The Conventions

The political parties held conventions in 1912. Delegates to the conventions came from each state. Usually state party organizations chose delegates, although primary elections for delegate selection were becoming more common by 1912.

The conventions of the major parties occurred in large assembly halls capable of holding thousands of delegates, spectators, and journalists. There delegates met without benefit of air conditioning, and spoke without microphones and loudspeakers. They were important business meetings where the parties reached decisions about their platforms and candidates. In 1912 the Republican and Progressive conventions were in Chicago, the Democratic convention in Baltimore, and the smaller Socialist convention in. The Republican, Democratic, and Progressive conventions received wide coverage in newspapers and magazines and were, of course, the subject of political cartoonists.

• Socialist Party Convention
• Republican Party Convention
• Democratic Party Convention
• Progressive Party Convention