The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, June 26–28, 1928. Keynote speaker was Claude G. Bowers. The convention resulted in the nomination of

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alfred E. Smith of New York for president and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of

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 ...

for

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

. The convention was the first held by either party in the South since the Civil War. It was also the first to nominate a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

for president, Al Smith. The Texas delegation, led by Governor Dan Moody, was vehemently opposed to Smith. Therefore, when Smith was nominated, they rallied against his anti-

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

sentiment by fighting for a "dry", prohibitionist platform. Ultimately, the convention pledged "honest enforcement of the Constitution". Smith became the first Democrat since Reconstruction to lose more than one southern state in the general election, due to his "wet" stance, his opposition to the Ku Klux Klan, and his Catholicism.

Candidates for the nomination before and during the convention

File:AlfredSmith.png,

Al Smith of New York File:Hull-Cordell-LOC.jpg,

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

Cordell Hull of Tennessee File:James Alexander Reed.jpg, Senator James A. Reed of Missouri File:AtleePomereneBakerPortrait1.jpg, Former Senator

Atlee Pomerene Atlee Pomerene (December 6, 1863November 12, 1937) was an American Democratic Party politician from Ohio. He represented Ohio in the United States Senate from 1911 until 1923. Biography Pomerene was born on December 6, 1863, in Berlin, Holmes C ...

of Ohio * William A. Ayres, U.S. representative from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

* Theodore G. Bilbo, U.S. senator from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

* A. Victor Donahey, Governor of Ohio * Walter F. George, U.S. senator from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

* Pat Harrison, U.S. senator from

* James T. Heflin, U.S. senator from

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 ...

* Gilbert M. Hitchcock, former U.S. senator from

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

* Cordell Hull, U.S. representative from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

* Jesse H. Jones, businessman from

* William G. McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

* Edwin T. Meredith, former

Agriculture Secretary The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

from

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 s ...

, former U.S. senator from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

* Henry T. Rainey, U.S. representative from

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 ...

* James A. Reed, U.S. senator from

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 ...

* Al Smith, Governor of New York * Thomas J. Walsh, U.S. senator from

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

* Richard C. Watts, Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court * Evans Woollen, football coach from

Candidates for the vice presidential nomination

Joseph T. Robinson was chosen as the vice presidential nominee. Among the candidates for nomination were: * Joseph T. Robinson,

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

from

* Henry T. Allen, retired

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

major general from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

* Alben W. Barkley, U.S. senator from

* Lewis Stevenson, son of former Vice President

Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897. He had served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois in the late 1870s and ...

from

* George L. Berry, newspaper owner and publisher from

* Gilbert Hitchcock, former senator from Nebraska * Joseph Reed, senator from Missouri *

former senator from Ohio * Evans Woollen, Bank founder, lawyer - Indiana * Cordell Hull, Congressman from Tennessee * Duncan U. Fletcher, U.S. senator from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

* Daniel Moody, Governor of Texas * Nellie Davis Tayloe Ross, former

Governor of Wyoming A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

* John H. Taylor * Joseph P. Tumulty, delegate and former personal secretary to the president from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

References

External links

Governor Moody and the "Dry" Platform

Democratic Party Platform of 1928
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Smith Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project'' {{Authority control Democratic National Conventions Democratic Conventions in Houston Political conventions in Texas Political events in Texas Texas Democratic Party 1928 United States presidential election 1928 in Texas 1928 conferences June 1928 events Al Smith

Candidates for the nomination before and during the convention

Candidates for the vice presidential nomination

See also

References

External links