The 103rd ballot: Democrats and the disaster in Madison Square Garden

by Robert K. Murray

The 103rd ballot: Democrats and the disaster in Madison Square Garden

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction, Political Science

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert K. Murray's The 103rd Ballot expertly evokes the 1924 Democratic National Convention, a week-long slug fest which took, yes, 103 ballots to select a nominee. Murray, an expert in 1920s politics, works to dispel the idea of post-WWI America as an era of cultural torpor and political malaise. Indeed, between Prohibition, the Second Ku Klux Klan, the scandals of the Harding Administration, the Progressive revolt of Bob La Follette it was tumultuous as any time period in American history. Even so, 1924 wasn't a particularly inspiring year politically, with the Democrats divided between liberal, Catholic New Yorker Al Smith and William McAdoo, Woodrow Wilson's son-in-law who was endorsed by the Klan. Thus the deadlock at Madison Square Garden: while both ego and substantial issues played their role in the convention chaos, the KKK repeatedly reared its hooded head as a wedge between Democrats, demonstrating both the degree to which its white supremacist message dominated '20s America and the Democrats' struggles to escape their reactionary past. Eventually, neither Smith nor McAdoo won; a compromised candidate, John W. Davis of West Virginia, won by offending no one, losing catastrophically to Calvin Coolidge in the fall (with La Follette running a strong third party bid). This book is probably best appreciated by political buffs who are somewhat grounded in the era and can navigate the personalities and wheeling-and-dealing, though Murray's crisp accounts allows even a novice to appreciate the chaos on display.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating convention: 1924 and the Democratic Party was in conflict. In the South (and parts of the West and North) the Klan was at its peak as a powerful force in the party; the West wanted prohibition to remain, while the big city East was "wet". The two frontrunners were NY governor Al Smith, part of the Tammany machine, and former Wilson cabinet secretary William McAdoo, California-based but prominent in transportation and supporting the status quo regarding prohibition. For 100 ballots it went to and fro, until compromise eventually was forced on the New York-based convention.

The 3rd party threat of Wisconsin progressive Robert La Follette also was a huge factor in the politics of the day, and it also marked the re-entry into politics of one Franklin Roosevelt. Yet as history shows, Calvin Coolidge was unstoppable in 1924. His election was helped along by the divided opposition.

In many instances the author Murray leans on platitudes and repeats the same points over and over. It is a well-researched and footnoted book, but the narrative needed some work. It was begging for some more in-depth character analysis. McAdoo throughout remained a cipher, and I've read other more interesting portrayals of the colourful Al Smith. Still, it's a worthwhile read for anyone into 20th Century American political history.

[Reza Amiri Praramadhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

1924 was indeed a fateful year for the Democratic Party. Faced with divisive issues such as Prohibition and of course, The Ku Klux Klan, the party chose to show divisiveness rather than unity. To back it up, it took 103 ballots to settle on the final choice for the presidential candidate. And another plot twist is, the one chosen is a rather bland, unexpected and uninspiring man who would suffer another beating for the Democrats at the hand of the Republicans. However, this Convention became the milestone for profound change in Democratic Party and the start point for Franklin D. Roosevelt ascendancy to highest power.

[Andrew Figueiredo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conventions today are rather sanitized affairs. Even in 2016, when there were a handful of protests against Hillary Clinton on the Democratic side and Ted Cruz's "vote your conscience" speech on the Republican side, no big surprises transpired and everything felt rather scripted. Things were VERY different back in 1924 though, as the Democratic convention stretched on for weeks on end before a nominee was chosen.

Murray's book is a wonderful dive into why that convention was so insane, what actually went down, and how it impacted the Democrats in November 1924 and beyond. He builds up to the convention by explaining in depth how divided the Democratic Party had become by 1924. There were serious intraparty fissures on immigration, prohibition, and the KKK, all issues that on some level also reflected an urban-rural divide. Murray does a fantastic job laying the stage for the 103 ballots, explicating the manifold reasons why the Democrats went into 1924 lacking unity.

As the convention began, each "side" had its representative. On one side was William Gibbs McAdoo, backed by Southerners and Westerners, economic populists, "dry" voters, and Protestants. On the other, Al Smith, the pinnacle of urban liberalism in the 1920s, backed by Catholics, "wet" voters, and urbanites from the East. Both locked horns over each of the aforementioned issues, and had just enough support for a deadlock, but not enough to actually win the nomination with 2/3 of the delegates. The remainder of delegates were pledged to Oscar Underwood, a conservative anti-Klan Southerner, along with various favorite sons. Indeed, the Klan platform plank condemning the group by name inspired a good deal of rancor and in what was likely somewhat stolen, lost by one vote. Over ballot after ballot, the candidates' deadlock persisted. Amidst the votes, there were lengthy floor parades, fistfights, backroom dealings, and all sorts of dramatics, which Murray doesn't hesitate to mention. The anecdotes make this kind of political history writing one of my favorites. Sometimes a favorite son would make waves, usually at the expense of McAdoo, but those waves frequently receded as quickly as they surged. So, the convention dragged on and on in the New York City heat. After some failed attempts to work out a deal between the two main candidates, finally, John W. Davis of West Virginia, a little-known favorite son candidate, started scooping up delegates from both McAdoo's camp and Smith's and locked up the nomination.

But indeed, the nomination was all Davis would win. The party remained hopelessly divided, Davis ran a lackadaisical campaign, and Coolidge remained quite popular. And then there was a third party bid by Fighting Bob La Follette that peeled some progressives away from both major parties. The end result? An absolute shellacking in November. Murray guides readers through the reasons this happened and to his credit, goes beyond 1924 to examine the repercussions that year had. In 1928, the party went with Smith, but he too proved unable to unite the Democrats' disparate factions. It took FDR in 1932 to do that.

[Stephen Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The 103rd Ballot” is perhaps the best book to substantiate the oft-cited headline of Democrats in Disarray. This, however, isn’t 2016, 2000, or even the 1960s, but rather the 1920s, an era largely forgotten in contemporary political thinking. Characters like William McAdoo, Al Smith, and (spoiler alert) the eventual nominee John W. Davis are brought to life as each navigates the fractured world of 1920s Democratic politics, riven by religious fundamentalism, Prohibition, and the Ku Klux Klan.

The book largely centers on the 1924 Convention, which, as the title suggests, requires 103 ballots to resolve the nominee. Little surprise that Davis, the wounded consensus nominee, limps into the general election against Calvin Coolidge, a sacrificial lamb to divided loyalties in the Democratic Party and booming economic prospects across the continent.

2024, just like 1924, makes clear that the Democratic Party is a broad coalition, functioning best when in unison and on broad-based support, and worst when divided and the subject of sniping attacks from candidates. An excellent book, and perhaps a balm to thinking that all contemporary politics is the height of insanity.

[JW · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating account of the longest political convention, the 1924 Democratic conclave. This is not dry political history – author Robert Murray enlivens his story with many human interest details. He then provides a good account of the election campaign, a three way race between incumbent Calvin Coolidge, Democratic nominee John Davis and independent Progressive Robert La Follette.
But did the convention really change politics forever? Murray emphasizes that social issues, the conflict between the late Victorian culture of rural and small-town America and the rising liberal worldview of urban areas, found expression in the divide over Prohibition and the Ku Klux Klan that helped deadlock the convention. The prosperity of the mid 1920s lessened the importance of economic issues. With the onset of the Depression, economics once again became the dominant political issue. The 1924 convention really didn’t change politics. Instead, it reflected the current state of society.

[David Dayen · Rating 4 out of 5]

For some reason there was a tradition in political conventions of yesteryear that the way to win support was to begin a parade around the convention hall the moment that your preferred candidate's name was put into nomination; the longer the parade lasted the more support you would garner. The 1924 Democratic convention put the lie to this tactic, as the two main candidates had parades held in their honor that lasted hours and it still required 103 ballots before little-known John W. Davis (of Davis Polk fame) was selected as a compromise. Murray skillfully demonstrates that the personalities of the candidates themselves was not really at issue, but the fact that they became avatars for the most divisive issues of the day: prohibition, religion, and the Klan, which was amazingly debated in detail at a Democratic convention less than 100 years ago. Great stuff.

[Aloysius · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the more interesting tales on how party conventions can go horribly wrong. "Democrats in disarray" does not even began to describe how a century ago, there was a vicious the fight between the supporters of William Macadoo and Al Smith went at each other over Prohibition, the KKK, and fundamentalism. It took 103 ballots for the Dems to come up with a compromise candidate, and in the fall, the country stuck with the Republican incumbent, Calvin Coolidge.

Both parties and the country have changed a lot since this book was written, let alone since the events this book describes. But this much remains true: contested conventions can be dicey affairs, and deep party divisions can spell doom for a presidential candidacy. Just something to keep in mind...

[AndrewMillerTheSecond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, really enjoyed this book. Even if you disagree with his observations on 1920s politics—mainly that cultural issues like prohibition and religious bigotry trumped economic issues—Murray has an utter gift with the pen and made me anticipate every page. I already knew the outcome of the convention, but howcatchems can be just as exciting as whodunits. Read this if you have any interest in politics, because it’s just a fun story. The moral of the story: don’t let William Jennings Bryan speak impromptu at your convention.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weirdly dismissive of the KKK's debilitating role in the Democratic party of the early 20th century, and drags quite a bit, but the best history we have of this primary fight. Lots of parallels to the 21st century.

[Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on the election of 1924

[carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A manual for how not to.