The 1948 Democratic National Convention was held at Philadelphia Convention Hall in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, from July 12 to July 14, 1948, and resulted in the nominations of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

for a full term and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Alben W. Barkley Alben William Barkley (; November 24, 1877 – April 30, 1956) was an American lawyer and politician from Kentucky who served in both houses of Congress and as the 35th vice president of the United States from 1949 to 1953 under Presiden ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

in the

1948 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1948. Africa * 1948 Mauritian general election * 1948 South African general election * 1948 Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * 1948 North Korean parliamentary election * 1948 Republic of China ...

. 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 Coaxial cable, or coax (pronounced ) is a type of electrical cable consisting of an inner conductor surrounded by a concentric conducting shield, with the two separated by a dielectric ( insulating material); many coaxial cables also have a p ...

. By the summer of 1948 two of the three new television networks,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

, 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 Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program on motion picture film, directly through a lens focused on the screen of a video monitor. The process was pioneered during the 194 ...

film of the conventions has survived.

Organization

The convention was called to order by the permanent chairman, Senator

of Kentucky. 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. 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!" Barkley continued by recalling the bad times of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s to turn the Republicans' most-repeated attack back on them. Republicans proposed "to clean the cobwebs" from the federal government. 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!" 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. His rhetorical effort had the effect of energizing delegates, who began to recover their enthusiasm. It also had the effect of propelling Barkley towards the vice presidential nomination.

The balloting

Balloting for president and vice president took place on July 13. While Southerners who opposed the expansion of civil rights contested Truman for the nomination, he was easily nominated on the first ballot.

President

File:Richard Brevard Russell.jpg,

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Richard Russell Jr. Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for alm ...

from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

File:James A. Roe (New York Congressman).jpg, Former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

James A. Roe from New York Image:Truman 58-766-09.jpg,

from

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

In the absence of three dozen Southern delegates who walked out of the convention with Thurmond, Truman was nominated by a vote of 947 to 263 over Senator Richard Russell, Jr. of Georgia.

Vice president

Truman and Barkley shaking hands 61-116-23

Various Democratic Party leaders had promoted candidates for the vice presidential nomination, including

and

Wilson W. Wyatt Wilson Watkins Wyatt (November 21, 1905 – June 11, 1996) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1941 to 1945 and as the 43rd Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1959 to 1963. He was a member of the Dem ...

William Preston Lane Jr. William Preston Lane Jr. (May 12, 1892 – February 7, 1967) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Maryland from 1947 to 1951. Early life and education Lane was born in Hagerstown, Maryland, on May 12, 1892, ...

and

Millard Tydings Millard Evelyn Tydings (April 6, 1890February 9, 1961) was an American attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland, serving in the House from 19 ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, Oscar R. Ewing of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

James Roosevelt James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine, activist, and Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, he served as an official Secr ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and

Joseph C. O'Mahoney Joseph Christopher O'Mahoney (November 5, 1884December 1, 1962) was an American journalist, lawyer, and politician. A Democrat, he served four complete terms as a U.S. Senator from Wyoming on two occasions, first from 1934-1953 and then again fro ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. In addition, Truman tried to interest

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...

in the nomination, but Douglas declined. During the convention, Barkley's keynote speech won over the delegates, and when it became clear Barkley had more than enough support to win the nomination, Truman agreed to accept him as his running mate. Barkley was nominated by acclamation.

Dispute over civil rights

On July 14, Northern Democrats led by Minneapolis Mayor

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

and Illinois Senate candidate

Paul Douglas Paul Howard Douglas (March 26, 1892 – September 24, 1976) was an American politician and Georgist economist. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois for eighteen years, from 1949 to 1967. During his Senat ...

pushed for the convention to adopt a strong

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

platform plank and endorse President Truman's pro-civil rights actions. 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. 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). In response, all 22 members of the Mississippi delegation, led by Governor Fielding L. Wright and former Governor

Hugh L. White Hugh Lawson White (August 19, 1881September 20, 1965) was an American politician from Mississippi and a member of the Democratic Party. He served two non-consecutive terms as Governor of Mississippi (1936–1940, 1952–1956). Early life Whi ...

, walked out of the assembly.Katagiri, Yasuhiro. ''The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission: Civil Rights and States' Rights'' Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2001; p. xxiv. Thirteen members of the Alabama delegation followed, led by Leven H. Ellis. The bolted delegates and other Southerners then formed the States' Rights Democratic Party (" Dixiecrats"), which nominated Strom Thurmond for president and 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 A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

in November, and in 1964,

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

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. 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!" His pugnacious attack on what he termed the "Do-Nothing

80th Congress The 80th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 194 ...

", further energized the delegates who had not taken part in the Dixiecrat walkout. 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.

References

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''

at

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' maga ...

President Truman's Address to the 1948 Democratic National ConventionHubert 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 DNCRace for the White House: Truman vs. Dewey
(YouTube) {{Authority control

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Democratic National Convention, 1948 Political conventions in Philadelphia Pennsylvania Democratic Party Political events in Pennsylvania Democratic National Conventions