Lessons from the 1976 Republican Convention: Why Ronald Reagan Lost the Nomination|

March 15, 2024
(6 min.)
Has lesson plan

In 1976, Ronald Reagan found owning the soul of a party isn’t the same as taking home its nomination.

This series on political conventions of the past was produced by Matt Spolar in collaboration with Politico.

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For teachers
  • Producer: Matthew Spolar
  • Editor: Brian Kamerzel
  • Associate Producer: Victor Couto
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For Educators

Subjects
U.S. History
Topics
1970s Elections Political Parties Politics U.S. Presidents
Introduction

This six-minute video explores the 1976 Republican National Convention, one of the most dramatic and irregular conventions in modern presidential history. Unlike nearly all modern conventions, in which the nominee has secured the nomination months before the convention begins, the struggle between California Governor Ronald Reagan and incumbent President Gerald R. Ford carried all the way into the convention hall, as the floor managers for each candidate fought for control over the party. The video is useful for lessons showing students what an openly contested convention looks like, and would fit in well with any sequence of lessons focused on the process for electing presidents.

Background reading
▼

The process of political conventions can prove baffling, as the same qualities that make one candidate a loser at one convention, can make him or her a big winner at the next.

In 1976, conservative Republicans rebelled against the moderate in the White House – President Gerald R. Ford – and arrived in Kansas City loudly backing Ronald Reagan.

Establishment Republicans viewed the one-time Hollywood star and former governor of California as a political lightweight who would be lost without his cue cards. But Reagan had blazed through the primaries, energized a populist base, and arrived at the convention fewer than 100 delegates short of President Ford for the nomination.

That set off a scramble for uncommitted delegates – and control of the party. To cull supporters, the Ford team even let Reagan forces shape the party platform, in hope it would convince conservatives they could work with President Ford. The tactics paid off. Ford was nominated on the first ballot, then moved to further mend fences by inviting Reagan down to the podium to address the crowd.

After some hesitancy, Reagan accepted, gave a memorable speech that supported Ford and the party – and in the process kicked off his own campaign that would clinch the party’s nomination in 1980.

Lesson Plan 1: 1976 Republican Convention – Ford vs Reagan
Overview
▼

Students will learn the context surrounding the battle between Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford at the 1976 Republican National Convention, one of the only party conventions in modern history in which an active contest for delegates at the convention determined the outcome.

Objectives
▼

Students will:

  • Hear how the Republican Party was ideologically divided in 1976.
  • Learn how candidates and their campaigns pursue the votes of delegates during an openly contested convention.
  • Explore how the powers of incumbency grant advantages to an incumbent president seeking re-nomination.
Essential questions
▼
  • In the 1976 Republican presidential primary, what were the ideological differences between Reagan and Ford?
  • How did the party establishment view Reagan? How did the populist base of the party view Reagan?
  • How did Ford’s convention managers create advantages and privileges for the delegates supporting Ford, and create disadvantages and problems for the delegates supporting Reagan?
  • How did Ford seek to unify the party after he won the nomination?
  • How did Reagan’s loss at the convention set up his victory four years later?
Additional resources
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Standards
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Common Core Literacy Standards

  • CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.11-12.7:Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
  • CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RI.11-12.3:Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequences of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact or develop over the course of a text.

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies

  • D2.Civ.5.9-12.Evaluate citizens’ and institutions’ effectiveness in addressing social and political problems at the local, state, tribal, national, and/or international level.

AP U.S. History

  • Period 9: 1980-Present

AP Government and Politics

  • Unit 5: Political Participation
    Topic 5.3:     Political Parties
    Topic 5.8: Electing a President
    Topic 5.9: Congressional Elections
    Topic 5.10: Modern Campaigns
    Topic 5.8: Electing a President
    Skill 1.E:     Explain how political processes apply to different scenarios in context.