1972 Democratic Convention - Miami Beach (28510440192)

The 1972 Democratic National Convention was the

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 ...

of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

for the 1972 presidential election. It was held at

Miami Beach Convention Center The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...

in Miami Beach, Florida, also the host city of the Republican National Convention that year, on July 10–13 1972. Lawrence F. O'Brien served as permanent chairman of the convention, while Yvonne Braithwaite Burke served as vice-chair, becoming the first African American and the first woman of color to hold that position.Visionary Project
/ref> On the last day of the convention, Lawrence F. O'Brien departed and Burke was left to preside for about fourteen hours. The convention nominated Senator George McGovern of

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

for

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 ...

and Senator

Thomas Eagleton Thomas Francis Eagleton (September 4, 1929 – March 4, 2007) was an American lawyer serving as a United States senator from Missouri, from 1968 to 1987. He was briefly the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972. H ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

for vice president. Eagleton withdrew from the race just 19 days later after it was disclosed that he had previously undergone

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

treatment, including

electroshock therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive the ...

, and he was replaced on the ballot by

Sargent Shriver Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. (November 9, 1915 – January 18, 2011) was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family. Shriver was the driving force behind the creatio ...

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 ...

, a Kennedy in-law. The convention, which has been described as "a disastrous start to the general election campaign", was one of the most unusual—perhaps the most contentious in the history of the Democratic Party since

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

—with sessions beginning in the early evening and lasting until sunrise the next morning. Previously excluded political activists gained 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 (which he considered "the best speech of his life") until 2:48 a.m.—after most television viewers had gone to bed.

Delegate selection

The 1972 convention was significant as the first implementation of the reforms set by the

Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

, which McGovern himself had chaired before deciding to run for president. After McGovern resigned from his position as chair, he was replaced as chair by

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 ...

Donald Fraser, which gave the

McGovern–Fraser Commission The McGovern–Fraser Commission, formally known as Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection,Kamarck, Elaine C. (2009). Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System'. Washington, DC: Brookings I ...

its name. The 28-member commission was established after the tumultuous 1968 convention. 1972 Democratic Convention - Miami Beach (28510440192)

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% 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 machines 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 The presidential primary elections and caucuses held in the various states, the District of Columbia, and territories of the United States form part of the nominating process of candidates for United States presidential elections. The United S ...

had amassed the most delegates to the convention by using a grassroots campaign that was powered by

opposition to the Vietnam War Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War (before) or anti-Vietnam War movement (present) began with demonstrations in 1965 against the escalating role of the United States in the Vietnam War and grew into a broad social mov ...

. Many traditional Democratic leaders and politicians felt that McGovern's delegate count did not reflect the wishes of most Democratic voters.

Georgia Governor The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor also has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either veto or approve bills passed by the Georgia Legisl ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

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

primary required voters to select individual delegates, not presidential candidates. Most Illinois delegation members were uncommitted and were controlled or influenced by

Chicago Mayor The mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of city government in Chicago, Illinois, the third-largest city in the United States. The mayor is responsible for the administration and management of various city departments, submits proposals and ...

Richard J. Daley Richard Joseph Daley (May 15, 1902 – December 20, 1976) was an American politician who served as the Mayor of Chicago from 1955 and the chairman of the Cook County Democratic Party Central Committee from 1953 until his death. He has been cal ...

, 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 Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924March 23, 1985) was an American politician, diplomat and legal scholar. She served as the 6th United States secretary of housing and urban development from 1977 to 1979 and as the 13th United States secretary ...

, rejected the entire elected delegation, including elected women and minorities, and seated an unelected delegation led by Chicago Alderman William Singer and Jesse Jackson, 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. The credentials committee ruled in favor of the anti-McGovern group prior to the convention, leaving McGovern short of a first-ballot majority. However, the committee was overruled by a floor vote on the first day of the convention and a unanimous McGovern delegation was seated. 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". The so-called "magic number", or number of delegates needed to secure the nomination, was 1,509.

Platform

Formed after "divisive platform battles", the 1972 Democratic National Convention's platform has been characterized as "probably the most

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

one ever adopted by a major party in the United States". It advocated immediate withdrawal from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

amnesty Amnesty (from the Ancient Greek ἀμνηστία, ''amnestia'', "forgetfulness, passing over") is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power offici ...

for

war resister A war resister is a person who resists war. The term can mean several things: resisting participation in all war, or a specific war, either before or after enlisting in, being inducted into, or being conscripted into a military force. History, e ...

s, the abolition of the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

, a guaranteed job for all Americans (it offered to "make the government the employer of last resort"), and a guaranteed family income well above the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

Feminism

The

Feminist Movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such ...

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 Amendment, as did the Republicans. There were disagreements within the Democrats of the

National Women's Political Caucus The National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), or the Caucus, describes itself as a multi-partisan grassroots organization in the United States dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting women who seek elected and appointed offices at all ...

(NWPC), and the Women's Movement in general, over how to best approach certain issues. At the convention

Betty Friedan Betty Friedan ( February 4, 1921 – February 4, 2006) was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book ''The Feminine Mystique'' is often credited with sparking the se ...

clashed with

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a c ...

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 Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional distr ...

(both women were supporters of Chisholm's presidential campaign). As the convention was occurring on Miami Beach, Gloria Steinem chose The Betsy Ross Hotel as headquarters for the

National Organization for Women The National Organization for Women (NOW) is an American feminist organization. Founded in 1966, it is legally a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. The organization consists of 550 chapters in all 50 U.S. states and in Washington, D.C. It ...

(NOW). Built in 1942, the hotel had been named after

Betsy Ross Elizabeth Griscom Ross (née Griscom;Addie Guthrie Weaver, ''"The Story of Our Flag..."'', 2nd Edition, A. G. Weaver, publ., 1898, p. 73 January 1, 1752 – January 30, 1836), also known by her second and third married names, Ashburn an ...

, the Philadelphia seamstress who sewed American Flags. 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.

later wrote this description of the events:

Germaine Greer Germaine Greer (; born 29 January 1939) is an Australian writer and public intellectual, regarded as one of the major voices of the radical feminist movement in the latter half of the 20th century. Specializing in English and women's literat ...

flatly contradicted Steinem's account. Having recently gained public notoriety for her feminist manifesto ''

The Female Eunuch ''The Female Eunuch'' is a 1970 book by Germaine Greer that became an international bestseller and an important text in the feminist movement. Greer's thesis is that the "traditional" suburban, consumerist, nuclear family represses women sexual ...

'' 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".

, ''Harper's Magazine'' October 1972. 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 bzugand 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".

Gay rights

A coalition of gay rights groups at the convention "drew up a proposed platform provision that called for, among other things, repealing laws against homosexuals marrying". The provision was rejected by a vote of 54–34. Afterwards, however, two delegates, Jim Foster and Madeline Davis (the first openly lesbian delegate to a major national political convention), spoke publicly on its behalf.

Desegregation

The platform championed busing under its "Education" plank, stating, "Transportation of students is another tool to accomplish desegregation".

Welfare

In addition to a guaranteed job for all Americans (it offered to "make the government the employer of last resort") and a guaranteed family income above the

, the McGovern platform championed the right of American welfare recipients to be represented by organizations resembling labor unions when dealing with welfare agencies. The McGovern platform is often criticized as a "reformist coup" responsible in large part for the subsequent decline in

American liberalism Liberalism in the United States is a political and moral philosophy based on concepts of unalienable rights of the individual. The fundamental liberal ideals of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion, the separation of ch ...

and chasing away the Democratic Party's "best politicians". It alienated the "working- and lower-middle class voters hosaw he platformas threatening to traditional, deeply valued, if inequitable social arrangements"—so much so that one in three Democrats voted for Nixon, the Republican incumbent, in the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pre ...

in November. For example:

Although the McGovern platform did not promise
socialism Socialism is a left-wing Economic ideology, economic philosophy and Political movement, movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to Private prop ...
, it did pledge to eliminate—through government guarantee and
dicta In general usage, a dictum ( in Latin; plural dicta) is an authoritative or dogmatic statement. In some contexts, such as legal writing and church cantata librettos, ''dictum'' can have a specific meaning. Legal writing In United States legal term ...
—any manifestation of free enterprise that could potentially produce inequality or failure. It promised to use the tax system and federal law enforcement to redistribute income and wealth. And it said the Democrats would study whether
corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
s should be chartered as federal institutions.

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 An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

heritage or lifestyle, without being forced into a compelled homogeneity".

The balloting

Gallery of candidates

File:EugeneMcCarthy.jpg, Former Senator Eugene McCarthy 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:Ted Kennedy, 1967 (cropped).jpg, Senator Edward M. Kennedy of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

File:George McGovern bioguide.jpg, Senator George McGovern of

File:Hubert Humphrey crop.jpg, Senator

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 ...

File:Carter Jackson Nunn (cropped).jpg, Senator

Henry M. Jackson Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson (May 31, 1912 – September 1, 1983) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. representative (1941–1953) and U.S. senator (1953–1983) from the state of Washington. A Cold War liberal and a ...

Washington state Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

File:Shirley Chisholm.jpg, Representative

of New York File:Ed Muskie speech 1972.jpg, Senator Edmund Muskie of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

File:George C Wallace.jpg, Governor George Wallace of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

File:Terry Sanford.jpg, President of Duke University

Terry Sanford James Terry Sanford (August 20, 1917April 18, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician from North Carolina. A member of the Democratic Party, Sanford served as the 65th Governor of North Carolina from 1961 to 1965, was a two-time U.S. pr ...

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 ...

File:WilburMills.jpg, Representative

Wilbur Mills Wilbur Daigh Mills (May 24, 1909 – May 2, 1992) was an American Democratic politician who represented in the United States House of Representatives from 1939 until his retirement in 1977. As chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee from ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

Delegate vote for presidential nomination

Running mate

Most polls showed McGovern running well behind incumbent President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, except when McGovern was paired with

Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

. McGovern and his campaign brain trust lobbied Kennedy heavily to accept the bid to be McGovern's

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 (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

, but he continually refused their advances, and instead suggested

(and

House Ways and Means Committee The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progra ...

chairman)

and

Boston Mayor The mayor of Boston is the head of the municipal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Boston has a mayor–council government. Boston's mayoral elections are nonpartisan (as are all municipal elections in Boston), and elect a mayor to a four-y ...

Kevin White. Offers were then made to

, Connecticut Senator

Abraham Ribicoff Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American Democratic Party politician from the state of Connecticut. He represented Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives and Senate and was the 80th ...

, and Minnesota Senator

Walter Mondale Walter Frederick "Fritz" Mondale (January 5, 1928 – April 19, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 42nd vice president of the United States from 1977 to 1981 under President Jimmy Carter. A U.S. senator from Minnesota ...

, all of whom turned it down. McGovern and his campaign staff felt that a Kennedy-style figure was best to balance the ticket: a Catholic, big city-based leader with strong ties to organized labor and urban political machines. After McGovern informed Kennedy that he was seriously considering Kevin White (who had informed McGovern he was available), the Massachusetts delegation threatened to walk out of the convention if McGovern chose White, an Edmund Muskie supporter who had fought sharply with the McGovern slate during the primary. Immediately, White was dropped from consideration. Finally, the vice presidential slot was offered to Senator

of Missouri, who was relatively unknown to many of the delegates. The delegates insisted on nominating eight candidates for vice president, including Eagleton, Senator

Mike Gravel Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who served as a United States Senator from Alaska from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party, and who later in life twice ran for ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

, former Massachusetts Governor

Endicott Peabody Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably ...

, and Frances "Sissy" Farenthold of the Texas state house: Farenthold was the first serious female candidate for the Democratic vice president nomination since

Lena Springs Lena Jones Wade Springs (March 22, 1883 - May 17, 1942) was the first woman placed in nomination for Vice President of the United States at a political convention. She was nominated at the 1924 Democratic National Convention. A native of Pulask ...

in 1924. By the time the roll call finally began, many of the delegates were angry and wary after the protracted infighting, and combined with the last-day-of-school atmosphere of the proceedings, caused the vice-presidential balloting to become nothing short of a farce. The delegates cast ballots for a record 79 people, including many not involved in politics, as well as three deceased persons, Chinese leader

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, and the fictional

Archie Bunker Archie is a masculine given name, a diminutive of Archibald. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Archie Alexander (1888–1958), African-American mathematician, engineer and governor of the US Virgin Islands * Archie Blake (mathemati ...

. As the vote went on, Farenthold began to attract an unexpected level of support, eventually leading to something of a grassroots campaign to nominate her over Eagleton. However, this ultimately proved too late and too disorganized to have any serious chance of denying Eagleton the nomination. Eventually, Eagleton secured the nomination at 1:40 AM. 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 Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a psychiatric treatment where a generalized seizure (without muscular convulsions) is electrically induced to manage refractory mental disorders.Rudorfer, MV, Henry, ME, Sackeim, HA (2003)"Electroconvulsive th ...

, and was also rumored to be more than a social drinker. 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 In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

hard for his removal from the ticket. Eventually, McGovern felt compelled to accept Senator Eagleton's withdrawal 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

as his running mate a few weeks later: the McGovern-Shriver ticket went on to win electoral votes in only

and D.C., and lost the election to incumbents Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew by the largest percentage of the vote since 1936.

Delegate vote for vice-presidential nomination

– 1,742 (59.07%) * Frances Farenthold – 405 (13.73%) *

– 226 (7.66%) *

– 108 (3.66%) * Clay Smothers – 74 (2.51%) *

Birch Bayh Birch Evans Bayh Jr. (; January 22, 1928 – March 14, 2019) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as U.S. Senator from Indiana from 1963 to 1981. He was first elected to office in 1954, when he won election to the India ...

– 62 (2.10%) * Peter W. Rodino – 57 (1.93%) *

– 30 (1.02%) *

– 20 (0.68%) *

Moon Landrieu Moon Edwin Landrieu (born Maurice Edwin Landrieu; July 23, 1930 – September 5, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th mayor of New Orleans from 1970 to 1978. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented New O ...

– 19 (0.64%) * Edward T. Breathitt – 18 (0.61%) *

– 15 (0.51%) *

Fred R. Harris Fred Roy Harris (born November 13, 1930) is an American academic, author, and former politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States Senate from Oklahoma. Born in Walters, Oklahoma, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma Senate ...

– 14 (0.48%) * Richard G. Hatcher – 11 (0.37%) *

Harold Hughes Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was the 36th Governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and a United States senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affil ...

– 10 (0.34%) *

Joseph Montoya Joseph Manuel Montoya (September 24, 1915June 5, 1978) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the lieutenant governor of New Mexico (1947–1951 and 1955–1957), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1957� ...

– 9 (0.31%) * William L. Guy – 8 (0.27%) * Adlai Stevenson III – 8 (0.27%) *

Robert Bergland Robert Selmer Bergland (July 22, 1928 – December 9, 2018) was an American politician. He served as a member of the House of Representatives from Minnesota's 7th congressional district from 1971 to 1977, and he served as United States Secretar ...

– 5 (0.17%) * Hodding Carter (''deceased'') – 5 (0.17%) *

César Chávez Cesar Chavez (born Cesario Estrada Chavez ; ; March 31, 1927 – April 23, 1993) was an American labor leader and civil rights activist. Along with Dolores Huerta, he co-founded the National Farm Workers Association (NFWA), which later merg ...

– 5 (0.17%) *

Wendell Anderson Wendell Richard "Wendy" Anderson (February 1, 1933 – July 17, 2016) was an American hockey player, politician, and the 33rd governor of Minnesota, serving from January 4, 1971, to December 29, 1976. In late 1976 he resigned as governor in ord ...

– 4 (0.14%) * Stanley Arnold – 4 (0.14%) * Ron Dellums – 4 (0.14%) * John J. Houlihan – 4 (0.14%) *

Roberto A. Mondragon The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

– 4 (0.14%) * Reubin O'Donovan Askew – 3 (0.10%) *

Herman Badillo Herman Badillo (pronounced ''bah-DEE-yoh''; August 21, 1929 – December 3, 2014) was an American politician who served as borough president of The Bronx and United States Representative, and ran for Mayor of New York City. He was the first Pu ...

– 3 (0.10%) * Eugene McCarthy – 3 (0.10%) *

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Notes

References

*Thompson, Hunter, ''

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 ''Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72'' is a 1973 book that recounts and analyzes the 1972 presidential campaign in which Richard Nixon was re-elected President of the United States. Written by Hunter S. Thompson and illustrated by R ...

'' (1973) *White, Theodore. '' The Making of the President 1972'' (1972)

External links

Democratic Party Platform of 1972
at ''The American Presidency Project''
McGovern Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project''

* Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley,
Democratic Party Platform of 1972 (July 10, 1972)
, The American Presidency Project,

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

McGovern's nomination acceptance speech, July 10, 1972 (video)

McGovern retrospective interview on 1972 Democratic Convention, July 17, 1988 (C-SPAN broadcast)

* ttp://yippiemuseum.org/flamingo.pdf flyers distributed by all the groups protesting during the convention in Flamingo Park, collected by John Mackey
Video of McGovern nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)

Audio of McGovern nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC

Video of Eagleton nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)

Audio of Eagleton nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC
{{Authority control Democratic National Conventions History of Miami Beach, Florida Conventions in Miami Beach, Florida Political conventions in Florida 1972 in Florida Democratic Florida Democratic Party Political events in Florida 1972 conferences July 1972 events in the United States DNC Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale

Delegate selection

Platform

Feminism

Gay rights

Desegregation

Welfare

Right to be different

The balloting

Gallery of candidates

Delegate vote for presidential nomination

Running mate

Delegate vote for vice-presidential nomination

See also

Notes

References

External links