Republican Convention at the Auditorium, 1888. Chicago's Political Conventions bring to life the issues and candidates of these past conventions, often with strong echoes of today's headlines. A fragment of fence rail said to be split by Abraham Lincoln himself and sold to help finance his 1860 campaign is a tangible reminder that campaign financing is not a new problem. William Jennings Bryan campaign button, 1896. The exhibition also probes the contrasts between the procedures of yesterday and today.
Graphics show the many roll-call votes often required in past conventions to nominate a candidate.
General Electric television, c. 1948. The rich collections of the Chicago Historical Society make this institution uniquely qualified to provide a look at the many pivotal conventions that have taken place in Chicago. We hope that Parades, Protests, Politics will intrigue those visitors who remember casting their first ballots for Roosevelt or Hoover as well as those who have yet to step into a voting booth. We hope, as well, that our exploration of the evolution of this American ritual will shed light on both the past and present and inspire viewers to ponder the future. Follow the evolution of presidential elections as exemplified in Chicago conventions, beginning in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln captured the presidential nomination from William Seward on through the 1996 Democratic Convention.