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Renomination, It took a whole day and most of one night to renominate Franklin Roosevelt. As in 1932 in Chicago, New York's lean, dry Judge John E. Mack, Roosevelt neighbor and onetime State Supreme Court Justice, plowed dutifully through a long, flowery speech ending up with: "I give you as your candidate for President, no longer a citizen merely of one state, but a son of all the 48 states, Franklin D. Roosevelt!" At that traditional signal all hell broke loose on the convention floor. Delegates danced and pranced, whooped and hollered, marched and capered in a mighty effort to display their enthusiasm for their leader. For a full hour the parade milled round & round the hall, giving off all the noise that lungs and instruments could make, carrying placards with which each state tried to outdo the rest in promises of victory. Sixty-one minutes after the demonstration began Senator Robinson informed the demonstrators that they had broken all endurance records, had exceeded "the estimate." Drunk with their own zeal, the delegates could not stop. Alabama's Governor Bibb Graves was turned loose before the microphones to make what was presumably a seconding speech into a sea of sound.
Planning to outdo the elephant show at Cleveland where vanquished rivals joined in seconding Nominee Landon, Showman Farley had arranged for every state to second Roosevelt's renomination. That meant 48 speeches plus nine more from non-voting areas. It meant more than eight hours of fervid oratory in praise of Franklin Roosevelt. Toward midnight Chairman Robinson requested speakers to be brief but West Virginia's Senator Neely insisted on delivering a full-length speech, to which no one listened. Governor General Frank Murphy of the Philippines did his duty in ten words: "The Philippine Islands gratefully second the nomination of Franklin D. Roosevelt." At 12:42 a.m., two minutes after the roll call of states ended, Franklin Roosevelt was nominated by acclamation, without a ballot. The delegates staggered to their feet, went wild for the last time.
Next morning, less than a quarter of the delegates had reached the hall. Nonetheless Governor Allred of Texas nominated John Nance Garner for Vice President. The convention gave a shout of approval. Pictures of Garner were dragged out for another great demonstration. It collapsed. So did the Convention. The delegates had nothing left to give.