| 1900 presidential election | |
  Nominees Bryan and Stevenson | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | July 4–6, 1900 |
| City | Kansas City,Missouri |
| Venue | Convention Hall |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | William J. Bryan ofNebraska |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Adlai E. Stevenson ofIllinois |
| ‹ 1896 · 1904 › | |
The1900 Democratic National Convention was aUnited States presidential nominating convention that took place the week of July 4, 1900, atConvention Hall inKansas City,Missouri.
The convention nominatedWilliam Jennings Bryan for president and former Vice PresidentAdlai E. Stevenson was nominated for vice president. The ticket lost thegeneral election to the Republican ticket ofWilliam McKinley andTheodore Roosevelt.
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Bryan had little opposition for the nomination afterSpanish–American War hero AdmiralGeorge Dewey dropped out in May after being quoted in newspapers that he thought the President's job would be easy, because the president merely followed the orders of Congress to enforce laws.[1] Bryan's strongest opposition at the convention came fromRichard Croker of New York'sTammany Hall. Bryan was also nominated by a branch of thePopulist Party.
The 1900 Democratic National Convention was the first time a woman served as a delegate to a major party convention. Elizabeth M. Cohen of Utah served as a delegate. She had been an alternate delegate, and was able to serve as a delegate after one of the members of her state's delegation fell sick. She seconded the nomination of William Jennings Bryan.[2][3][4][5]
The convention marked the first time that a member of royalty attended a U.S. national nominating convention as a delegate.David Kawananakoa, heir to the throne of theKingdom of Hawaii, represented the newest United States territory. Prince David was to break a tie about inserting afree silver plank into the convention platform. The Democrats included planks in the platform denouncing Republicanimperialism and expansion, as had been demonstrated in the Spanish–American War.
Kansas City had the convention thanks to its new Convention Hall, which opened on February 22, 1899. The hall was destroyed in a fire on April 4, 1900, but was rebuilt in 90 days in time for the convention.Harry S. Truman served as a page at the convention.
| Presidential Ballot | |
| William Jennings Bryan | 936 |
Source:US President – D Convention.Our Campaigns. (March 10, 2011).
At the start of the convention, former RepresentativeCharles A. Towne of Minnesota was considered the favorite for the vice presidential nomination, as both thePopulists and theSilver Republican Party backed Towne.[6] Other names mentioned as possible candidates included former New York SenatorDavid B. Hill, former New York SenatorEdward Murphy Jr. and John W. Keller, New York City'sCommissioner of Public Charities.[6][7]
Seven names were placed in nomination:Adlai Stevenson, David B. Hill, Charles A. Towne, Abraham W. Patrick,Julian S. Carr,John W. Smith, andJ. Hamilton Lewis. Former Representative Lewis thanked the convention for its generosity but did not wish to be considered for the vice presidency. Governor Smith declined to allow the use of his name, and it was withdrawn before the result was announced. Former Senator Hill was opposed to including a pro-silver plank in the party platform, so he spoke against his own nomination and declared that he would not take it if offered. Former Vice President Stevenson won the nomination with the help of Bryanites who wanted to keep Hill off of the ticket.[8] The choice of Stevenson alienated the Populists and Silver Republicans, who had planned to nominate the Democratic ticket.[8]
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| Vice Presidential Ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st (Before Shifts) | 1st (After Shifts) | ||
| Stevenson | 559.5 | 936 | |
| Hill | 200 | 0 | |
| Towne | 89.5 | 0 | |
| Patrick | 46 | 0 | |
| Carr | 23 | 0 | |
| Smith | 16 | 0 | |
| Danforth | 1 | 0 | |
| Hogg | 1 | 0 | |
| Preceded by 1896 Chicago, Illinois | Democratic National Conventions | Succeeded by 1904 St. Louis, Missouri |
