1964 Republican National Convention

1964 presidential election
Nominees Goldwater and Miller
Convention
Date(s)	July 13–16, 1964
City	Daly City, California
Venue	Cow Palace
Chair	Thruston Ballard Morton
Notable speakers	Richard M. Nixon Nelson Rockefeller
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Barry Goldwater ofArizona
Vice-presidential nominee	William E. Miller ofNew York
Other candidates	Nelson Rockefeller William Scranton
Voting
Total delegates	1,308
Votes needed for nomination	655
Results (president)	Goldwater (AZ): 883 (67.50%) Scranton (PA): 214 (16.36%) Rockefeller (NY): 114 (8.72%)
Results (vice president)	Miller (NY): 100% (Roll call)
Ballots	1
‹ 1960 · 1968 ›

The1964 Republican National Convention took place in theCow Palace,Daly City, California, from July 13 to July 16, 1964. Before 1964, there had been only one national Republican convention on the West Coast, the1956 Republican National Convention, which also took place in the Cow Palace. Many believed that a convention in San Francisco indicated the rising power of the Republican Party in the west.^[1]

TheRepublican primaries of 1964 featured liberalNelson Rockefeller of New York and conservativeBarry Goldwater of Arizona as the two leading candidates. Shortly before the California primary, Rockefeller's wife, whom he had married the previous year after divorcing his first wife, gave birth.^[2] This event drew renewed attention to Rockefeller's family life, which hurt his popularity among conservatives. Rockefeller's divorce and remarriage were viewed by many observers as helping Goldwater win the primary.^[2] An anti-Goldwater organization called for the nomination ofGovernorWilliam Scranton of Pennsylvania, but the effort failed. Although former PresidentDwight Eisenhower only reluctantly supported Goldwater after he won the nomination, former PresidentHerbert Hoover gave him enthusiastic endorsement. By the end of the primaries, Goldwater's nomination was secure.

SenatorMargaret Chase Smith's name was entered for nomination at the convention, the first time a woman's name was entered for nomination at a major party convention.

The Republican National Convention of 1964 was a tension-filled contest. Goldwater's conservatives were openly clashing with Rockefeller's moderates. Goldwater was regarded as the "conservatives' leading spokesman."^[3] As a result, Goldwater was not as popular with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.^[4][5] When Rockefeller attempted to deliver a speech, he was booed by the convention's conservative delegates, who regarded him as a member of the "eastern liberal establishment."

Former vice president and GOP presidential nominee (and future President)Richard Nixon introduced Goldwater as "Mr. Conservative" and "Mr. Republican" and continued that "he is the man who, after the greatest campaign in history, will be Mr. President — Barry Goldwater".^[6] 1964 was the only Republican convention between 1952 and 1972 that did not result in Nixon being nominated for president or vice-president.

The newly openedSan Francisco Hilton served as the headquarters of the convention.^[7]

The 1964 Republican National Convention exposed the party's deep resentment towards thecivil right's movement and the widening divide over civil rights within the GOP. As the fight for racial equality reached its most critical moment, leading Republicans who defended civil rights were shouted down, mocked, and marginalized. New York Governor, Nelson Rockefeller, a long-time advocate for social justice, warned of "the extremist threat" growing within his own party and fought to keep the GOP "the party of all people." The rejection of Rockefeller's message symbolized the Republican Party's turn away from its historic association with racial equality and toward a brand of conservatism that many African Americans viewed as openly hostile.^[8]

Jackie Robinson, attending as a delegate for Rockefeller, personally witnessed this hostility. According to the Jackie Robinson Museum, the experience transformed his political outlook; he later said he felt "like a black man in the wrong place." For Robinson and countless other Black Americans, the convention confirmed that the GOP had abandoned its role as the party of Lincoln. As civil rights leaders celebrated the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the events at the Cow Palace made clear that the Republican Party was moving in a direction that would alienate Black voters for generations.^[9]

That same summer, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had been signed into law, outlawing segregation in public facilities and prohibiting discrimination in employment and education. Instead of uniting behind this achievement, the Republican Party split sharply.Barry Goldwater, the party's presidential nominee, voted against this act, claiming it would lead to the "destruction of free society." His opposition appealed to white voters resistant to racial change and marked a decisive break from the party's historic commitment to civil rights. AsTime reports, Goldwater's stance offered a clear signal that "liberty and justice were reserved for White Americans like them."^[10]

The 1964 Republican Platform was dominated by Goldwater conservatives, which meant the platform was dominated by calls forlimited government, condemnations of theKennedy andJohnson foreign and domestic policy, calls for more open space forfree enterprise, a hard-line againstCommunistNorth Vietnam, calls for reform of theUnited Nations, a staunch support ofNATO, calls forlower taxes, a hard line against internationalCommunism, and an accusation that the Kennedy Administration was guilty ofMunich-like appeasement for having opened a hotline with the Soviet Union and not with American allies.^[11]

• 
  Senator
  Barry Goldwater
  ofArizona
• 
  Governor
  William Scranton
  ofPennsylvania
• 
  Governor
  Nelson Rockefeller
  ofNew York
• 
  Governor
  George W. Romney
  ofMichigan
• 
  Senator
  Margaret Chase Smith
  ofMaine
• 
  FormerRepresentative
  Walter Judd
  ofMinnesota
• 
  Senator
  Hiram Fong
  ofHawaii
• 
  FormerAmbassador
  Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
  ofMassachusetts
• 
  FormerGovernor
  Harold Stassen
  ofMinnesota

Despite political infighting, Goldwater was easily nominated on a revised first ballot. In his acceptance speech, Goldwater declared communism as a "principal disturber of the peace in the world today" and said, "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Some people, including those within his own campaign staff, believed this weakened Goldwater's chances, as he effectively severed ties with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.^[12]

As delegates celebrated Goldwater's nomination, Republican officials attempted to clear reporters from the convention floor.^[13] NBC reporterJohn Chancellor refused to leave and was escorted from the convention by police officers, leading to his famoussignoff, "This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody!"^[13] According toEmmy award-winning television journalist,Belva Davis, she and another black reporter were chased out of the convention by attendees yelling racial slurs.^[14]

Presidential balloting / 3rd day of convention (July 15, 1964)

• 
  1st presidential ballot
  (before shifts)
• 
  1st presidential ballot
  (after shifts)

• 
  Representative
  William E. Miller
  ofNew York
• 
  Representative
  Gerald Ford
  ofMichigan
• 
  Governor
  William Scranton
  ofPennsylvania
• 
  FormerRepresentative
  Clare Boothe Luce
  ofConnecticut
• 
  FormerGovernor
  John Davis Lodge
  ofConnecticut

William E. Miller, a representative from Western New York who had served as chairman of theRepublican National Committee since 1961, was nominated unanimously on a roll call vote. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller to be his running mate simply because "he drives Johnson nuts" with his Republican activism.^[15] However, by some other accounts, Johnson "was barely aware of Miller's existence." Miller's Eastern roots and Catholic faith balanced the ticket in some ways, however ideologically he was conservative like Goldwater. His relative obscurity—"he was better known for snipes at President Kennedy than for anything else"—gave birth to the refrain "Here's a riddle, it's a killer / Who the hell is William Miller?"^[15]

He was replaced as Chairman of the RNC byDean Burch, a Goldwater loyalist from Arizona.

Vice presidential balloting / 4th day of convention (July 16, 1964)

• 
  1st
  vice presidential ballot

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1964 Democratic National Convention
• 1964 United States presidential election
• Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign

Wikimedia Commons has media related to1964 Republican National Convention.

• Republican Party platform of 1964 atThe American Presidency Project
• Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (transcript) atThe American Presidency Project
• 1964 Republican National Convention^{[permanent dead link]} atSmithsonian Magazine
• Video of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC from C-SPAN (via YouTube)Archived 2016-11-07 at theWayback Machine
• Audio of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC

• 1964 conferences
• 1964 in California
• 1964 United States presidential election
• Events of the civil rights movement
• July 1964 in the United States
• Political conventions in California
• Political events in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Republican National Conventions
• Republican Party (United States) events in California
• Barry Goldwater
• Organized events in Daly City, California
• 1960s political conferences
• Nelson Rockefeller
• George W. Romney

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