1928 Democratic National Convention
The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas, June 26–28, 1928. Keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention[1] resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for president and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for vice president.
1928 presidential election | |
Nominees Smith and Robinson | |
Convention | |
---|---|
Date(s) | June 26–28, 1928 |
City | Houston, Texas |
Venue | Sam Houston Hall |
Candidates | |
Presidential nominee | Alfred E. Smith of New York |
Vice presidential nominee | Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas |
The convention was the first held by either party in the South since the Civil War. It was also the first to nominate a Roman Catholic for president, Al Smith. The Texas delegation, led by Governor Dan Moody, was vehemently opposed to Smith. Therefore, when Smith was nominated, they rallied against his anti-prohibition sentiment by fighting for a "dry", prohibitionist platform. Ultimately, the convention pledged "honest enforcement of the Constitution".
Smith became the first Democrat since Reconstruction to lose more than one southern state in the general election, due to his "wet" stance, his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, and his Catholicism.
Candidates for the nomination before and during the convention
- Representative Cordell Hull of Tennessee
- Senator James A. Reed of Missouri
- Former Senator Atlee Pomerene of Ohio
- William A. Ayres, U.S. representative from Kansas
- Theodore G. Bilbo, U.S. senator from Mississippi
- A. Victor Donahey, Governor of Ohio
- Walter F. George, U.S. senator from Georgia
- Pat Harrison, U.S. senator from Mississippi
- James T. Heflin, U.S. senator from Alabama
- Gilbert M. Hitchcock, former U.S. senator from Nebraska
- Cordell Hull, U.S. representative from Tennessee
- Jesse H. Jones, businessman from Texas
- William G. McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary from California
- Edwin T. Meredith, former Agriculture Secretary from Indiana
- Atlee Pomerene, former U.S. senator from Ohio
- Henry T. Rainey, U.S. representative from Illinois
- James A. Reed, U.S. senator from Missouri
- Al Smith, Governor of New York
- Thomas J. Walsh, U.S. senator from Montana
- Richard C. Watts, Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
- Evans Woollen, football coach from Indiana
Presidential Balloting, DNC 1928 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
First ballot | before shifts | after shifts | ||
Gov. Al Smith | 724.67 | 849.17 | ||
Sen. Walter F. George | 52.5 | 52.5 | ||
Sen. James A. Reed | 48 | 52 | ||
Rep. Cordell Hull | 71.83 | 50.83 | ||
Jesse H. Jones | 43 | 43 | ||
Judge Richard C. Watts | 18 | 18 | ||
Sen. Pat Harrison | 20 | 8.5 | ||
Evans Woollen | 32 | 7 | ||
Gov. A. Victor Donahey | 5 | 5 | ||
Rep. William A. Ayres | 20 | 3 | ||
Former Sen. Atlee Pomerene | 47 | 3 | ||
Former Sen. Gilbert M. Hitchcock | 16 | 2 | ||
Sen. Theodore G. Bilbo | - | 1 | ||
Candidates for the Vice Presidential nomination
Joseph T. Robinson was chosen as the vice presidential nominee. Among the candidates for nomination were:
- Joseph T. Robinson, Senate Minority Leader from Arkansas
- Henry T. Allen, retired U.S. Army major general from Kentucky[2]
- Alben W. Barkley, U.S. senator from Kentucky[2]
- Lewis Stevenson, son of former Vice President Adlai Stevenson I from Illinois[2]
- George L. Berry, Newspaper owner and publisher from Tennessee[2]
- Gilbert Hitchcock, former Senator from Nebraska[2]
- Joseph Reed, Senator from Missouri[2]
- Atlee Pomerene former Senator from Ohio[2]
- Evans Woollen, Bank founder, lawyer - Indiana [2]
- Cordell Hull, Congressman from Tennessee[2]
- Duncan U. Fletcher, U.S. senator from Florida
- Daniel Moody, Governor of Texas
- Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross, former Governor of Wyoming
- John H. Taylor
- Joseph P. Tumulty, delegate and former personal secretary to the president from New Jersey
See also
- Democratic Party presidential primaries, 1928
- List of Democratic National Conventions
- U.S. presidential nomination convention
- 1928 United States presidential election
- 1928 Republican National Convention
- History of the United States Democratic Party
References
- "The 1928 Democratic Convention". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
- Warn, WA (June 29, 1928). "Smith Wins Nomination on First Ballot With 849 2/3 Votes After States Shift to Him; Platform With a Dry Plank Is Adopted". New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
External links
- Governor Moody and the "Dry" Platform
- Democratic Party Platform of 1928 at The American Presidency Project
- Smith Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
Preceded by 1924 New York, New York |
Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1932 Chicago, Illinois |