1964 Republican National Convention

The Republican primaries of 1964 featured liberal Nelson Rockefeller of New York and conservative Barry Goldwater of Arizona as the two leading candidates. Shortly before the California primary, Rockefeller's wife, whom he had married the previous year after divorcing his first wife, gave birth.{{cite news |last=Davies |first=Lawrence E. |date=June 4, 1964 |title=Goldwater, Narrowly Beating Rockefeller, Sets California G.O.P. on a New Course |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1964/06/04/archives/goldwater-narrowly-beating-rockefeller-sets-california-gop-on-a-new.html |work=The New York Times |location=New York, NY |page=22 |via=TimesMachine}} This event drew renewed attention to Rockefeller's family life, which hurt his popularity among conservatives. Rockefeller's divorce and remarriage were viewed by many observers as helping Goldwater win the primary. An anti-Goldwater organization called for the nomination of Governor William Scranton of Pennsylvania, but the effort failed. Although former President Dwight Eisenhower only reluctantly supported Goldwater after he won the nomination, former President Herbert Hoover gave him enthusiastic endorsement. By the end of the primaries, Goldwater's nomination was secure.

Senator Margaret Chase Smith's name was entered for nomination at the convention, the first time a woman's name was entered for nomination at a major party convention.

The Republican National Convention of 1964 was a tension-filled contest. Goldwater's conservatives were openly clashing with Rockefeller's moderates. Goldwater was regarded as the "conservatives' leading spokesman."{{cite book |title=The New York Times Election Handbook 1964 |location=New York |publisher=McGraw Hill |year=1964 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=46IcuAAACAAJ&pg=PA65 }} As a result, Goldwater was not as popular with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.{{cite journal |first1=Leon D. |last1=Epstein |first2=Austin |last2=Ranney |title=Who Voted for Goldwater: The Wisconsin Case |journal=Political Science Quarterly |year=1966 |volume=81 |issue=1 |pages=82–94 [p. 85] |doi=10.2307/2146862 |jstor=2146862 }}{{cite book |last=Mattar |first=Edward Paul |title=Barry Goldwater: A Political Indictment |location=Minneapolis |publisher=Century Twenty One Unlimited |year=1964 |pages=84–7 }} When Rockefeller attempted to deliver a speech, he was booed by the convention's conservative delegates, who regarded him as a member of the "eastern liberal establishment."

File:1964 Republican National Convention.jpg appears before the convention in the Cow Palace.|left]]

Former vice president and GOP presidential nominee (and future President) Richard Nixon introduced Goldwater as "Mr. Conservative" and "Mr. Republican" and continued that "he is the man who, after the greatest campaign in history, will be Mr. President — Barry Goldwater".{{YouTube|id=nQGEgH7pU58|title=Conservatives Re-Take the R...}}{{dead link|date=March 2016}} 1964 was the only Republican convention between 1952 and 1972 that did not result in Nixon being nominated for president or vice-president.

The newly opened San Francisco Hilton served as the headquarters of the convention.{{cite web |last1=Sawislak |first1=Arnold |title=Democrats chose San Francisco today as the site of... |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/04/21/Democrats-chose-San-Fransisco-today-as-the-site-of/6377419749200/ |website=UPI |access-date=3 February 2022 |language=en |date=April 21, 1983}}

File:1964 Republican National Convention Platform Committee.jpg

The 1964 Republican Platform was dominated by Goldwater conservatives, which meant the platform was dominated by calls for limited government, condemnations of the Kennedy and Johnson foreign and domestic policy, calls for more open space for free enterprise, a hard-line against Communist North Vietnam, calls for reform of the United Nations, a staunch support of NATO, calls for lower taxes, a hard line against international Communism, and an accusation that the Kennedy Administration was guilty of Munich-like appeasement for having opened a hotline with the Soviet Union and not with American allies.{{cite web|url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25840|title=Republican Party Platforms: Republican Party Platform of 1964|website=www.presidency.ucsb.edu|access-date=1 April 2018}}

Image:Goldwater for President (cropped).jpg|Senator
Barry Goldwater
of Arizona

Image:William Scranton (R-PA) (croppedmore).jpg|Governor
William Scranton
of Pennsylvania

Image:Nelson Rockefeller Philadelphia 1968 Service-pnp-gtfy-03400-03415v (cropped).jpg|Governor
Nelson Rockefeller
of New York

Image:George W. Romney official portrait.jpg|Governor
George W. Romney
of Michigan

Image:Margaret Chase Smith.jpg|Senator
Margaret Chase Smith
of Maine

Image:Walter Judd.jpg|Former Representative
Walter Judd
of Minnesota

Image:Hiram_Fong.jpg|Senator
Hiram Fong
of Hawaii

Image:Henry Cabot Lodge Jr (R-MA) (cropped).jpg|Former Ambassador
Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.
of Massachusetts

Image:Gov. Harold E. Stassen LCCN2016877428 (cropped).jpg|Former Governor
Harold Stassen
of Minnesota

Despite political infighting, Goldwater was easily nominated on a revised first ballot. In his acceptance speech, Goldwater declared communism as a "principal disturber of the peace in the world today" and said, "I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue." Some people, including those within his own campaign staff, believed this weakened Goldwater's chances, as he effectively severed ties with the moderates and liberals of the Republican Party.{{cite book |last=White |first=Clifton F. |title=Suite 3505: The Story of the Draft Goldwater Movement |location=New Rochelle |publisher=Arlington House |year=1967 |page=15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOB4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA15 }}

As delegates celebrated Goldwater's nomination, Republican officials attempted to clear reporters from the convention floor.{{cite news |date=August 17, 2020 |title=1964: NBC reporter arrested on air |url=https://wcfcourier.com/news/1964-nbc-reporter-arrested-on-air/image_3c9d3532-0db3-5a15-a526-5e03ef5f692e.html |work=The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier |location=Waterloo, IA}} NBC reporter John Chancellor refused to leave and was escorted from the convention by police officers, leading to his famous signoff, "This is John Chancellor, somewhere in custody!" According to Emmy award-winning television journalist, Belva Davis, she and another black reporter were chased out of the convention by attendees yelling racial slurs.{{cite news|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4272687/the-reading-rack.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201174509/http://www.sacbee.com/2012/02/19/4272687/the-reading-rack.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |title=The Reading Rack |page=E3 |newspaper=Sacramento Bee |first=Ginger |last=Rutland |date=February 19, 2012 |access-date=November 14, 2012 }}

Presidential balloting / 3rd day of convention (July 15, 1964)

File:1964RepublicanPresidentialNomination1stBallotBefore.png|1st presidential ballot
(before shifts)

File:1964RepublicanPresidentialNomination1stBallotAfter.png|1st presidential ballot
(after shifts)

File:William E. Miller.jpg|Representative
William E. Miller
of New York

File:Gerald ford 1961 (cropped).jpg|Representative
Gerald Ford
of Michigan

File:William Scranton (R-PA) (croppedmore).jpg|Governor
William Scranton
of Pennsylvania

File:Clare boothe.jpg|Former Representative
Clare Boothe Luce
of Connecticut

File:John D. Lodge (CT).png|Former Governor
John Davis Lodge
of Connecticut

William E. Miller, a representative from Western New York who had served as chairman of the Republican National Committee since 1961, was nominated unanimously on a roll call vote. Goldwater stated that he chose Miller to be his running mate simply because "he drives Johnson nuts" with his Republican activism.{{cite book|first=Rick |last=Perlstein |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DG3BE0C0VkAC&pg=PA389 |title=Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus| year=2002 |page=389 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=9780786744152 |via=Google Books}} However, by some other accounts, Johnson "was barely aware of Miller's existence." Miller's Eastern roots and Catholic faith balanced the ticket in some ways, however ideologically he was conservative like Goldwater. His relative obscurity—"he was better known for snipes at President Kennedy than for anything else"—gave birth to the refrain "Here's a riddle, it's a killer / Who the hell is William Miller?"

He was replaced as Chairman of the RNC by Dean Burch, a Goldwater loyalist from Arizona.

Vice presidential balloting / 4th day of convention (July 16, 1964)

File:1964RepublicanVicePresidentialNomination1stBallot.png|1st
vice presidential ballot

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1964 Democratic National Convention
• 1964 United States presidential election
• Barry Goldwater 1964 presidential campaign

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25840 Republican Party platform of 1964] at The American Presidency Project
• [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=25973 Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC] (transcript) at The American Presidency Project
• [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/1964-republican-convention.html%26+Archaeology%29 1964 Republican National Convention]{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} at Smithsonian Magazine
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFSiyueal7Q Video of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC from C-SPAN (via YouTube)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107121855/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFSiyueal7Q |date=2016-11-07 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20170821084248/http://convert2mp3.net/en/index.php?p=tags Audio of Goldwater nomination acceptance speech for President at RNC]

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