Making Convention History The platforms and parties were as important as the people they nominated. Chicago hosted many dramatic speeches and historic moments. During the 1888 Republican convention, Frederick Douglass received one vote on the fourth ballot, the first African American to do so in any convention. In 1896, William Jennings Bryan defended free silver (the use of silver to back paper currency) with a fiery "Cross of Gold" speech that sent 20,000 spectators into a frenzy. Margaret Hill M'Carter of Kansas became the first woman delegate to address a Republican national gathering in 1920. This was before the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was fully ratified. Network television broadcasts brought both conventions into the living rooms of America in 1952. Television brought both conventions into the living rooms of America in 1952. In 1956, Democratic nominee Adlai Stevenson broke tradition by letting the delegates pick his running mate. Three senators, Hubert H. Humphrey, Estes Kefauver, and John F. Kennedy vied for the post, which eventually went to Kefauver. Violence broke out between protesters and police during the 1968 Democratic convention.

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Al Capone - Chicago Black Sox - A Century of Progress - Chicago Fire
The World's Columbian Exposition - Parades, Protests and Politics
The Pullman Era - The Stockyards
Fort Dearborn (Coming Soon!)

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