1944 Democratic National Convention
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| 1944 Presidential Election | |
|---|---|
  Nominees Roosevelt and Truman |
|
| Convention | |
| Date(s) | July 19 - July 21 |
| City | Chicago, Illinois |
| Venue | Chicago Stadium |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential Nominee | Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York |
| Vice Presidential Nominee | Harry Truman of Missouri |
| ‹ 1940 · 1948 › | |
The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 - July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the re-nomination of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator Harry S. Truman of Missouri was nominated for vice president. Including Roosevelt's nomination for the vice-presidency in 1920 with presidential running mate James Cox, it was the fifth time Roosevelt had been nominated on a national ticket.
Roosevelt's fourth nomination as President was largely unchallenged. The contention lay in the vice-presidential nomination. Although the party's conservatives could not stop FDR from winning the nomination, the obvious physical decline in the President's appearance, as well as rumors of secret health problems, led many delegates and party leaders to strongly oppose Henry Wallace. Wallace, who was FDR's second Vice-President, was regarded by most conservatives as being too left-wing and personally eccentric to be next in line for the Presidency. Numerous party leaders privately told Roosevelt that they would fight Wallace's renomination, and they proposed Missouri Senator Harry Truman, a moderate who had become well-known as the chairman of a Senate wartime investigating committee, as FDR's new running mate. Roosevelt, who personally liked Wallace and knew little about Truman, reluctantly agreed to accept Truman as his new running mate to preserve party unity. Even so, many liberal delegates refused to abandon Wallace, and they cast their votes for him on the first ballot. However, enough large Northern, Midwestern, and Southern states supported Truman to give him the victory on the second ballot. The fight over the vice-presidential nomination proved to be historic, as FDR's declining health led to his death in April 1945, and Truman thus became the nation's 33rd President.[1]
The keynote address was given by Governor Robert S. Kerr of Oklahoma, in which he "gave tribute to Roosevelt's war leadership and new deal policies."[2]
President Roosevelt was making a trip to the South Pacific in order to discuss military strategy with General Douglas MacArthur, and thus didn't attend the convention. This was the last time that a presidential nominee failed to attend a national convention during the 20th century.
[edit] Balloting
| Candidate | 1st ballot |
|---|---|
| President Franklin Roosevelt | 1086 (92.35%) [3] |
| Harry F. Byrd | 89 (7.56%) |
| James A. Farley | 1 (0.09%) |
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot (before shifts) | 2nd ballot (after shifts) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harry S. Truman MO | 319.5 | 477.5 | 1,031 |
| Henry A. Wallace IA | 429.5 | 473 | 105 |
| John H. Bankhead II AL | 98 | 23.5 | 0 |
| Scott W. Lucas IL | 61 | 58 | 0 |
| Alben W. Barkley KY | 49.5 | 40 | 6 |
| J. Melville Broughton NC | 43 | 30 | 0 |
| Paul V. McNutt IN | 31 | 28 | 1 |
| Prentice Cooper TN | 26 | 26 | 26 |
| Scattering | 118.5 | 20 | 7 |
[edit] References
[edit] Literature
- Robert H. Ferrell, Choosing Truman: The Democratic Convention of 1944 (1994), Columbia: University of Missouri Press, ISBN 0-8262-1308-1
| Preceded by 1940 |
Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1948 |
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