Ranking the political conventions of the past 100 years
“There is something about a national convention that makes it as fascinating as a revival or a hanging,” legendary columnist H.L. Mencken wrote in 1924.
“It is vulgar, it is ugly, it is stupid, it is tedious,” he observed. “One sits through long sessions wishing all the delegates and alternates were dead and in hell — and then suddenly there comes a show so gaudy and hilarious, so melodramatic and obscene, so unimaginably exhilarating and preposterous that one lives a gorgeous year in an hour.”
For this special section, I reviewed the conventions of the two major parties over the last 100 years. I picked the most interesting convention in each decade — 10 in all — then ranked them, for drama, importance, interest. I used books, newspaper accounts, videos, oral histories and my own reporting as sources for the stories on each convention.
Political conventions are vulgar, stupid, boring — and fascinating
The role of the national political convention has changed over the last 100 years, turning into pageants instead of decision-making affairs. But they remain essential in picking a president, and they can still pack a surprise or two.
1: 1968 Democratic National Convention
President Lyndon Johnson already had announced he wouldn’t run again after anger over the Vietnam War overwhelmed his legacy. Vice President Hubert Humphrey won the nomination in a historic convention remembered for violence in the streets and for changing the way Americans pick their presidents.
2: 1976 Republican National Convention
After Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, the nomination was up for grabs. Gerald Ford was able to defeat Ronald Reagan in a bitter battle, only to lose in November to Jimmy Carter. But the Kansas City convention saw the birth of the modern conservative movement.
3: 1912 Republican National Convention
The 1912 convention showed what happens when two former friends, later bitter rivals, battle and split the vote. They hand the election to a political novice, in this case soon-to-be President Woodrow Wilson.
4: 1924 Democratic National Convention
Delegates at the convention endured 103 ballots over two weeks in New York. In the mix were Kansas City, a Kansan and the Ku Klux Klan.
5: 1944 Democratic National Convention
Democrats knew that if they picked Franklin Roosevelt, he would win and he would die in office. So their choice of a candidate for vice president was crucial.
6: 2008 Democratic National Convention
The convention that nominated Barack Obama set a standard for pageantry, but the plan for it was risky. It depended on weather, logistics and a crowd of 80,000 showing up.
7: 1936 Republican National Convention
Nominee Alf Landon of Kansas didn’t show up at the convention to accept the nomination. He didn’t campaign a lot either and was crushed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the November election. But Landon may already have been doomed by historical forces.
8: 1980 Republican National Convention
For a while it looked like Ronald Reagan might pick former president Gerald Ford as a running mate. Rumors ran wild, but in the end the “dream ticket” never happened.
9: 1956 Democratic National Convention
Nominee Adlai Stevenson decided to let the Democratic convention pick his running mate. That caught the delegates by surprise, leading to the last multiballot convention in American history.
10: 1992 Republican convention
Heated rhetoric at the convention by Pat Buchanan and others may have been too hot for a television audience. Although some think it may have helped George H.W. Bush in his campaign for re-election, many think it crippled him, leading to his defeat by Bill Clinton.
Other Democratic and Republican conventions worth recalling
Several conventions have marked firsts in history, while others were notable for their drama. And some only became historic in hindsight. Here are other important conventions.
This story was originally published July 18, 2016 at 9:00 AM with the headline "Ranking the political conventions of the past 100 years."