The keynote address was given by Governor Robert S. Kerr of Oklahoma, in which he "gave tribute to Roosevelt's war leadership and New Deal policies.

"[1] Unlike the previous convention, President Roosevelt faced no serious opposition for a fourth term, with the country's active involvement in World War II and the consequent need for stable leadership considered a more pressing issue than any concerns about his remaining in office.

In the end, Byrd did win more delegates than any of the candidates who had tried to run against Roosevelt four years prior, but still fell far short of seriously challenging for the nomination.

Fighting to keep Wallace off the ticket were outgoing Democratic National Committee chairman Frank C. Walker, incoming chairman Robert E. Hannegan, party treasurer Edwin W. Pauley, strategist Edward J. Flynn, Chicago Mayor Edward Joseph Kelly and lobbyist George E. Allen, who dubbed the group "The Conspiracy of the Pure in Heart.

[6] They privately told Roosevelt that they would fight Wallace's renomination, and they proposed Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman as FDR's new running mate.

[7] Wallace's supporters were made up of Rexford Tugwell, Ellis Arnall, Claude Pepper, Helen Gahagan Douglas, Robert F. Wagner, black leaders opposed to Byrd and Byrnes, and the political action committees of the CIO and United Auto Workers.

[8] President Roosevelt was absent from the convention, as he traveled to the South Pacific in order to discuss military strategy with General Douglas MacArthur.

[9] Jackson, who had worked feverishly to secure Truman's nomination, later said he wanted his tombstone inscribed with the words "Here lies the man who stopped Henry Wallace from becoming President of the United States.