1972 Republican National Convention
Anne Armstrong | |
Candidates | |
---|---|
Presidential nominee | Richard M. Nixon of California |
Vice presidential nominee | Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland |
The 1972 Republican National Convention was held from August 21 to August 23, 1972, at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami Beach, Florida. It nominated President Richard M. Nixon and Vice President Spiro T. Agnew for reelection. The convention was chaired by House minority leader and future Nixon successor Gerald Ford of Michigan. It was the fifth time that Nixon had been nominated on the Republican ticket for vice president (1952 and 1956) or president (1960 and 1968). Nixon's five appearances on his party's ticket matched the major-party American standard of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat who had been nominated for vice president once (in 1920) and president four times (in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944).
The convention was the first Republican convention scheduled for only three days since 1944, joining only the 2012 Democratic National Convention as the only conventions in modern convention history to be scheduled for three days.
Site selection
Speeches
The convention set a new standard, as it was scripted as a media event to an unprecedented degree.[4]
The
First Lady Pat Nixon became the first Republican First Lady, and the first First Lady in over 25 years, to address a party's national convention. Her speech set the standard for future convention speeches by political spouses. Republican First Ladies Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush and Melania Trump, among others, have all followed in this tradition.
Balloting
Nixon easily turned back primary challenges from the right, in the person of Representative John M. Ashbrook of Ohio and, from the left, Representative Pete McCloskey of California. However, under New Mexico state law, McCloskey had earned one delegate, which the convention refused to seat, fearing that the delegate might put McCloskey's name in nomination and deliver an anti-war speech. Congressman (and delegate) Manuel Lujan of New Mexico, a staunch Nixon supporter, honored state law by voting for McCloskey himself. The final result was that Nixon received 1,347 votes to one for McCloskey and none for Ashbrook. Throughout the precisely scripted convention, delegates chanted "Four more years! Four more years!"[6]
Spiro Agnew was renominated for vice president with 1,345 votes against one vote for NBC television journalist David Brinkley and two abstentions.[7]
Protest activity
The convention was targeted for widespread protests, particularly against the
In 2005, files released under a
Oliver Stone's film Born on the Fourth of July, based on Ron Kovic's autobiography of the same name, depicts Kovic and fellow Vietnam Veterans Against the War activists Bobby Muller, Bill Wieman and Mark Clevinger being spat upon at the convention.[10] The scene did not appear in Kovic's autobiography but was taken almost directly from a documentary film created the 1972 Republican Convention titled Operation Last Patrol by filmmaker and actor Frank Cavestani and photo journalist Cathrine Leroy.[citation needed]
See also
- History of the United States Republican Party
- List of Republican National Conventions
- U.S. presidential nomination convention
- 1972 Democratic National Convention
- 1972 United States presidential election
References
- ^ Ancona, Vincent S. (Fall 1992). "When the Elephants Marched Out of San Diego". The Journal of San Diego History. Vol. 38, no. 4. San Diego Historical Society. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
- ^ "The Nation: The ITT Controversy Revisited". Time Magazine. 13 August 1973. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
- ^ Sautter, R. Craig. "Political Conventions". Encyclopedia of Chicago.
- ^ Costas Panagopoulos (July 2004). "Behind the Baloons". Campaigns & Elections. Archived from the original on 2005-04-21.
- ^ Holley, Joe (July 31, 2008). "Leading Texas Republican Anne Armstrong". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 20, 2010.
- TIME. 1972-09-04. Archived from the originalon January 14, 2009.
- Newspapers.com. "Agnew, greeted by foot-stomping, wildly cheering delegates, received 1,345 of the conventions 1,348 votes. One vote went to NBC television commentator David Brinkley, and there were two abstentions."
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ JustOneMinute: Who Spat On Whom?
Bibliography
- Ancona, Vincent S. When the Elephants Marched Out of San Diego: The 1972 Republican Convention Fiasco, The Journal of San Diego History, Fall 1992, Volume 38, Number 4
- "Lennon 'too stoned to pose threat'," September 22, 2005, retrieved from CNN.com December 14, 2005.
- Kirkpatrick, Jeane J., "Representation in the American National Conventions: The Case of 1972," British Journal of Political Science, July 1, 1975. Available as a PDF courtesy of the American Enterprise Institute
External links
- Republican Party platform of 1972 at The American Presidency Project
- Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
- Nixon, Richard "Remarks on Accepting the Presidential Nomination of the Republican National Convention," August 23, 1972. Provided by the American Presidency Project, University of California, Santa Barbara.
- Four More Years, TVTV Documentary MediaBurn.org: Video Preview
- Video of Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC (via YouTube)
- Audio of Nixon nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC[permanent dead link]
- Video of Agnew nomination acceptance speech for Vice President at RNC (via YouTube)
Preceded by 1968 Miami Beach, Florida |
Republican National Conventions | Succeeded by 1976 Kansas City, Missouri |