The convention was marked by a "free vote" for the vice presidential nomination in which the winner, Kefauver, defeated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Relative to the Republicans, the Democrats favored greater reliance on the United Nations, multilateral disarmament, more spending for programs relating to social welfare and agriculture, "a full and integrated program of development, protection, management and conservation of natural resources," and the use of peaceful atomic energy.

Former President Harry S. Truman, whose support for Stevenson in 1952 helped secure him the nomination, in a surprise move decided to oppose to his renomination in 1956, instead favoring Harriman.

[5] The roll call, as reported in Richard C. Bain and Judith H. Parris, Convention Decisions and Voting Records, pp.

A good deal of the excitement of the vice-presidential race came from the fact that the candidates had only one hectic day to campaign among the delegates before the voting began.

Kennedy surprised the experts by surging into the lead on the second ballot; at one point he was only 39 votes shy of winning.

The narrow defeat raised his profile and helped Kennedy's long-term presidential chances; by losing to Kefauver he avoided any blame for Stevenson's expected loss to Eisenhower in November.

Candidates The vote totals in the vice presidential balloting are recorded in the following table, which also comes from Bain & Parris.