The 1936 Democratic National Convention was held in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from June 23 to 27, 1936. The convention resulted in the nomination of President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Vice President A vice president or 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 vi ...

John N. Garner for reelection.

Changes to rules

At the 1936 Democratic Convention, the rule requiring candidates for president and

vice president A vice president or 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 vi ...

to have a majority of two-thirds of the delegates votes to win nomination, which had existed since 1832, was abolished. Roosevelt had long pushed for the rule's abolition, in part due to past deadlocks: for example, the 1924 convention had required 103 ballots over roughly two weeks to nominate John W. Davis. The conventioneers provided that a simple majority of delegates would be required to win nomination, allowing for candidates to more easily be nominated and thus produce less balloting. In this regard, only one Democratic Convention after 1932 has required multiple ballots (that of

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

, which required three). This also began the decline of the South's clout at Democratic conventions, making it easier for the Democrats to begin adopting

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

and other liberal ideas into their platforms, since the two-thirds rule had long given the South a ''de facto'' veto power on presidential nominees. With the rule's abolition, Missouri Senator Bennett Champ Clark noted that "the Democratic Party is no longer a sectional party, it has become a great national party." Southern Democrats would continue to decline in power, ultimately leading to the Dixiecrat movement and Nixon's 1968 Southern strategy. South Carolina Senator Ellison D. Smith walked out of the convention once he saw that a black minister, Marshall L. Shepard, was going to deliver the invocation.

Results

The Balloting: President Roosevelt and Vice President Garner were renominated by acclamation without need for a roll-call vote. In his acceptance speech on June 27 at the adjacent Franklin Field, Roosevelt remarked, "This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny."

References

External links

Democratic Party Platform of 1936
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Roosevelt Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project'' * {{Authority control 1930s political conferences 1936 conferences 1936 in Philadelphia 1936 United States presidential election Democratic National Conventions June 1936 in the United States Pennsylvania Democratic Party Political conventions in Philadelphia Political events in Pennsylvania

Changes to rules

Results

See also

References

External links