William Jennings Bryan at the 1908 DNC (1) (cropped1)

The 1908 Democratic National Convention took place from July 7 to July 10, 1908, at Denver Auditorium Arena in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

. The event is widely considered a significant part of Denver's political and social history.

The Convention

The 1908 convention was the first convention of a major political party in a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

state. The city did not host another nominating convention until a century later, at the

2008 Democratic National Convention The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convent ...

. The convention was the second Democratic National Convention to include female delegates. They were Mary C.C. Bradford (Colorado) and Elizabeth Pugsley Hayward (Mrs. Henry J. Hayward) (Utah). Alternate delegates were Mrs. Charles Cook (Colorado), Harriet G. Hood (Wyoming), and Sara L. Ventress (Utah).America Comes Alive: A First For Women (1908)
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Presidential nomination

Presidential candidates

Image:WilliamJBryan1902.png, Image:George Gray Senator.jpg, Image:John Albert Johnson.jpg, Three names were placed in nomination:

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

, John A. Johnson, and George Gray. Bryan was unanimously declared the candidate for president after handily winning the first ballot's roll call.
File:1908DemocraticPresidentialNomination1stBallot.png,

Vice Presidential nomination

Candidates

Speculated Candidates

John W. Kern John Worth Kern (December 20, 1849 – August 17, 1917) was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, he is considered to be the first Senate majority leader (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic Lead ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

was unanimously declared the candidate for vice-president without a formal ballot after the names of Charles A. Towne, Archibald McNeil, and Clark Howell were withdrawn from consideration.

References

External links

*
Official report of the proceedings of the Democratic national convention, held in Denver, Colorado, July 7, 8, 9 and 10, 1908
'
Democratic Party Platform of 1908
at ''The American Presidency Project'' {{Authority control 1908 United States presidential election 1908 in Colorado 20th century in Denver Conventions in Denver Political conventions in Colorado Colorado Democratic Party Political events in Colorado Democratic National Conventions 1908 conferences July 1908 events