1972 Democratic National Convention
Encyclopedia
The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party
for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center
in Miami Beach, Florida
on July 10–13, 1972.
It nominated Senator
George McGovern
of South Dakota
for President
and Senator Thomas Eagleton
of Missouri
for Vice President
. Eagleton later withdrew from the race when it was disclosed that he had undergone mental health
treatment, including electroshock therapy, in the past, and he was replaced on the ballot by Sargent Shriver
.
The convention itself was one of the most unusual in recent American history, with sessions beginning in the early evening and lasting until sunrise the next morning, and previously excluded political activists gaining influence at the expense of elected officials and traditional core Democratic constituencies such as organized labor
. A protracted vice presidential nominating process delayed McGovern's acceptance speech until the early hours of the morning, after most television viewers had gone to bed. Hunter S. Thompson
covered this convention in detail in several articles and in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
.
Donald Fraser
; the Commission is known as the McGovern-Fraser Commission). The 28-member commission was established after the tumultuous 1968 convention
.
The commission set guidelines ordering state
parties to "adopt explicit written Party rules governing delegate selection" and implemented eight "procedural rules and safeguards," including the prohibition of proxy voting
, the end of the unit rule (winner-take-all primaries) and related practices such as instructing delegations, a new quorum
requirement of not less than 40 percent at all party committee meetings, the removal of all mandatory assessments of delegates and the cap of mandatory participation fees at $10. In addition, there were new rules ensuring that party meetings in non-rural areas were held on uniform dates, at uniform times and in places of easy access and that adequate public notice of all party meetings concerned with delegate selection was posted. Among the most significant of the changes were new quotas mandating that certain percentages of delegates be women or members of minority groups.
As a result of the new rules, subjects that were previously deemed not fit for political debate, such as abortion
and gay rights
, now occupied the forefront of political discussion. The new rules for choosing and seating delegates created an unusual number of rules and credentials challenges. Many traditional Democratic groups such as organized labor and big city political machine
s had small representation at the convention. Their supporters challenged the seating of relative political novices, but for the most part were turned back by the supporters of McGovern, who during the presidential primaries
had amassed the most delegates to the convention by using a grassroots
campaign that was powered by opposition to the Vietnam War
. Many traditional Democratic leaders and politicians felt that McGovern's delegate count did not reflect the wishes of most Democratic voters. Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter
helped to spearhead a "Stop McGovern" campaign, while at the same time trying to become McGovern's candidate for vice president. The stop-McGovern forces tried unsuccessfully to alter the delegate composition of the California
delegation.
The Illinois
primary required voters to select individual delegates, not presidential candidates. Most Illinois delegation members were uncommitted and were controlled or influenced by Chicago Mayor
Richard J. Daley
, the leader of the Chicago political machine
. The delegation was challenged by McGovern supporters arguing that the results of the primary did not create a diverse enough delegation in terms of women and minorities. The credentials committee, headed by Patricia Roberts Harris
, rejected the entire elected delegation, including elected women and minorities, and seated an unelected delegation led by Chicago Alderman William S. Singer, Jesse Jackson
and pledged to George McGovern.
The California
primary was "winner-take-all," which was contrary to the delegate selection rules. So even though McGovern only won the California primary by a 5% electoral margin, he won all 271 of their delegates to the convention. The anti-McGovern group argued for a proportional distribution of the delegates, while the McGovern forces stressed that the rules for the delegate selection had been set and the Stop McGovern alliance was trying to change the rules after the game. As with the credential fight, McGovern's army carried the day effectively handing the nomination to McGovern.
McGovern recognized the mixed results of the changes that he made to the Democratic nominating convention, saying, "I opened the doors of the Democratic Party and 20 million people walked out."
, except when McGovern was paired with Massachusetts
Senator Ted Kennedy
. McGovern and his campaign brain trust lobbied Kennedy heavily to accept the bid to be McGovern's running mate
, but he continually refused their advances, and instead suggested U.S. Representative (and House Ways and Means Committee chairman) Wilbur Mills
of Arkansas
and Boston Mayor Kevin White. Offers were then made to Hubert Humphrey
, Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff and Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale
, all of whom turned it down.
McGovern and his campaign staff felt that a Kennedy-style figure to balance the ticket
: a Catholic, big city-based leader with strong ties to organized labor and urban political machines. McGovern informed Kennedy that he was seriously considering Kevin White, who had informed McGovern he was available. But the Massachusetts delegates threatened to boycott the convention hall if the choice was White, who as a Edmund Muskie
supporter had fought sharply with the McGovern slate during the primary. White was dropped.
Finally, the vice presidential slot was offered to Senator Thomas Eagleton
of Missouri. Eagleton was relatively unknown to many of the delegates. This, along with the inexperience of many of the delegates who were wary after the protracted infighting, caused the vice presidential balloting to become almost a farce. The delegates insisted on nominating eight candidates for Vice President, including not only Eagleton but also Senator Mike Gravel
of Alaska
, former Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody
, and Frances "Sissy" Farenthold
of the Texas state House
. By the time the roll call finally began, the delegates were in a prankish mood, casting ballots for people not involved in politics, deceased persons, non-American persons or even fictional characters. Such ballots were cast for Martha Beall Mitchell
, CBS-TV's Roger Mudd
, Mao Zedong
, and the fictional Archie Bunker
.
Eventually, Eagleton secured the nomination but the last-day-of-school atmosphere of the proceedings dragged out the process. When Eagleton was at last confirmed, it was 1:40 a.m. This delay forced the acceptance speeches of the candidates to be given well past the television prime time
hours and probably hurt the McGovern campaign by not creating the so-called "convention bounce."
Several days after the convention, it was revealed that Senator Eagleton had been hospitalized for depression and had electric shock treatment. He was also rumored to be more than a social drinker and had what many considered too close ties to the Kansas City
Pendergast machine
. McGovern stood behind his choice and stated that he was behind Senator Eagleton "1000 percent". The news media and many political pros, especially in the Democratic Party, lobbied hard for his removal from the ticket.
Eventually, McGovern felt compelled to accept Senator Eagleton's resignation from the ticket. The episode had placed McGovern in a "no-win" situation. If he kept Eagleton, the selection did not look good for the decision-making ability of the McGovern team, while if he removed Eagleton, he appeared to be weak and vacillating. Since this incident, front-running presidential candidates have developed short lists of potential running mates and have meticulously performed background checks.
McGovern chose Sargent Shriver
as his running mate a few weeks later. The McGovern-Shriver ticket went on to one of the greatest defeats in American political history.
, as did the Republicans.
There were disagreements within the Democrats of the National Women's Political Caucus
, and the Women's Movement in general, over how to best approach certain issues. At the convention Betty Friedan
clashed with Gloria Steinem
over the way NWPC women should approach certain issues, and whether or not they should make sure to throw all possible support behind Shirley Chisholm
(both women were supporters of Chisholm's Presidential campaign).
McGovern ultimately excised the abortion issue from the party's platform. (Recent publications show McGovern was deeply conflicted on the issue.) Actress and activist Shirley MacLaine
, though privately supporting abortion rights, urged the delegates to vote against the plank. Gloria Steinem later wrote this description of the events:
Germaine Greer
flatly contradicted Steinem's account. Having recently gained public notoriety for her feminist manifesto The Female Eunuch
and sparring with Norman Mailer
, Greer was commissioned to cover the convention for Harper's Magazine
. Greer criticized Steinem's "controlled jubilation" that 38% of the delegates were women, ignoring that "many delegations had merely stacked themselves with token females...The McGovern machine had already pulled the rug out from under them."
Greer leveled her most searing critique on Steinem for her capitulation on abortion rights. Greer reported, "Jacqui Ceballos called from the crowd to demand abortion rights on the Democratic platform, but Bella [Abzug
] and Gloria stared glassily out into the room," thus killing the abortion rights platform. Greer asks, "Why had Bella and Gloria not helped Jacqui to nail him on abortion? What reticence, what loserism had afflicted them?"
The cover of Harper's that month read, "Womanlike, they did not want to get tough with their man, and so, womanlike, they got screwed."
Source
Source
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at Miami Beach Convention Center
Miami Beach Convention Center
Miami Beach Convention Center is an indoor arena in Miami Beach, Florida and it is currently the largest convention center in the Miami area. It now features 4 large rooms each holding about 12,000 people.- History :...
in Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
on July 10–13, 1972.
It nominated Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and Senator Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972...
of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Eagleton later withdrew from the race when it was disclosed that he had undergone mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
treatment, including electroshock therapy, in the past, and he was replaced on the ballot by Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
.
The convention itself was one of the most unusual in recent American history, with sessions beginning in the early evening and lasting until sunrise the next morning, and previously excluded political activists gaining influence at the expense of elected officials and traditional core Democratic constituencies such as organized labor
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
. A protracted vice presidential nominating process delayed McGovern's acceptance speech until the early hours of the morning, after most television viewers had gone to bed. Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter S. Thompson
Hunter Stockton Thompson was an American journalist and author who wrote The Rum Diary , Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 .He is credited as the creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where reporters involve themselves in the action to...
covered this convention in detail in several articles and in Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72 is a collection of articles covering the 1972 presidential campaign written by the gonzo journalist Hunter S Thompson and illustrated by Ralph Steadman...
.
Delegate selection
The 1972 convention was significant as the first implementation of the reforms set by the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, which McGovern himself had chaired before running for president. (McGovern resigned as chair to run for president, and he was replaced as chair by U.S. RepresentativeUnited States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Donald Fraser
Donald M. Fraser
Donald MacKay Fraser is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Early life:Donald Fraser played a critical role in making human rights an important part of U.S. policy. Fraser was born on 20 February 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Everett and Lois Fraser. His parents were émigrés...
; the Commission is known as the McGovern-Fraser Commission). The 28-member commission was established after the tumultuous 1968 convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
.
The commission set guidelines ordering state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
parties to "adopt explicit written Party rules governing delegate selection" and implemented eight "procedural rules and safeguards," including the prohibition of proxy voting
Proxy voting
Proxy voting has two forms: delegable voting and delegated voting, which are procedures for the delegation to another member of a voting body of that member's power to vote in his absence, and/or for the selection of additional representatives, as in the case with transitive proxies...
, the end of the unit rule (winner-take-all primaries) and related practices such as instructing delegations, a new quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
requirement of not less than 40 percent at all party committee meetings, the removal of all mandatory assessments of delegates and the cap of mandatory participation fees at $10. In addition, there were new rules ensuring that party meetings in non-rural areas were held on uniform dates, at uniform times and in places of easy access and that adequate public notice of all party meetings concerned with delegate selection was posted. Among the most significant of the changes were new quotas mandating that certain percentages of delegates be women or members of minority groups.
As a result of the new rules, subjects that were previously deemed not fit for political debate, such as abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
and gay rights
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
, now occupied the forefront of political discussion. The new rules for choosing and seating delegates created an unusual number of rules and credentials challenges. Many traditional Democratic groups such as organized labor and big city political machine
Political machine
A political machine is a political organization in which an authoritative boss or small group commands the support of a corps of supporters and businesses , who receive rewards for their efforts...
s had small representation at the convention. Their supporters challenged the seating of relative political novices, but for the most part were turned back by the supporters of McGovern, who during the presidential primaries
United States presidential primary
The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses is one of the first steps in the process of electing the President of the United States of America. The primary elections are run by state and local governments, while caucuses are private events run by the political parties...
had amassed the most delegates to the convention by using a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
campaign that was powered by opposition to the Vietnam War
Opposition to the Vietnam War
The movement against US involvment in the in Vietnam War began in the United States with demonstrations in 1964 and grew in strength in later years. The US became polarized between those who advocated continued involvement in Vietnam, and those who wanted peace. Peace movements consisted largely of...
. Many traditional Democratic leaders and politicians felt that McGovern's delegate count did not reflect the wishes of most Democratic voters. Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
helped to spearhead a "Stop McGovern" campaign, while at the same time trying to become McGovern's candidate for vice president. The stop-McGovern forces tried unsuccessfully to alter the delegate composition of the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
delegation.
The Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
primary required voters to select individual delegates, not presidential candidates. Most Illinois delegation members were uncommitted and were controlled or influenced by Chicago Mayor
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
Richard J. Daley
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
, the leader of the Chicago political machine
Cook County Democratic Organization
The Cook County Democratic Organization is one of the most powerful political machines in American history. Historically called the "Chicago Democratic machine", or simply the "Chicago Machine", the organization has dominated Chicago politics since the 1930s...
. The delegation was challenged by McGovern supporters arguing that the results of the primary did not create a diverse enough delegation in terms of women and minorities. The credentials committee, headed by Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris
Patricia Roberts Harris served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Jimmy Carter...
, rejected the entire elected delegation, including elected women and minorities, and seated an unelected delegation led by Chicago Alderman William S. Singer, Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
and pledged to George McGovern.
The California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
primary was "winner-take-all," which was contrary to the delegate selection rules. So even though McGovern only won the California primary by a 5% electoral margin, he won all 271 of their delegates to the convention. The anti-McGovern group argued for a proportional distribution of the delegates, while the McGovern forces stressed that the rules for the delegate selection had been set and the Stop McGovern alliance was trying to change the rules after the game. As with the credential fight, McGovern's army carried the day effectively handing the nomination to McGovern.
McGovern recognized the mixed results of the changes that he made to the Democratic nominating convention, saying, "I opened the doors of the Democratic Party and 20 million people walked out."
Running mate
Most polls showed McGovern running well behind incumbent President Richard NixonRichard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, except when McGovern was paired with Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
. McGovern and his campaign brain trust lobbied Kennedy heavily to accept the bid to be McGovern's running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
, but he continually refused their advances, and instead suggested U.S. Representative (and House Ways and Means Committee chairman) Wilbur Mills
Wilbur Mills
Wilbur Daigh Mills , was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Arkansas...
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and Boston Mayor Kevin White. Offers were then made to Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
, Connecticut Senator Abraham Ribicoff and Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale
Walter Mondale
Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
, all of whom turned it down.
McGovern and his campaign staff felt that a Kennedy-style figure to balance the ticket
Ticket balance
In United States politics, balancing the ticket is when a political candidate chooses a running mate with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to the campaign. It is most prominently used to describe the selection of the U.S. Vice Presidential candidate.There are several means by which the...
: a Catholic, big city-based leader with strong ties to organized labor and urban political machines. McGovern informed Kennedy that he was seriously considering Kevin White, who had informed McGovern he was available. But the Massachusetts delegates threatened to boycott the convention hall if the choice was White, who as a Edmund Muskie
Edmund Muskie
Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
supporter had fought sharply with the McGovern slate during the primary. White was dropped.
Finally, the vice presidential slot was offered to Senator Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972...
of Missouri. Eagleton was relatively unknown to many of the delegates. This, along with the inexperience of many of the delegates who were wary after the protracted infighting, caused the vice presidential balloting to become almost a farce. The delegates insisted on nominating eight candidates for Vice President, including not only Eagleton but also Senator Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, former Massachusetts Governor Endicott Peabody
Endicott Peabody
Endicott "Chub" Peabody was the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts from January 3, 1963 to January 7, 1965.-Early life:...
, and Frances "Sissy" Farenthold
Frances Farenthold
Frances Tarlton Farenthold , commonly referred to as Sissy Farenthold, is an American Democratic politician, attorney and educator, who was the third woman whose name was put into nomination for Vice President of the United States at a major party's nominating convention Frances Tarlton Farenthold...
of the Texas state House
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Texas Legislature. The House is composed of 150 members elected from single-member districts across the state. The average district has about 150,000 people. Representatives are elected to two-year terms with no term limits...
. By the time the roll call finally began, the delegates were in a prankish mood, casting ballots for people not involved in politics, deceased persons, non-American persons or even fictional characters. Such ballots were cast for Martha Beall Mitchell
Martha Beall Mitchell
Martha Beall Mitchell was the wife of John N. Mitchell, United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon. Martha Mitchell gained notoriety in the press during the Nixon administration for her frequent phone calls to reporters and colorful comments on the state of the nation...
, CBS-TV's Roger Mudd
Roger Mudd
Roger Mudd is a U.S. television journalist and broadcaster, most recently as the primary anchor for The History Channel. Previously, Mudd was weekend and weekday substitute anchor of CBS Evening News, co-anchor of the weekday NBC Nightly News, and hosted NBC's Meet the Press, and NBC's American...
, Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, and the fictional Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
.
Eventually, Eagleton secured the nomination but the last-day-of-school atmosphere of the proceedings dragged out the process. When Eagleton was at last confirmed, it was 1:40 a.m. This delay forced the acceptance speeches of the candidates to be given well past the television prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
hours and probably hurt the McGovern campaign by not creating the so-called "convention bounce."
Several days after the convention, it was revealed that Senator Eagleton had been hospitalized for depression and had electric shock treatment. He was also rumored to be more than a social drinker and had what many considered too close ties to the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
Pendergast machine
Tom Pendergast
Thomas Joseph Pendergast controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri as a political boss. "Boss Tom" Pendergast gave workers jobs and helped elect politicians during the Great Depression, becoming wealthy in the process.-Early years:Thomas Joseph Pendergast, also known to close friends as...
. McGovern stood behind his choice and stated that he was behind Senator Eagleton "1000 percent". The news media and many political pros, especially in the Democratic Party, lobbied hard for his removal from the ticket.
Eventually, McGovern felt compelled to accept Senator Eagleton's resignation from the ticket. The episode had placed McGovern in a "no-win" situation. If he kept Eagleton, the selection did not look good for the decision-making ability of the McGovern team, while if he removed Eagleton, he appeared to be weak and vacillating. Since this incident, front-running presidential candidates have developed short lists of potential running mates and have meticulously performed background checks.
McGovern chose Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
as his running mate a few weeks later. The McGovern-Shriver ticket went on to one of the greatest defeats in American political history.
Feminism
The Feminist Movement was a major influence on the Democratic platform of 1972, and on the entire convention in general. With renewed vigor, the Democrats reaffirmed their dedication to the Equal Rights AmendmentEqual Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
, as did the Republicans.
There were disagreements within the Democrats of the National Women's Political Caucus
National Women's Political Caucus
The National Women's Political Caucus is a national bipartisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices....
, and the Women's Movement in general, over how to best approach certain issues. At the convention Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was an American writer, activist, and feminist.A leading figure in the Women's Movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the "second wave" of American feminism in the twentieth century...
clashed with Gloria Steinem
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the women's liberation movement in the late 1960s and 1970s...
over the way NWPC women should approach certain issues, and whether or not they should make sure to throw all possible support behind Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
(both women were supporters of Chisholm's Presidential campaign).
McGovern ultimately excised the abortion issue from the party's platform. (Recent publications show McGovern was deeply conflicted on the issue.) Actress and activist Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine
Shirley MacLaine is an American film and theater actress, singer, dancer, activist and author, well-known for her beliefs in new age spirituality and reincarnation. She has written a large number of autobiographical works, many dealing with her spiritual beliefs as well as her Hollywood career...
, though privately supporting abortion rights, urged the delegates to vote against the plank. Gloria Steinem later wrote this description of the events:
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
flatly contradicted Steinem's account. Having recently gained public notoriety for her feminist manifesto The Female Eunuch
The Female Eunuch
The Female Eunuch is a book first published in 1970 that became an international bestseller and an important text in the feminist movement. The author, Germaine Greer, became well known in broadcast media of the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and her home of Australia...
and sparring with Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
, Greer was commissioned to cover the convention for Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
. Greer criticized Steinem's "controlled jubilation" that 38% of the delegates were women, ignoring that "many delegations had merely stacked themselves with token females...The McGovern machine had already pulled the rug out from under them."
Greer leveled her most searing critique on Steinem for her capitulation on abortion rights. Greer reported, "Jacqui Ceballos called from the crowd to demand abortion rights on the Democratic platform, but Bella [Abzug
Bella Abzug
Bella Savitsky Abzug was an American lawyer, Congresswoman, social activist and a leader of the Women's Movement. In 1971, Abzug joined other leading feminists such as Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan to found the National Women's Political Caucus...
] and Gloria stared glassily out into the room," thus killing the abortion rights platform. Greer asks, "Why had Bella and Gloria not helped Jacqui to nail him on abortion? What reticence, what loserism had afflicted them?"
The cover of Harper's that month read, "Womanlike, they did not want to get tough with their man, and so, womanlike, they got screwed."
Right to be different
The Democrats also included "the right to be different" in their 1972 platform. According to the party, this right included the right to "maintain a cultural or ethnic heritage or lifestyle, without being forced into a compelled homogeneity."Delegate vote for presidential nomination
- George McGovernGeorge McGovernGeorge Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
- 1,729 (57.37%) - Henry M. JacksonHenry M. JacksonHenry Martin "Scoop" Jackson was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from the state of Washington from 1941 until his death...
- 525 (17.42%) - George WallaceGeorge WallaceGeorge Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
- 382 (12.67%) - Shirley ChisholmShirley ChisholmShirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
- 152 (5.04%) - Terry SanfordTerry SanfordJames Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
- 78 (2.59%) - Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
- 67 (2.22%) - Wilbur MillsWilbur MillsWilbur Daigh Mills , was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Arkansas...
- 34 (1.13%) - Edmund MuskieEdmund MuskieEdmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
- 25 (0.83%) - Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
- 13 (0.43%) - Wayne HaysWayne HaysWayne Levere Hays was an American politician whose strong rule of the House Administration Committee extended to even the smallest items. In the mid-1970s, lawmakers avoided crossing Hays for fear that he would shut off the air conditioning in their offices...
- 5 (0.17%) - Eugene McCarthyEugene McCarthyEugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
- 2 (0.07%) - Ramsey ClarkRamsey ClarkWilliam Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
- 1 (0.03%) - Walter MondaleWalter MondaleWalter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale is an American Democratic Party politician, who served as the 42nd Vice President of the United States , under President Jimmy Carter, and as a United States Senator for Minnesota...
- 1 (0.03%)
Source
Delegate vote for vice-presidential nomination
- Thomas EagletonThomas EagletonThomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972...
- 1,742 (59.07%) - Frances FarentholdFrances FarentholdFrances Tarlton Farenthold , commonly referred to as Sissy Farenthold, is an American Democratic politician, attorney and educator, who was the third woman whose name was put into nomination for Vice President of the United States at a major party's nominating convention Frances Tarlton Farenthold...
- 405 (13.73%) - Mike GravelMike GravelMaurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
- 226 (7.66%) - Endicott PeabodyEndicott PeabodyEndicott "Chub" Peabody was the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts from January 3, 1963 to January 7, 1965.-Early life:...
- 108 (3.66%) - Clay Smothers - 74 (2.51%)
- Birch BayhBirch BayhBirch Evans Bayh II is a former United States Senator from Indiana, having served from 1963 to 1981. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in the 1976 election, but lost to Jimmy Carter. He is the father of former Indiana Governor and former U.S. Senator Evan Bayh.-Life...
- 62 (2.10%) - Peter W. RodinoPeter W. RodinoPeter Wallace Rodino, Jr. was a Democratic United States Congressman from New Jersey from 1949 to 1989. Rodino rose to prominence as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, where he was chair of the impeachment hearings that led to the resignation of President Richard...
- 57 (1.93%) - Jimmy CarterJimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
- 30 (1.02%) - Shirley ChisholmShirley ChisholmShirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
- 20 (0.68%) - Moon LandrieuMoon LandrieuMaurice Edwin "Moon" Landrieu is a Democratic politician from Louisiana who served as Mayor of New Orleans from 1970–1978. He also is a former judge...
- 19 (0.64%) - Edward T. BreathittEdward T. BreathittEdward Thompson "Ned" Breathitt, Jr. was a politician from the US state of Kentucky. A member of one of the state's political families, he was the 51st Governor of Kentucky, serving from 1963 to 1967...
- 18 (0.61%) - Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
- 15 (0.51%) - Fred R. HarrisFred R. HarrisFred Roy Harris is a former Democratic United States Senator from the state of Oklahoma. He served from 1964 until 1973.-Biography:...
- 14 (0.48%) - Richard G. HatcherRichard G. HatcherRichard Gordon Hatcher became on January 1, 1968, the first African-American mayor of Gary, Indiana. He had won election the previous November as one of the first black mayors elected in a northern industrial city and the first in the state of Indiana.Hatcher earned his B.S. from Indiana...
- 11 (0.37%) - Harold HughesHarold HughesHarold Everett Hughes was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969; he had been a Republican earlier in his life. He also served as a Democratic United States Senator from 1969 until 1975.-Background:...
- 10 (0.34%) - Joseph MontoyaJoseph MontoyaJoseph Manuel Montoya was a Democratic U.S. Senator for the State of New Mexico from 1964 until 1977.-Education:...
- 9 (0.31%) - William L. GuyWilliam L. GuyWilliam Lewis Guy was the governor of the U.S. state of North Dakota from 1961 to 1973. At , he is the oldest of the six living current or past governors of North Dakota.-Biography:...
- 8 (0.27%) - Adlai Stevenson IIIAdlai Stevenson IIIAdlai Ewing Stevenson III is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He represented the state of Illinois in the United States Senate from 1970 until 1981.-Education, military service, and early career:...
- 8 (0.27%) - Robert BerglandRobert BerglandRobert Selmer Bergland is a United States politician. He grew up on a farm near Roseau, and studied agriculture at the University of Minnesota in a two year program...
- 5 (0.17%) - Hodding CarterHodding CarterWilliam Hodding Carter, II was a prominent Southern U.S. progressive journalist and author. Carter was born in Hammond, the largest community in Tangipahoa Parish, in southeastern Louisiana, to William Hodding Carter, I , and the former Irma Dutartre...
- 5 (0.17%) - César ChávezCésar ChávezCésar Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
- 5 (0.17%) - Wilbur MillsWilbur MillsWilbur Daigh Mills , was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Arkansas...
- 5 (0.17%) - Wendell AndersonWendell AndersonWendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson is an American politician and was the 33rd Governor of Minnesota from January 4, 1971 to December 29, 1976. In late 1976, he resigned the governor's office in order to be named U.S. Senator to replace Walter Mondale, who had been elected Vice President of the...
- 4 (0.14%) - Stanley Arnold - 4 (0.14%)
- Ron DellumsRon DellumsRonald Vernie "Ron" Dellums served as Oakland's forty-fifth mayor. From 1971 to 1998, he was elected to thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S...
- 4 (0.14%) - John J. Houlihan - 4 (0.14%)
- Roberto A. Mondragon - 4 (0.14%)
- Reubin O'Donovan AskewReubin O'Donovan AskewReubin O'Donovan Askew is an American politician, who served as the 37th Governor of the U.S. state of Florida from 1971 to 1979.-Early life and career:...
- 3 (0.10%) - Herman BadilloHerman BadilloHerman Badillo is a Bronx, New York politician who has been a borough president, United States Representative, and candidate for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Puerto Rican to be elected to these posts and be a mayoral candidate in the continental United States.-Early years:Badillo was...
- 3 (0.10%) - Eugene McCarthyEugene McCarthyEugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...
- 3 (0.10%) - Claiborne PellClaiborne PellClaiborne de Borda Pell was a United States Senator from Rhode Island, serving six terms from 1961 to 1997, and was best known as the sponsor of the Pell Grant, which provides financial aid funding to U.S. college students. A Democrat, he was that state's longest serving senator.-Early years:Pell...
- 3 (0.10%) - Terry SanfordTerry SanfordJames Terry Sanford was a United States politician and educator from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford was the 65th Governor of North Carolina , a two-time U.S. Presidential candidate in the 1970s and a U.S. Senator...
- 3 (0.10%) - Ramsey ClarkRamsey ClarkWilliam Ramsey Clark is an American lawyer, activist and former public official. He worked for the U.S. Department of Justice, which included service as United States Attorney General from 1967 to 1969, under President Lyndon B. Johnson...
- 2 (0.07%) - Richard J. DaleyRichard J. DaleyRichard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
- 2 (0.07%) - John DeCarlo - 2 (0.07%)
- Ernest GrueningErnest GrueningErnest Henry Gruening was an American journalist and Democrat who was the Governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from Alaska from 1959 until 1969.-Early life:...
- 2 (0.07%) - Roger MuddRoger MuddRoger Mudd is a U.S. television journalist and broadcaster, most recently as the primary anchor for The History Channel. Previously, Mudd was weekend and weekday substitute anchor of CBS Evening News, co-anchor of the weekday NBC Nightly News, and hosted NBC's Meet the Press, and NBC's American...
- 2 (0.07%) - Edmund MuskieEdmund MuskieEdmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie was an American politician from Rumford, Maine. He served as Governor of Maine from 1955 to 1959, as a member of the United States Senate from 1959 to 1980, and as Secretary of State under Jimmy Carter from 1980 to 1981...
- 2 (0.07%) - Claude PepperClaude PepperClaude Denson Pepper was an American politician of the Democratic Party, and a spokesman for left-liberalism and the elderly. In foreign policy he shifted from pro-Soviet in the 1940s to anti-Communist in the 1950s...
- 2 (0.07%) - Abraham A. RibicoffAbraham A. RibicoffAbraham Alexander Ribicoff was an American Democratic Party politician. He served in the United States Congress, as the 80th Governor of Connecticut and as President John F. Kennedy's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare...
- 2 (0.07%) - Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr.Hoyt Patrick Taylor, Jr.Hoyt Patrick "Pat" Taylor, Jr. is a North Carolina politician and attorney who served as Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives and as Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina....
- 2 (0.07%) - Leonard F. Woodcock - 2 (0.07%)
- Bruno Agnoli - 2 (0.07%)
- Ernest Albright - 1 (0.03%)
- William A. BarrettWilliam A. BarrettWilliam Aloysius Barrett was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He graduated from St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. He worked for a number of years in real estate before running for office.He was first elected to the U.S....
- 1 (0.03%) - Daniel BerriganDaniel BerriganDaniel Berrigan, SJ is an American Catholic priest, peace activist, and poet. Daniel and his brother Philip were for a time on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list for their involvement in antiwar protests during the Vietnam war....
- 1 (0.03%) - Philip BerriganPhilip BerriganPhilip Francis Berrigan was an internationally renowned American peace activist, Christian anarchist and former Roman Catholic priest...
- 1 (0.03%) - Julian BondJulian BondHorace Julian Bond , known as Julian Bond, is an American social activist and leader in the American civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating...
- 1 (0.03%) - Skipper BowlesSkipper BowlesHargrove "Skipper" Bowles, Jr. was an influential Democratic politician and businessman, based in Greensboro, North Carolina....
- 1 (0.03%) - Archibald "Archie" BunkerArchie BunkerArchibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...
- 1 (0.03%) - Phillip BurtonPhillip BurtonPhillip Burton was a United States Representative from California. A Democrat, he was instrumental in creating the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Burton was one of the first members of Congress to acknowledge the need for AIDS research and introduce an AIDS bill. He was the brother of...
- 1 (0.03%) - William ChappellWilliam V. Chappell, Jr.William Venroe Chappell, Jr. was a U.S. Representative from Florida.Born in Kendrick, Florida, Chappell was in the University of Florida, B.A., 1947, LL.B., 1949, and J.D., 1967....
- 1 (0.03%) - Lawton ChilesLawton ChilesLawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...
- 1 (0.03%) - Frank ChurchFrank ChurchFrank Forrester Church III was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981....
- 1 (0.03%) - Robert DrinanRobert DrinanRobert Frederick Drinan, S.J. was a Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, lawyer, human rights activist, and Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts...
- 1 (0.03%) - Nick GalifianakisNick GalifianakisNick Galifianakis was a Democratic U.S. Congressman from North Carolina between 1967 and 1973.-Life and career:Galifianakis was born in Durham, North Carolina, the son of Greek immigrants Sophia and Mike Galifianakis. Galifianakis attended local public schools and then Duke University, earning a...
- 1 (0.03%) - John Z. GoodrichJohn Z. GoodrichJohn Zacheus Goodrich was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. He was born in Sheffield, Massachusetts on September 27, 1804. He attended the common schools and Lenox Academy...
- 1 (0.03%) - Michael GriffinMichael Griffin (politician)Michael Griffin was a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin.Born in County Clare, Ireland, Griffin immigrated with his parents to Canada in 1847 and to Ohio in 1851....
- 1 (0.03%) - Martha GriffithsMartha GriffithsMartha Wright Griffiths was an American lawyer and judge before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1954. Griffiths was the first woman to serve on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means and the first woman elected to the United States Congress from Michigan as...
- 1 (0.03%) - Charles Hamilton - 1 (0.03%)
- Patricia HarrisPatricia HarrisPatricia Harris is the first Deputy Mayor for the City of New York, with an annual salary of $227,219. Prior to her appointment, Harris managed Bloomberg LP's Corporate Communications Department, overseeing its Philanthropy, Public Relations, and Governmental Affairs divisions. Prior to her...
- 1 (0.03%) - Jim HuntJim HuntJames Baxter Hunt Jr. is an American politician who was the 69th and 71st Governor of the state of North Carolina . He is the longest-serving governor in the state's history.-Early life:...
- 1 (0.03%) - Daniel InouyeDaniel InouyeDaniel Ken "Dan" Inouye is the senior United States Senator from Hawaii, a member of the Democratic Party, and the President pro tempore of the United States Senate making him the highest-ranking Asian American politician in American history. Inouye is the chairman of the United States Senate...
- 1 (0.03%) - Henry M. JacksonHenry M. JacksonHenry Martin "Scoop" Jackson was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from the state of Washington from 1941 until his death...
- 1 (0.03%) - Robert Kariss - 1 (0.03%)
- Allard K. LowensteinAllard K. LowensteinAllard Kenneth Lowenstein, , was a liberal Democratic politician, a one-term congressman representing the 5th District in Nassau County, New York from 1969 until 1971. His work on civil rights and the antiwar movement has been cited as an inspiration by public figures including Congressmen, John...
- 1 (0.03%) - Mao ZedongMao ZedongMao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
- 1 (0.03%) - Eleanor McGovernEleanor McGovernEleanor Stegeberg McGovern, born Eleanor Fay Stegeberg , was the wife of George McGovern, a prominent United States politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from South Dakota and as the defeated Democratic presidential nominee in 1972.Born in Woonsocket, South Dakota, she grew up on her family's...
- 1 (0.03%) - Martha Beall MitchellMartha Beall MitchellMartha Beall Mitchell was the wife of John N. Mitchell, United States Attorney General under President Richard Nixon. Martha Mitchell gained notoriety in the press during the Nixon administration for her frequent phone calls to reporters and colorful comments on the state of the nation...
- 1 (0.03%) - Ralph NaderRalph NaderRalph Nader is an American political activist, as well as an author, lecturer, and attorney. Areas of particular concern to Nader include consumer protection, humanitarianism, environmentalism, and democratic government....
- 1 (0.03%) - George Norcross IIIGeorge Norcross IIIGeorge Norcross III is an American insurance executive and a fundraiser for Democratic Party organizations in the south region of New Jersey.Norcross serves as Chairman of Conner Strong Companies, Inc....
- 1 (0.03%) - Jerry RubinJerry RubinJerry Rubin was an American social activist during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1980s, he became a successful businessman.-Early life:...
- 1 (0.03%) - Fred Seaman - 1 (0.03%)
- Joe SmithJoseph F. Smith (politician)Joseph F. Smith , was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania during the Ninety-seventh United States Congress .Smith served as the 31st Ward Leader for more than three decades....
- 1 (0.03%) - Benjamin SpockBenjamin SpockBenjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
- 1 (0.03%) - Patrick Tavolacci - 1 (0.03%)
- George WallaceGeorge WallaceGeorge Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
- 1 (0.03%)
Source
See also
- United States presidential election, 1972United States presidential election, 1972The United States presidential election of 1972 was the 47th quadrennial United States presidential election. It was held on November 7, 1972. The Democratic Party's nomination was eventually won by Senator George McGovern, who ran an anti-war campaign against incumbent Republican President Richard...
- History of the United States Democratic PartyHistory of the United States Democratic PartyThe history of the Democratic Party of the United States is an account of the oldest political party in the United States and arguably the oldest democratic party in the world....
External links
- Political Graveyard
- McGovern's Acceptance Speech
- McGovern's nomination acceptance speech, July 10, 1972 (video)
- McGovern retrospective interview on 1972 Democratic Convention, July 17, 1988 (C-SPAN broadcast)
- The World's Largest TV Studio, TVTVTVTVTVTV was a San Francisco-based pioneering video collective founded in 1972 by Allen Rucker, Michael Shamberg, Tom Weinberg, Hudson Marquez and Megan Williams. Shamberg was author of the 1971 "do-it-yourself" video production manual Guerrilla Television. Over the years, more than thirty "guerrilla...
Documentary http://mediaburn.org/Video-Preview.128.0.html?&aaa=12&flagg=2&uid=4081