1964 Democratic National Convention

The convention's first day featured the Keynote speech by Senator John O. Pastore, of Rhode Island, where he spoke passionately of the party's success and in remembrance of President Kennedy. Pastore was later featured on the cover of The New York Times and Life magazine for the success of the address.


On the last day of the convention, Kennedy's brother Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy introduced a short film in honor of his brother's memory. After Kennedy appeared on the convention floor, delegates erupted in 22 minutes of uninterrupted applause, causing him to nearly break into tears. Speaking about his brother's vision for the country, Robert Kennedy quoted from Romeo and Juliet: "When he shall die, take him and cut him out into the stars, and he shall make the face of heaven so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun."


Adlai E. Stevenson II, Ambassador to the United Nations and twice a Democratic nominee for president, received a short, but polite ovation before introducing a memorial film the same day for former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who had died on November 7, 1962. By August 26, 1964, 14,000 retirees from the N. C. S. C. (National Council Of Senior Citizens) arrived at the convention, to encourage President Johnson to extend public health insurance to millions of Americans. In July 1965, Medicare was signed into law in front of former President Harry S. Truman, whose push for N. H. I. (National Health Insurance) had collapsed, nearly two decades earlier.

Coverage of Atlantic City[edit]

The convention was intended to boost Atlantic City's image as a premier travel destination in the United States. Instead the DNC exposed the decline of the city.^[7] Atlantic City faced criticism for poor quality hotels and the streets and buildings were dirty.^[7] The decrepitness of Atlantic City was particularly present in comparison to San Francisco, California, an emerging city, that was the host city of the earlier-held 1964 Republican National Convention that members of the media had also attended.^[7][8] Chuck Darrow of the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2014 wrote an article where he credited the convention with causing harm to Atlantic City's reputation. He recounted that, with the city's hotel facilities aging and tourism on the decline in the city, the accommodations and hospitality that delegates and the media experienced with left a less than stellar impression. With no contested ballot to preoccupy their coverage, Darrow recounts that the media spent time publicly expressing grievances about what they considered to be poor hospitality in Atlantic City.^[8] This perceived decline in Atlantic City led to the city becoming a hub for casinos and gambling.^[7]