Chicago skyline along the Magnificent Mile on the night of August 11, 1956 (two days before the opening session of the convention)
Senator John F. Kennedy nominates Stevenson as the Democratic candidate for president.
John Daly and Quincy Howe providing ABC's coverage of the convention. 1956 was the second election year that the conventions were broadcast coast-to-coast
Former President Truman (left) greets Eleanor Roosevelt (right) at the convention as Adlai Stevenson (center) looks on
As the unsuccessful 1952 Democratic Party presidential nominee, Stevenson had the highest stature of the active candidates and was easily renominated on the first ballot. Former President Harry S. Truman, whose support for Stevenson in '52 helped secure him the nomination, was opposed to his renomination in 1956, instead favoring Harriman. It did no good, as Truman was no longer a sitting President, and Stevenson was nominated on the first ballot.
After Stevenson decided not to reselect his 1952 running mate John Sparkman, the convention was marked by a "free vote" for the vice presidential nomination in which the winner, Kefauver, defeated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts. The vice presidential nomination vote, which required three separate ballots, was (as of 2020) the last multi-balloted contest held at a quadrennial political convention of any major U.S. political party for the presidency or vice presidency.
The 1956 Democratic convention was held before that year's Republican National Convention. This was unusual, as since 1864, in every election but 1888, Democrats had held their convention second. It has become an informal tradition that the party holding the White House (which, accordingly, in 1956 had been the Republican Party) hosts their convention second, but it is unclear when this tradition began. Democrats had held the White House and held their conventions second between 1936 and 1952, but it is unclear whether they scheduled their conventions second in these years because of their White House incumbency, or whether they scheduled them second because it was traditional that Democratic National Conventions had been held after the Republican National Convention.[1]
This was the second election in which conventions were televised live coast-to-coast. Television had, by 1956, become the dominant medium of popular news coverage. To adjust to the medium of television, the convention was condensed in length compared to previous years, with daytime sessions being largely eliminated and the amount of welcoming speeches and parliamentary organization speeches being decreased (such as seconding speeches for vice-presidential candidates, which were eliminated). Sessions were also scheduled in order to maximize exposure to prime-time audience.[2]
The 1956 Democratic Platform
With regard to the growing Civil Rights Movement, the platform called for voting rights, equal employment opportunities, and the desegregation of public schools. Relative to the Republicans, the Democrats favored greater reliance on the United Nations, multilateral disarmament, more spending for programs relating to social welfare and agriculture, "a full and integrated program of development, protection, management and conservation of natural resources," and the use of peaceful atomic energy.
Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (August 16, 1956)
1st Presidential Ballot
Vice Presidential nomination
The highlight of the 1956 Democratic Convention came when Stevenson, in an effort to create excitement for the ticket, made the surprise announcement that the convention's delegates would choose his running mate. This set off a desperate scramble among several candidates to win the nomination. A good deal of the excitement of the vice-presidential race came from the fact that the candidates had only one hectic day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began. The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver, who retained the support of his primary delegates, and John F. Kennedy, who, as a first term Senator from Massachusetts, was relatively unknown at that point. Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot; at one point he was only 15 votes shy of winning. However, a number of states then left their "favorite son" candidates and switched to Kefauver, giving him the victory. Kennedy then gave a gracious concession speech. The narrow defeat raised his profile and helped Kennedy's long-term presidential chances; by losing to Kefauver he avoided any blame for Stevenson's expected loss to Eisenhower in November. As of 2020[update], this was the last time any presidential or vice presidential nomination of either the Democratic or Republican parties, went past the first ballot.
1956, democratic, national, convention, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 1956 Democratic National Convention news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article has an unclear citation style The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message The 1956 Democratic National Convention nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for president and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for vice president It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicago Illinois August 13 August 17 1956 Unsuccessful candidates for the presidential nomination included Governor W Averell Harriman of New York Senator Lyndon B Johnson of Texas and Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri 1956 Democratic National Convention1956 presidential electionNominees Stevenson and KefauverConventionDate s August 13 17 1956CityChicago IllinoisVenueInternational AmphitheatreKeynote speakerGov Frank G Clement of TennesseeCandidatesPresidential nomineeAdlai Stevenson of IllinoisVice presidential nomineeEstes Kefauver of Tennessee 1952 1960 Chicago skyline along the Magnificent Mile on the night of August 11 1956 two days before the opening session of the convention Senator John F Kennedy nominates Stevenson as the Democratic candidate for president John Daly and Quincy Howe providing ABC s coverage of the convention 1956 was the second election year that the conventions were broadcast coast to coast Former President Truman left greets Eleanor Roosevelt right at the convention as Adlai Stevenson center looks on As the unsuccessful 1952 Democratic Party presidential nominee Stevenson had the highest stature of the active candidates and was easily renominated on the first ballot Former President Harry S Truman whose support for Stevenson in 52 helped secure him the nomination was opposed to his renomination in 1956 instead favoring Harriman It did no good as Truman was no longer a sitting President and Stevenson was nominated on the first ballot After Stevenson decided not to reselect his 1952 running mate John Sparkman the convention was marked by a free vote for the vice presidential nomination in which the winner Kefauver defeated Senator John F Kennedy of Massachusetts The vice presidential nomination vote which required three separate ballots was as of 2020 the last multi balloted contest held at a quadrennial political convention of any major U S political party for the presidency or vice presidency The Democratic convention preceded the 1956 Republican convention in the Cow Palace San Francisco California At the GOP gathering President Dwight D Eisenhower and Vice President Richard Nixon were nominated for reelection Contents 1 Scheduling and logistics of convention 2 The 1956 Democratic Platform 3 Presidential nomination 3 1 Presidential candidates 4 Vice Presidential nomination 5 Election outcome 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksScheduling and logistics of convention EditThe 1956 Democratic convention was held before that year s Republican National Convention This was unusual as since 1864 in every election but 1888 Democrats had held their convention second It has become an informal tradition that the party holding the White House which accordingly in 1956 had been the Republican Party hosts their convention second but it is unclear when this tradition began Democrats had held the White House and held their conventions second between 1936 and 1952 but it is unclear whether they scheduled their conventions second in these years because of their White House incumbency or whether they scheduled them second because it was traditional that Democratic National Conventions had been held after the Republican National Convention 1 This was the second election in which conventions were televised live coast to coast Television had by 1956 become the dominant medium of popular news coverage To adjust to the medium of television the convention was condensed in length compared to previous years with daytime sessions being largely eliminated and the amount of welcoming speeches and parliamentary organization speeches being decreased such as seconding speeches for vice presidential candidates which were eliminated Sessions were also scheduled in order to maximize exposure to prime time audience 2 The 1956 Democratic Platform EditWith regard to the growing Civil Rights Movement the platform called for voting rights equal employment opportunities and the desegregation of public schools Relative to the Republicans the Democrats favored greater reliance on the United Nations multilateral disarmament more spending for programs relating to social welfare and agriculture a full and integrated program of development protection management and conservation of natural resources and the use of peaceful atomic energy Presidential nomination EditPresidential candidates Edit Former GovernorAdlai Stevenson of Illinois GovernorW Averell Harrimanof New York Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B Johnsonof Texas SenatorStuart Symingtonof Missouri GovernorHappy Chandlerof Kentucky RepresentativeJames C Davisof Georgia Former GovernorJohn S Battleof Virginia GovernorGeorge Timmermanof South CarolinaThe roll call as reported in Richard C Bain and Judith H Parris Convention Decisions and Voting Records pp 294 298 Presidential BallotingCandidate 1stStevenson 905 5Harriman 210Johnson 80Symington 45 5Chandler 36 5Davis 33Battle 32 5Timmerman 23 5Lausche 5 5Presidential Balloting 4th Day of Convention August 16 1956 1st Presidential BallotVice Presidential nomination EditThe highlight of the 1956 Democratic Convention came when Stevenson in an effort to create excitement for the ticket made the surprise announcement that the convention s delegates would choose his running mate This set off a desperate scramble among several candidates to win the nomination A good deal of the excitement of the vice presidential race came from the fact that the candidates had only one hectic day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began The two leading contenders were Senator Kefauver who retained the support of his primary delegates and John F Kennedy who as a first term Senator from Massachusetts was relatively unknown at that point Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot at one point he was only 15 votes shy of winning However a number of states then left their favorite son candidates and switched to Kefauver giving him the victory Kennedy then gave a gracious concession speech The narrow defeat raised his profile and helped Kennedy s long term presidential chances by losing to Kefauver he avoided any blame for Stevenson s expected loss to Eisenhower in November As of 2020 update this was the last time any presidential or vice presidential nomination of either the Democratic or Republican parties went past the first ballot Candidates Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee Senator John F Kennedy of Massachusetts Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota Mayor Robert F Wagner Jr of New York City Senator Albert Gore Sr of Tennessee Senator Clinton Presba Anderson of New Mexico Governor Frank G Clement of Tennessee Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida Governor Luther H Hodges of North CarolinaThe vote totals in the vice presidential balloting are recorded in the following table which also comes from Bain amp Parris Vice Presidential Balloting DNC 1956Contender Ballot 1 2 before shifts 2 after shiftsTennessee Senator Estes Kefauver 466 5 551 5 755 5Massachusetts Senator John F Kennedy 294 5 618 589Tennessee Senator Albert Gore Sr 178 110 5 13 5New York City Mayor Robert F Wagner Jr 162 5 9 5 6Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey 134 74 5 2North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges 40 0 5 0Pitt Tyson Maner of Alabama 33 0 0Florida Governor LeRoy Collins 29 0 0New Mexico Senator Clinton Anderson 16 0 0Tennessee Governor Frank G Clement 14 0 0California Attorney General Pat Brown 1 0 0Texas Senator Lyndon B Johnson 1 0 0Missouri Senator Stuart Symington 1 0 0Election outcome EditOn November 6 Stevenson and Kefauver lost the election to President Eisenhower and Vice President Nixon in a landslide See also Edit1956 Republican National Convention 1956 United States presidential election History of the United States Democratic Party 1956 Democratic Party presidential primaries List of Democratic National Conventions United States presidential nominating conventionReferences Edit Whose Convention Goes First Slate Magazine 3 August 2000 Retrieved 11 April 2020 Jarvis Sharon PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CONVENTIONS AND TELEVISION www museum tv Museum of Broadcast Communications Retrieved April 1 2017 External links EditDemocratic Party Platform of 1956 at The American Presidency Project Stevenson Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC transcript at The American Presidency Project Video of Stevenson nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC via YouTube Audio of Stevenson nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC permanent dead link Video of Kefauver nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC via YouTube Preceded by1952Chicago Illinois Democratic National Conventions Succeeded by1960Los Angeles California Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1956 Democratic National Convention amp oldid 1154156328, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
