Why Denver? (1908)
As the world awaits the arrival of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, it is interesting to note that Denver has hosted the Democrats one time previously – exactly 100 years ago, in July of 1908.
In researching my social history, Election Day, an American Holiday, an American History, I came upon some fascinating information about the 1908 convention, most of which I couldn’t fit into a book that was intended to focus on Election Day.
I opened my files to see what I had set aside, and I discovered material that is enlightening, entertaining, and a great reminder of our country’s rich history. Here is some of what I found, for you to enjoy.
The Democratic National Convention, Denver 1908: Why Denver?
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By the early twentieth century Denver had only been around for about 50 years, but it had gone through times of both boom (gold was found) and bust (more gold was found elsewhere; everyone moved on), so the city fathers knew the importance of creating broad commercial appeal. They wanted a way to demonstrate that Denver had the potential to be the “Paris on the Platte” and realized that hosting a political convention would provide a great showcase. They would have been happy with either the Democrats or the Republicans, but for the Democrats, the Mile High City offered a particularly good fit. William Jennings Bryan, who had been a big “free silver” advocate when that had been a big issue in earlier elections, was likely to be the parties’ candidate, and he was especially popular in the area because so many towns in the Rockies mined silver.
