By Kate Miller, Emily Kim, Meghan Sellers and Rebecca Rogers

This year’s Democratic nomination race is close; depending upon how Ohio and Texas voters lean, it could prove the closest Democratic race in history. Currently, Obama leads Clinton narrowly in the delegate count, 1,319 to 1,250. Many analysts are predicting that this race will continue until Denver. But don’t be fooled into thinking that this is the most hotly contested
Democratic race of all time. Let’s take a few steps back into history, namely back to 1924, 1968 and 1980…

1924:

The 1924 Democratic Convention in New York was notoriously known as “Klanbake, where pro-Klan and anti-Klan delegates wrangled bitterly over the party platform,” according to this website.

The Democratic party was fiercely divided between pro-Klan, pro-prohibition Southern and Western Democrats, and anti-Klan, anti-prohibition Catholic and Jewish Democrats, namely in the Northeast.

With this great division came two candidates representing both sides: Al Smith, New York Governor who was fiercely opposed by Democrats in the South and West, and William Gibbs McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary disliked by Northern Democrats.

A tension-filled Democratic Convention began in New York on a Monday, and was deadlocked through Thursday, after 61 ballots had been cast.

After an astounding 99 ballots, both Smith and McAdoo withdrew from the contest, and John Davis, a former ambassador to Britain from West Virginia was given the nomination on the 103rd ballot.

The tension within the party and the division caused fatal to the Left, as Republican incumbent President Calvin Coolidge easily beat Davis in the general election.

1968:

Arguably the most notorious Convention in the history of American politics, “on the streets and in the parks of Chicago, the social conflicts of the ‘60s were on display,” as stated in this essay. The importance the issue of the Vietnam War played in 1968 is, in my opinion, comparable to Iraq today. It was on the minds of many, and caused the downfall of incumbent President Lyndon Johnson in the race for the nomination.

Johnson became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and was allowed to run for President again, even after two terms, because he had only served 14 months of his first term. A popular president for a time, Johnson’s popularity fell fast and hard with the Vietnam War, which “greatly escalated during his time in office,” according to Wikipedia.com. The rise of the anti-war movement grew through media coverage that exposed a war not being won, as Johnson claimed, but just the opposite.

An anti-war candidate came in the form of Sen. Eugene McCarthy from Minnesota. McCarthy’s main base of support came from students and intellectuals who had withdrawal from Vietnam as their main political priority. McCarthy organized a great base of grassroots volunteers in New Hampshire, where the first primary election occurred, and narrowly lost to Johnson, 49 to 42 percent. This symbolized, for Johnson, disaster.

Johnson announced his withdrawal from the race on March 31st, 1968.

Robert F. Kennedy, brother of President Kennedy, entered the race shortly after New Hampshire, and began a bitter battle with McCarthy. Kennedy’s main base of support came from Catholics, African Americans and other minority groups. Charismatic and inspiring, Kennedy gained momentum quickly. Both Kennedy and McCarthy won their share of primary elections, which kept things close, thus making the California primary a significant turning point in the race.

Kennedy narrowly beat McCarthy in California, 46 to 42 percent. However, as we all know, soon after his victory Kennedy was shot and killed, thus leaving the race between McCarthy and Hubert Humphrey, Vice-President to Lyndon Johnson.

Humphrey’s campaign strategy was far from a grassroots-strategy: Humphrey’s success depended upon wins in non-primary states. In the non-primary states, party leaders had majority of the say as to whom delegates would support, and Humphrey proved extremely successful in these areas. He did not compete in one primary election.

The Chicago Convention became notorious not for the action inside, but for the riots and police brutality outside. Many anti-war protestors were beaten and arrested, with much of the action being caught on camera. Though Hubert won the nomination with 1,759 ballots to McCarthy’s 601, “Chicago ’68 doomed the candidacy of Hubert Humphrey and set off shock waves of reform.”

1980:

The Democratic party was in a tough spot in 1980: their incumbent President, Jimmy Carter, had an approval rating of 28 percent, comparable to the lows seen recently by President George W. Bush. The party found it necessary to run candidates against Carter, and Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts became the front-runner.

It had been rumored for years that Kennedy would run for President at some time or another, and when word got out that 1980 was finally that time, a Gallop poll had Kennedy beating the President two-to-one.

However, controversy followed Kennedy in many forms. The Chappaquiddick incident cast major doubt about Kennedy’s character, and his mis-handling of a primetime interview, in which he came off unprepared, only added to his misfortunes. Carter’s approval rating shot back up after the Tehran, Iran hostage crisis, and though Kennedy won the latter primary contests in June, Carter went on to win the nomination 2,129 to 1,150.

Carter then lost the general election by a large margin to Republican Ronald Reagan.

There are many similarities embedded within all three of these contests. One word comes to mind that is a word used often in today’s election season as well: change. In 1920, drastic change was wanted by both anti-Klan and pro-Klan supporters; upheaval seemed certain.

In 1968, the Vietnam War became the focal point, with many citizens seeing a need for change in the strategy of the government. By 1980 the economy was faltering, and the person to blame was Carter. Nice guy, questionable President. Again, change seemed a necessity, with Kennedy being coined as the “Candidate for Change.” Sound familiar?

Another key similarity within these three races: the outcome. All three were lost to the Republicans, one race extremely close (‘68), the other two won easily by the GOP. When analyzing the circumstances, one element in particular sticks out: the incredible division caused within the interior of the Democratic Party, in all three races.

It seemed as though you either loved one candidate, hated the other, or you had no opinion at all. Of course, this wasn’t always the case; in 1968, for example, Democratic supporters of Wallace also tended to support Humphrey. But, for the most part, strict lines were drawn, a pattern that seems to be continuing today.

In all three of the races, a few major issues were the main reason for rift and tension, including the Klan and prohibition in 1920, Vietnam in 1968, and the economy in 1980. The Iraq war and the economy are two major issues today, and though the strongest divide on these is between Democrats and Republicans, personal attacks on each other are becoming much more prevalent between Clinton and Obama, comparable to the fire thrown between Kennedy and McCarthy, McCarthy and Humphrey, and Kennedy and Carter.

As the climax of this exciting 2008 Presidential nomination process draws nearer, and the fighting words between Obama and Clinton get stronger, one can see that more and more the party is becoming divided. Is this the closest Democratic nomination race ever? Technically, not yet. 1924 went days into the Convention before anything was decided. However, circumstances are different today, with superdelegates playing such a big role, and a few key primaries left.

Regardless of how close the nomination race is, of who ends up pulling off a victory, it may not matter. History has a tendency of repeating itself, and if the Democratic Party becomes too divided within the context of this race, Sen. John McCain may find the capability of becoming the President of the United States.

For a general overview of all past Democratic National Conventions, click here.

Video of Hubert Humphrey Ad: