When Baltimore was convention central

1912 wasn't the city's first moment in the national political spotlight, but it was one of its most memorable

After an all-night session on Thursday, June 27, the first ballot for the nomination was taken early Friday morning. Clark led with 440.5 votes, compared to 324 for Wilson, 148 for Harmon, and 117.5 for Underwood. There was little movement until the 10th ballot, when New York's massive block of 90 votes shifted from Harmon to Clark. The New York delegation was controlled by the leaders of Tammany Hall, the political organization notorious for graft and corruption. With New York's votes, Clark had a majority of the votes cast. Not since 1844 had a Democratic candidate attained a majority vote and failed to go on to win the nomination. The contest seemed over. Clark prepared a victory telegram, while Wilson suggested to his managers in Baltimore that his name be withdrawn. Support from New York, however, turned out to be the kiss of death for Clark. On Saturday, Bryan, seemingly always in the spotlight, announced that all nine of Clark's Nebraska delegate votes, including his own, were switching to Wilson, because they could not stomach supporting the same candidate favored by Tammany Hall and Wall Street. Slowly, other votes began to shift to Wilson. On Tuesday, July 2, after much deal-making, Wilson finally went over the two-thirds threshold on the 46th ballot and won the nomination. As predicted, it turned out to be a three-way contest in the fall election, with Wilson easily winning over Roosevelt's third-party candidacy and the incumbent Republican president, Taft.

The 1912 Democratic convention turned out to be, at least for a century, Baltimore's last hurrah as a convention city. With modern conventions usually now held in cities located in competitive swing states, the likelihood of Baltimore hosting another convention in the foreseeable future is slim. The city has a rich history, however, from the 19th century and the 1912 gathering, of a time when the road to the White House passed through Baltimore.

Stan M. Haynes, a Baltimore attorney, is the author of the recently published book, "The First American Political Conventions: Transforming Presidential Nominations 1832-1872." For more information about the book, go to http://www.americanpolitcalconventions.com.