The 1900 Democratic National Convention was a

United States presidential nominating convention A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. The formal purpo ...

that took place the week of July 4, 1900, at

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

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 ...

. The convention nominated

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running ...

for president and former Vice President Adlai E. Stevenson was nominated for vice president. The ticket was to lose the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

to the Republican ticket of

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

and

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidate

File:WilliamJBryan1902.png, Former

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

William J. Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

Declined

File:Adm. George Dewey (flipped).jpg,

Admiral of the Navy Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

George Dewey George Dewey (December 26, 1837January 16, 1917) was Admiral of the Navy, the only person in United States history to have attained that rank. He is best known for his victory at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish–American War, with ...

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Bryan had little opposition for the nomination after

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

hero Admiral

dropped out in May after being quoted in newspapers that he thought the President's job would be easy, because the president merely followed the orders of Congress to enforce laws. Bryan's strongest opposition at the convention came from

Richard Croker Richard Welstead Croker (November 24, 1843 – April 29, 1922), known as "Boss Croker," was an Irish American political boss who was a leader of New York City's Tammany Hall. His control over the city was cemented with the 1897 election of ...

of New York's

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

. Bryan was also nominated by a branch of the Populist Party. The 1900 Democratic National Convention was the first time a woman served as a delegate to a major party convention. Elizabeth M. Cohen of Salt Lake City, Utah, became a delegate when one of the Utah delegates could not serve, and she seconded the nomination of William Jennings Bryan. The convention marked the first time that a member of royalty attended a U.S. national nominating convention as a delegate. David Kawananakoa, heir to the throne of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, or Kingdom of Hawaiʻi ( Hawaiian: ''Ko Hawaiʻi Pae ʻĀina''), was a sovereign state located in the Hawaiian Islands. The country was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great, of the independent island ...

, represented the newest United States territory. Prince David was to break a tie about inserting a free silver plank into the convention platform. The Democrats included planks in the platform denouncing Republican

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

and expansion, as had been demonstrated in the Spanish–American War. Kansas City had the convention thanks to its new Convention Hall, which opened on February 22, 1899. The hall was destroyed in a fire on April 4, 1900, but was rebuilt in 90 days in time for the convention.

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 ...

served as a page at the convention. Source
US President – D Convention

Our Campaigns
'. (March 10, 2011).
File:1900DemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png,

Vice Presidential candidates

At the start of the convention, former Representative Charles A. Towne of Minnesota was considered the favorite for the vice presidential nomination, as both the

Populists Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

and the

Silver Republican Party The Silver Republican Party, later known as the Lincoln Republican Party, was a United States political party from 1896 to 1901. It was so named because it split from the Republican Party by supporting free silver (effectively, expansionary monet ...

backed Towne. Other names mentioned as possible candidates included former New York Senator

David B. Hill David Bennett Hill (August 29, 1843October 20, 1910) was an American politician from New York who was the 29th Governor of New York from 1885 to 1891 and represented New York in the United States Senate from 1892 to 1897. In 1892, he made an u ...

, former New York Senator

Edward Murphy Jr. Edward Murphy Jr. (December 15, 1836August 3, 1911) was a businessman and politician from Troy, New York. A Democrat, he served as mayor of Troy, New York (1875–1883), chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee (1888–1894), and a ...

and John W. Keller, New York City's

Commissioner of Public Charities The Commission of Public Charities was an organization in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over ...

. Seven names were placed in nomination: Adlai Stevenson, David B. Hill, Charles A. Towne, Abraham W. Patrick, Julian S. Carr, John W. Smith, and J. Hamilton Lewis. Former Representative Lewis thanked the convention for its generosity but did not wish to be considered for the vice presidency. Governor Smith declined to allow the use of his name, and it was withdrawn before the result was announced. Former Senator Hill was opposed to including a pro-silver plank in the party platform, so he spoke against his own nomination and declared that he would not take it if offered. Former Vice President Stevenson won the nomination with the help of Bryanites who wanted to keep Hill off of the ticket. The choice of Stevenson alienated the Populists and Silver Republicans, who had planned to nominate the Democratic ticket.

Vice Presidential candidates

File:Adlai Stevenson I by Saroney c1892-crop.jpg, Former

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 ...

Adlai E. Stevenson from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

File:CharlesTowne.jpg, Former

Charles A. Towne of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

File:AbrahamWPatrick.png, Former State Senator Abraham W. Patrick of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

File:Julian Shakespeare Carr (1845-1924).jpg,

Philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

Julian S. Carr of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

(Withdrawn)

Declined

File:DavidBennettHill.png, Former

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

File:John Walter Smith, photo portrait head and shoulders.jpg,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

John W. Smith of

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 ...

File:Hamilton lewis.jpg, Former

J. Hamilton Lewis of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

File:Edward Murphy Jr.jpg, Former Senator

File:1900DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallotBefore.png, File:1900DemocraticVicePresidentialNomination1stBallotAfter.png,

References

*
Official Report of the Proceedings of the Democratic National Convention, Held in Kansas City, Missouri, July 4th, 5th, and 6th, 1900
'

External links

Harpers Weekly Cartoon and History of Convention

Democratic Party Platform of 1900
at ''The American Presidency Project'' {{Authority control 1900 United States presidential election 1900 in Missouri 20th century in Kansas City, Missouri Conventions in Kansas City, Missouri Political conventions in Missouri Missouri Democratic Party Democratic National Conventions 1900 conferences July 1900 events

Presidential nomination

Presidential candidate

Declined

Vice Presidential candidates

Vice Presidential candidates

Declined

See also

References

External links