south which prevented him from passing the two thirds requirement 2 In past conventions once a candidate received a majority of the votes it would start a bandwagon rolling to the nomination Clark s chances were hurt when Tammany Hall the powerful and corrupt Democratic political machine in New York City threw its support behind him This was the move that gave Clark a majority on the ninth ballot but instead of propelling Clark s bandwagon towards victory the endorsement led William Jennings Bryan to turn against the Speaker of the House A three time Democratic presidential candidate and still the leader of the party s liberals Bryan delivered a speech denouncing Clark as the candidate of Wall Street Up until the Tammany endorsement Bryan had remained neutral but once the corrupt machine put itself behind Clark he threw his support to New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson who was regarded as a moderate reformer Additionally Illinois Democratic Boss Roger Charles Sullivan and Indiana Democratic Boss Thomas Taggart made a deal with a member of Wilson s campaign In exchange for having Thomas R Marshall be Wilsons running mate Illinois and Indiana would put their support behind Wilson 3 Before these events Wilson had consistently finished second to Clark on each ballot Ironically Wilson had nearly given up hope that he could be nominated and he was on the verge of having a concession speech read for him at the convention freeing his delegates to vote for someone else After receiving the support of Bryan Sullivan and Taggart Wilson gradually gained in strength while Clark s support dwindled Wilson received the presidential nomination on the 46th ballot Presidential balloting edit The 46 ballots were the most cast at a convention since 1860 1 22 Presidential Ballot1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24thWilson 324 339 75 345 349 5 351 354 352 5 351 5 352 5 350 5 354 5 354 356 361 362 5 362 5 362 5 361 358 388 5 395 5 396 5 399 402 5Clark 440 5 446 5 441 443 443 445 449 5 448 5 452 556 554 547 5 554 5 553 552 551 545 535 532 512 508 500 5 497 5 496Harmon 148 141 140 5 136 5 141 5 135 129 5 130 127 31 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 0 0 0Underwood 117 5 111 25 114 5 112 119 5 121 123 5 123 122 5 117 5 118 5 123 115 5 111 110 5 112 5 112 5 125 130 121 5 118 5 115 114 5 115 5Foss 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 5 43 45 43T Marshall 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30Baldwin 22 14 14 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0W J Bryan 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 1 1Kern 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 2 2 2 4 5 3 5 1 1 1 1 0 0James 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0Sulzer 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Gaynor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0Lewis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Blank 2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 0 0 0 0 3 5 3 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 25 46 Presidential Ballot25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th UnanimousWilson 405 407 5 406 5 437 5 436 460 475 5 477 5 477 5 479 5 494 5 496 5 496 5 498 5 501 5 501 5 499 5 494 602 629 633 990 1 088Clark 469 463 5 469 468 5 468 5 455 446 5 446 5 447 5 447 5 433 5 434 5 432 5 425 422 423 424 430 329 306 306 84Harmon 29 29 29 29 29 19 17 14 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 28 27 27 28 27 25 12Underwood 108 112 5 112 112 5 112 121 5 116 5 119 5 103 5 101 5 101 5 98 5 100 5 106 106 106 106 104 98 5 99 97 0Foss 43 43 38 38 38 30 30 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 28 27 27 27 0T Marshall 30 30 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Baldwin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0W J Bryan 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 0Kern 0 0 0 1 4 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0James 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Sulzer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Gaynor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0Lewis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0Blank 0 1 5 2 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 1 5 0 0 2Vice presidential candidates edit nbsp Governor Thomas R Marshall of Indiana nbsp Senator George E Chamberlain of Oregon nbsp Former State Representative Elmore W Hurst of IllinoisWithdrew During Balloting edit nbsp Governor John Burke of North Dakota nbsp Mayor James H Preston of MarylandDeclined edit nbsp Speaker of the House Champ Clark of Missouri nbsp Former Representative Martin J Wade of Iowa nbsp Former Representative William Jennings Bryan of NebraskaClark and Bryan were both proposed as vice presidential nominees but both declined with Clark preferring to remain as Speaker and Bryan fearful of overshadowing Wilson 4 Bryan instead proposed Oregon Senator George E Chamberlain and North Dakota Governor John Burke the latter of whom became the main progressive candidate 4 Governor Thomas R Marshall of Indiana who had swung his state s delegate votes to Wilson in later ballots became the major candidate of conservatives 4 After the second ballot Representative William Hughes a leading campaign manager of Wilson s successfully proposed making the nomination of Marshall unanimous 4 Wilson and Marshall went on to win the 1912 presidential election against a split Republican Party nbsp Thomas R Marshall speaks to a crowd at a notification ceremony in Indianapolis after receiving news of his nominationVice Presidential BallotingCandidate 1st 2nd UnanimousMarshall 389 644 50 1 088Burke 304 67 386 33Chamberlain 157 12 50Hurst 78 0Preston 58 0Wade 26 0McCombs 18 0Osborne 8 0Sulzer 3 0Not Voting 46 33 44 67Not Represented 6 6 6Vice Presidential Balloting 7th Day of Convention July 2 1912 nbsp 1st Vice Presidential Ballot nbsp 2nd Vice Presidential BallotReferences in popular culture editThe primary battles leading up to the 1912 Democratic Convention are a pivotal event in Taylor Caldwell s 1972 novel Captains and the Kings In the novel the fictional Irish Catholic Rory Daniel Armagh a U S Senator from Pennsylvania emerges as the front runner for the 1912 Democratic presidential nomination after beating Woodrow Wilson in multiple primaries Unlike in real life Champ Clark is not a factor in the novel Armagh is assassinated as part of a conspiracy of international power brokers before the convention Scenes of the convention are depicted in the 1944 biographical film Wilson See also edit1912 Democratic Party presidential primaries History of the United States Democratic Party 1912 Republican National Convention 1912 United States presidential election Democratic National ConventionReferences edit Haynes By Stan M August 5 2020 When Baltimore was convention central baltimoresun com Baltimore Sun Retrieved August 6 2020 Black amp Black 1992 p 85 86 Roger C Sullivan and the Triumph of the Chicago Democratic Machine 1908 1920 p 82 101 a b c d Woodrow Wilson is Nominated for President Gov Marshall of Indiana for Vice President New York Times July 3 1912 Retrieved October 8 2015 Works cited editBlack Earl Black Merle 1992 The Vital South How Presidents Are Elected Harvard University Press ISBN 0674941306 Bibliography edit Official report of the proceedings of the Democratic national convention held in Baltimore Maryland June 25 26 27 28 29 and July 1 and 2 1912 William Jennings Bryan Virgil V McNitt A Tale of Two Conventions Funk amp Wagnalls Company 1912 External links editDemocratic Party Platform of 1912 at The American Presidency ProjectPreceded by1908Denver Colorado Democratic National Conventions1912 Succeeded by1916St Louis Missouri Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1912 Democratic National Convention amp oldid 1185112076, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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