4 Memorable speeches from past RNCs
As mentioned in my RVIVR article yesterday, the 2024 Republican National Convention (RNC) is set to take place in Milwaukee on Monday. In honor of the upcoming RNC, I decided to do a quick dive today into the history of the RNC and then some of the memorable speeches in the history of televised RNC speeches.
To start, the first Republican National Convention took place in 1856 in Philadelphia. Two years earlier, the Republican party started in 1854 and then ran its first presidential candidate in 1856. Even though Republicans lost the 1856 presidential election, this political party won its first presidential election in 1860 with Abraham Lincoln.
Almost one hundred years later, the first-ever televised RNC took place in 1952—with Dwight Eisenhower receiving the GOP’s presidential nomination that year. This year’s 2024 RNC will now be the 19th televised RNC and 43rd overall convention in the party’s history.
Over the years, the quadrennial RNC has taken place in 15 different cities across the country. Furthermore, Chicago, Cleveland, and Philadelphia are the only cities to have hosted the Republican National Convention three or more times. But overall, most RNCs in the past have taken place around the midwestern party of the United States—which is an ode to the party’s Midwestern origin as well as the importance of the Midwest in modern presidential politics.
The 2024 RNC is the first time that the RNC has hosted its convention in the city of Milwaukee. So, that fact alone makes this year’s convention historic in itself.
To close today’s post, I wanted to share four memorable speeches from past RNCs. Pat Buchanan’s “Culture War” speech from the 1992 RNC is my personal favorite, so make sure to check that speech out and the other ones listed in the run-up to the 2024 RNC.
#1 Pat Buchanan’s “Culture War” speech at the 1992 RNC
#2 Donald Trump’s “Americanism, not Globalism” speech at the 2016 RNC
#3 Barry Goldwater’s “In defense of Liberty” speech at the 1964 RNC
#4 Reagan’s “Challenge” speech at the 1976 RNC
As I mentioned earlier this week, I will be attending this year’s RNC as an alternate delegate. So, I look forward to sharing my experiences at the 2024 Republican National Convention with the RVIVR audience!
