The 1980 Democratic National Convention nominated

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 ...

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 (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

and

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 ...

Walter Mondale for reelection. The convention was held in Madison Square Garden in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from August 11 to August 14, 1980. The 1980 convention was notable as it was the last time in the 20th century, for either major party, that a candidate tried to get delegates released from their voting commitments. This was done by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Ted Kennedy, Carter's chief rival for the nomination in the Democratic

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

, who sought the votes of delegates held by Carter.

Notable speakers

After losing his challenge for the nomination earlier that day, Ted Kennedy spoke on August 12 and delivered a speech in support of

and the Democratic Party. Kennedy's famous speech eventually closed with the lines: "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." His speech was written by Bob Shrum. Various prominent delegates to this convention included

Abe Beame Abraham David Beame (March 20, 1906February 10, 2001) was the 104th mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As mayor, he presided over the city during its fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, when the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy. ...

, Geraldine Ferraro,

Bruce Sundlun Bruce George Sundlun (January 19, 1920 – July 21, 2011) was an American businessman, politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as 71st governor of Rhode Island between 1991 and 1995. He was Rhode Island's second Jewish gover ...

, Ruth Messinger, Thomas Addison, Ed Koch, Robert Abrams, Bella Abzug,

Mario Biaggi Mario Biaggi (October 26, 1917 – June 24, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and police officer. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state), New York from 1969 to 1988. Prior to his polit ...

, Steve Westly, and Howard Dean.

Voting

Candidates Image:Unsuccessful 1980.jpg, Image:Ted Kennedy in New York.jpg, Image:Senator William Proxmire.jpg,

President

Delegate voting results

Vice president

After Ted Kennedy lost the presidential nomination contest, over 700 of his delegates walked out of the convention, and the rest decided to scatter their votes. It took several roll calls to conclude the ballot. As of 2020, this is the last time that the Democratic Party has required a roll call for the vice presidential spot. Vice Presidential tally:

The President's acceptance speech

President Carter gave his speech accepting the party's nomination on August 14. This was notable for his gaffe intended to be a tribute to

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 ...

, whom he referred to as "Hubert Horatio Hornblower". On November 4, President Carter and Vice President Mondale lost to Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush in the general election, having lost both the popular election by 8,423,115 votes and the Electoral College by 440 votes.1980 Presidential General Election Results
/ref>

Platform

Abortion

In addition to its 1976 stance that merely opposed overturning

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...

, the 1980 platform for the first time explicitly supported the Roe decision as the law of the land.

References

External links

Democratic Party Platform of 1980
at ''The American Presidency Project''
Carter Nomination Acceptance Speech for President at DNC
(transcript) at ''The American Presidency Project''

* ttp://www.glaa.org/archive/1980/boozerconventionspeech.shtml Speech by Melvin Boozerbr>Video of Carter nomination acceptance speech for President at DNC (via YouTube)Audio of Carter nomination acceptance speech for President at DNCVideo of Mondale nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at DNC (via YouTube)
{{Authority control Democratic National Convention Democratic National Convention Political conventions in New York City New York State Democratic Committee Political events in New York (state) Democratic National Conventions Democratic National Convention 1980s in Manhattan Madison Square Garden Democratic National Convention Jimmy Carter Walter Mondale