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The 1956 Republican National Convention was held by the
Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...
of the
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at the Cow Palace in
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,
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, from August 20 to August 23, 1956. U.S. Senator William F. Knowland was temporary chairman and former speaker of the House
Joseph W. Martin Jr. Joseph William Martin Jr. (November 3, 1884 – March 6, 1968) was an American Republican politician who served as the 44th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1947 to 1949 and 1953 to 1955. He represented a House district ...
served as permanent chairman. It renominated President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Vice President Richard M. Nixon as the party's candidates for the 1956 presidential election. On August 23, 1956, singer Nat King Cole spoke at the Republican Convention. The 1956 Republican convention was held after that year's Democratic National Convention. This was unusual, as since
1864 Events January–March * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster (" Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song ...
, 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).


The 'Joe Smith incident'

President Eisenhower was unanimously re-nominated by the Republican delegates for President of the United States. Such was expected for Vice President Nixon as well, until one renegade delegate, former Democratic Congressman and perennial candidate Terry Carpenter, decided to place in nomination for Vice President a man named Joe Smith, from Carpenter's own
Terrytown, Nebraska Terrytown is a city in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,198 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Scottsbluff, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. Terrytown is located on the bank of the North Platte Riv ...
. When asked who Joe Smith was at the 1956 convention, Carpenter mysteriously replied, "Oh, he is a symbol of an open convention, in that sense of the word." It was eventually revealed that there was no such man, and that his nomination was a protest against the perceived political theater of the closed 1956 Republican National Convention. He ultimately did cast his one dissenting vote for Vice President for Joe Smith.


See also

* History of the United States Republican Party * List of Republican National Conventions * 1956 Democratic National Convention * 1956 United States presidential election


References


External links


Republican Party platform of 1956
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Eisenhower nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project''
Universal newsreel footage of the conventionUniversal newsreel footage of the conventionVideo of Nixon nomination acceptance speech for Vice President and Eisenhower nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC from C-SPAN (via YouTube)

Audio of Eisenhower nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC
{{Authority control Republican National Conventions 1956 United States presidential election 1956 in California Republican Party (United States) events in California 1956 conferences August 1956 events in the United States