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1952 Democratic National Convention

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1952 Democratic National Convention
1952 presidential election
Nominees
Stevenson and Sparkman
Convention
Date(s)July 21–26, 1952
CityChicago, Illinois
VenueInternational Amphitheatre
Candidates
Presidential nomineeAdlai Stevenson of Illinois
Vice-presidential nomineeJohn Sparkman of Alabama
‹ 1948 · 1956 ›

The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention. Four major candidates sought the nomination: U.S. Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, Governor Adlai E. Stevenson, II, of Illinois, Senator Richard Russell of Georgia and Averell Harriman of New York.

Democratic platform

The Democrats favored a strong national defense, collective security against the Soviet Union, multilateral disarmament, repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act, equal employment opportunities for minorities and public assistance for the aged, children, blind, and the disabled, expansion of the school lunch program, and continued efforts to fight racial discrimination.

Movement to draft Stevenson

Governor Stevenson, who stated that he was not a presidential candidate, was asked to give the welcoming address to the delegates. He proceeded to give a witty and stirring address that led his supporters to begin a renewed round of efforts to nominate him despite his protests. After meeting with Jacob Arvey, the boss of the Illinois delegation, Stevenson finally agreed to enter his name as a candidate for the nomination. The party bosses from other large Northern and Midwestern states quickly joined in support. Kefauver led on the first ballot but had far fewer votes than necessary to win. Stevenson gradually gained strength until he was nominated on the third ballot. The convention then chose Senator John Sparkman of Alabama, a conservative and segregationist, as Stevenson's running mate. Stevenson then delivered an eloquent acceptance speech in which he famously pledged to "talk sense to the American people."[1]

Democratic candidates

Presidential balloting

Kefauver had the most delegates after the first round, but then President Truman weighed into the battle in favor of Stevenson. He persuaded Harriman to drop out and endorse the Illinois governor, thereby pre-empting support for Kefauver and Russell, whom Truman opposed. The President believed that nominating a Southern candidate from a state where Jim Crow laws were in force would forfeit potential support for the Democratic party from African-American and Northern white voters.

Stevenson was nominated on the third ballot. It was the last nomination contest of either major U.S. political party to require more than one round of voting to nominate a presidential candidate to date.[2]

The following table from Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records,

Presidential Balloting
Ballot 1st Before Shifts 1st After Shifts 2nd Before Shifts 2nd After Shifts 3rd Before Shifts 3rd After Shifts Unanimous
Estes Kefauver 300.5 340 362 361 279.5 275.5 -
Adlai Stevenson 248.5 273 329.5 324.5 613 617.5 1,230
Richard Russell Jr. 267.5 268 294 294 261.5 261 -
W. Averell Harriman 126 123.5 121.5 121.5 - - -
Alben W. Barkley 49.5 48.5 81 81 67.5 67.5 -
Robert S. Kerr 69 65 5.5 5.5 - - -
Paul A. Dever 37.5 37.5 30.5 30.5 0.5 0.5 -
G. Mennen Williams 40.5 - - - - - -
Hubert Humphrey 26 26 - - - - -
J. William Fulbright 22 22 - - - - -
Brien McMahon 16 - - - - - -
James E. Murray 12 12 - - - - -
Harry S. Truman 6 6 1 6 - - -
Oscar R. Ewing 4 4 3 3 3 3 -
Paul Douglas 3 3 3 3 3 3 -
William O. Douglas 0.5 0.5 - - - - -
Not Voting 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 2.5 -

Vice-presidential selection

Among those considered for the VP spot by Stevenson included:

After the delegates nominated Stevenson, the convention then turned to selecting a vice-president. The main candidates for this position were Kefauver, Russell, Barkley, Senator John Sparkman, and Senator A. S. Mike Monroney. After narrowing it down to Senator Sparkman and Senator Monroney, President Truman and a small group of political insiders chose Sparkman, a conservative and segregationist from Alabama, for the nomination. The convention largely complied and nominated Sparkman as Stevenson's running mate, though nominations were made for two other candidates for the Vice Presidency, Vice Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee India Edwards of California, and District Judge Sarah T. Hughes of Texas. Both withdrew their names in favor of Sparkman. Stevenson then delivered an eloquent acceptance speech in which he famously pledged to "talk sense to the American people."

Election outcome

Adlai Stevenson and running mate John Sparkman lost the election to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon on November 4, 1952. Despite the defeat, Stevenson was four years later again selected as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, with Kefauver as his running mate.

References

  1. ^ "Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)". National Park Service. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  2. ^ Bain, Richard C., and Parris, Judith H. (1973). Convention Decisions and Voting Records. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution. pp. 286–292.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Preceded by
1948 		Democratic National Conventions Succeeded by
1956
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