A small crowd was gathered outside of the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. They were listening to a man who had just left the hall, to tell them the results of the 1920 Democratic Convention. "The first ballot has been counted, and the results are are 266 votes for Treasury Secretary William Gibs McAdoo, 256 for Attorney General Mitchell Palmer, 134 for former Ohio Governor James Cox, 109 for New York Governor Al Smith, and more than two hundred cast for a scattering of other candidates."
The crowd assumed that in a few ballots, the nominee would be chosen, and they returned to their homes, expecting to be informed of the results in several hours. Whenever they returned over the next couple days, the man had little news for them.
"The seventh ballot is in, and the results are 384 for McAdoo, 295 for Cox, and 267 for Palmer...
....The twelfth ballot has been counted, McAdoo is leading with 320 votes, Palmer has 299, and Cox just barely behind Palmer with 294...
...The seventeenth ballot, with McAdoo at 357 votes, Palmer at 288, and Cox at 301. Al Smith's lost his last vote....
....The delegates have voted for the twenty-third time. Palmer now is in the lead, with 333 votes, closely followed by Cox who has 329, and McAdoo with 328. Al Smith has begun to show a small resurgence, now having the votes of 43 delegates....
....Vote 38: McAdoo 301, Palmer 222, Cox 201, Smith at 17....
....For the Forty-Fourth time, the votes have been counted, Cox has rebounded to 340 votes, with McAdoo at 240 and Palmer at 195 votes. This convention shows no signs of ending any time soon."
The San Franciscans were quite amazed at the length of the convention, and they assumed a compromise candidate would come soon and save the Democratic Party from its long quarrel. The next day brought no relief.
"I cannot tell the thoughts of the leaders of the back-room deals in this convention, but it is clear that they are aiming for Vice President Marshall as a compromise candidate, as on the fifty-third ballot he has gained 468 delegate votes, with McAdoo behind at 284, followed by Palmer at 220, Cox at 117, and Smith at 99 votes, with the ever-present scattering of extras...
Now on the sixtieth ballot, the Vice President is just shy of gaining the nomination, with 575 votes, with a divided opposition. This may not be over yet, as no one has shown any indication of dropping out."
So Vice President Marshall would succeed President Wilson. It made sense, and the convention watchers went to bed that night expecting Marshall to win the nomination.
"Now on the Sixty-eighth ballot, Marshall's lead has begun to slip, with only 401 delegates voting for him now, with Al Smith having the votes of 192, Cox of 191, McAdoo of 175, and Palmer of 103. Various other names have been touted as alternative compromise candidates, but no one has begun to pick up momentum yet."
Listening to the tired worlds of the man from the convention, the San Franciscans were shocked at the disarray of the Convention. Surely the Convention would make some desperate compromise soon?
"Now at the 79th ballot, a 'draft Bryan' movement has begun, with the former Secretary of State receiving 124 votes, only three less than former frontrunner Thomas Marshall, but a substantial number lower than McAdoo, who's currently at 329 votes."
Bryan? thought the populace. Surely the Democrats can do better than drag him up again.
Or do worse some thought, but they couldn't imagine how they reasonably could.
"It appears that the Democrats aren't willing to nominate Bryan. After peaking on the eighty-second ballot with 299 votes, he crashed down in support by the eighty fifth, receiving a mere 104 votes. By the last ballot, the eighty-eighth, some of his supporters tried to get his brother Charles nominated instead, but that didn't go anywhere, only 56 votes. McAdoo's on the rise once again, he's got 388 votes, maybe he'll pull off a victory yet. His opposition is scrambling for an opposing compromise candidate"
McAdoo was a solid candidate. Surely the Democrats will nominate him, thought the San Franciscans.
"The anti-McAdoo delegates started rallying around former Ambassador John W. Davis in the early ninties ballots. As of the 102nd ballot, he's gotten 480 delegates to vote for him, and he might be the Democrats' man this year....
...We're on the 109th ballot, and Davis's decline is continuing. He's only got 238 now, and McAdoo's gotten 513 or 514, I can't remember which. I think McAdoo will win after all...
...Now they've started to rally behind Al Smith, to stop McAdoo. Yes, he's a Catholic, I'm as surprised as you. But it's the 112th ballot, so the party is starting the get desperate..."
A Catholic?! The crowd could not believe their ears. A few cast dark looks and left, to telegraph their fellows. By nightfall, telegraphs came pouring in, with angry Democrats proclaiming that they would never vote for a Catholic. The Ku Klux Klan made it known that they vastly preferred McAdoo. Now, all the Treasury Secretary had to do was denounce the Klan mildly, and he would win the nomination, as the Klan-backed delegates would still never vote for Smith.
McAdoo made it known that he accepted the KKK's endorsement, and hoped it was a sign for the party. He hoped to shore up the Klan delegates' support. However, he alienated far too many delegates, and his support plummeted. He lost nearly a hundred and eighty delegates by the 123rd ballot.
The Democratic convention by this time was a scattered mess. Every compromise candidate (but one) had been tried, and failed. McAdoo could not gain the nomination, but almost no one else could gain his loyal support. Faced with the prospect of failing to nominate anyone, the Democratic leaders quietly consulted with McAdoo, Cox, and Palmer, and convinced them to openly endorse the last option. The very man whose agents had been sabotaging the convention from the beginning in hopes of this result. He was weak, half-dead and paralyzed, but he still was powerful. The Northeastern Urban progressives and the racist southerners and the Klansmen elsewhere all were willing to back him after all else failed. The San Fransiscans listening outside were shocked when it was announced that the Democratic Party had nominated, for an unprecedented third term, the President of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson.
The crowd assumed that in a few ballots, the nominee would be chosen, and they returned to their homes, expecting to be informed of the results in several hours. Whenever they returned over the next couple days, the man had little news for them.
"The seventh ballot is in, and the results are 384 for McAdoo, 295 for Cox, and 267 for Palmer...
....The twelfth ballot has been counted, McAdoo is leading with 320 votes, Palmer has 299, and Cox just barely behind Palmer with 294...
...The seventeenth ballot, with McAdoo at 357 votes, Palmer at 288, and Cox at 301. Al Smith's lost his last vote....
....The delegates have voted for the twenty-third time. Palmer now is in the lead, with 333 votes, closely followed by Cox who has 329, and McAdoo with 328. Al Smith has begun to show a small resurgence, now having the votes of 43 delegates....
....Vote 38: McAdoo 301, Palmer 222, Cox 201, Smith at 17....
....For the Forty-Fourth time, the votes have been counted, Cox has rebounded to 340 votes, with McAdoo at 240 and Palmer at 195 votes. This convention shows no signs of ending any time soon."
The San Franciscans were quite amazed at the length of the convention, and they assumed a compromise candidate would come soon and save the Democratic Party from its long quarrel. The next day brought no relief.
"I cannot tell the thoughts of the leaders of the back-room deals in this convention, but it is clear that they are aiming for Vice President Marshall as a compromise candidate, as on the fifty-third ballot he has gained 468 delegate votes, with McAdoo behind at 284, followed by Palmer at 220, Cox at 117, and Smith at 99 votes, with the ever-present scattering of extras...
Now on the sixtieth ballot, the Vice President is just shy of gaining the nomination, with 575 votes, with a divided opposition. This may not be over yet, as no one has shown any indication of dropping out."
So Vice President Marshall would succeed President Wilson. It made sense, and the convention watchers went to bed that night expecting Marshall to win the nomination.
"Now on the Sixty-eighth ballot, Marshall's lead has begun to slip, with only 401 delegates voting for him now, with Al Smith having the votes of 192, Cox of 191, McAdoo of 175, and Palmer of 103. Various other names have been touted as alternative compromise candidates, but no one has begun to pick up momentum yet."
Listening to the tired worlds of the man from the convention, the San Franciscans were shocked at the disarray of the Convention. Surely the Convention would make some desperate compromise soon?
"Now at the 79th ballot, a 'draft Bryan' movement has begun, with the former Secretary of State receiving 124 votes, only three less than former frontrunner Thomas Marshall, but a substantial number lower than McAdoo, who's currently at 329 votes."
Bryan? thought the populace. Surely the Democrats can do better than drag him up again.
Or do worse some thought, but they couldn't imagine how they reasonably could.
"It appears that the Democrats aren't willing to nominate Bryan. After peaking on the eighty-second ballot with 299 votes, he crashed down in support by the eighty fifth, receiving a mere 104 votes. By the last ballot, the eighty-eighth, some of his supporters tried to get his brother Charles nominated instead, but that didn't go anywhere, only 56 votes. McAdoo's on the rise once again, he's got 388 votes, maybe he'll pull off a victory yet. His opposition is scrambling for an opposing compromise candidate"
McAdoo was a solid candidate. Surely the Democrats will nominate him, thought the San Franciscans.
"The anti-McAdoo delegates started rallying around former Ambassador John W. Davis in the early ninties ballots. As of the 102nd ballot, he's gotten 480 delegates to vote for him, and he might be the Democrats' man this year....
...We're on the 109th ballot, and Davis's decline is continuing. He's only got 238 now, and McAdoo's gotten 513 or 514, I can't remember which. I think McAdoo will win after all...
...Now they've started to rally behind Al Smith, to stop McAdoo. Yes, he's a Catholic, I'm as surprised as you. But it's the 112th ballot, so the party is starting the get desperate..."
A Catholic?! The crowd could not believe their ears. A few cast dark looks and left, to telegraph their fellows. By nightfall, telegraphs came pouring in, with angry Democrats proclaiming that they would never vote for a Catholic. The Ku Klux Klan made it known that they vastly preferred McAdoo. Now, all the Treasury Secretary had to do was denounce the Klan mildly, and he would win the nomination, as the Klan-backed delegates would still never vote for Smith.
McAdoo made it known that he accepted the KKK's endorsement, and hoped it was a sign for the party. He hoped to shore up the Klan delegates' support. However, he alienated far too many delegates, and his support plummeted. He lost nearly a hundred and eighty delegates by the 123rd ballot.
The Democratic convention by this time was a scattered mess. Every compromise candidate (but one) had been tried, and failed. McAdoo could not gain the nomination, but almost no one else could gain his loyal support. Faced with the prospect of failing to nominate anyone, the Democratic leaders quietly consulted with McAdoo, Cox, and Palmer, and convinced them to openly endorse the last option. The very man whose agents had been sabotaging the convention from the beginning in hopes of this result. He was weak, half-dead and paralyzed, but he still was powerful. The Northeastern Urban progressives and the racist southerners and the Klansmen elsewhere all were willing to back him after all else failed. The San Fransiscans listening outside were shocked when it was announced that the Democratic Party had nominated, for an unprecedented third term, the President of the United States, Thomas Woodrow Wilson.
