From Lincoln to Harris: Chicago's storied history of presidential conventions continues

CHICAGO - Chicago is about to write another chapter in the history of U.S. presidents. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to accept the Democratic Party nomination for president at the United Center on Thursday night.

In a Fox 32 special report, we take a look at what other historical presidential moments have taken place in Chicago.

The night Barack Obama won the White House is the last time presidential history was made in Chicago. But there are many more chapters that were written here, much more than just the 1968 DNC.

That’s not hard to do when Chicago currently holds the record for hosting the most political party conventions.

"We’re way ahead of everybody else," said John Mark Hansen, professor of political science at the University of Chicago. "We’ve had 26 major party conventions in the city of Chicago since 1860."

"In many ways, it was a party convention place of choice during the late 19th century and most of the 20th," he added.

Hansen said that’s because Chicago is centrally located and easy to get to when traveling. If you go back to the beginning, you have to go to the corner of Lake Street and Wacker Drive.

Hansen said that’s where a temporary hall called "The Wigwam" was located in 1860 and where Abraham Lincoln was nominated for president.

"Lincoln was of course, a home state favorite and his nomination was certainly aided by being here in Chicago," Hansen said.

"There were many, many people who were working actively on his behalf. That was a time when nominees, potential nominees, did not attend the conventions and let other people do their work for them."

Twenty years later, more presidential history was made where the Art Institute of Chicago now stands. That’s where Hansen said the Republican Party held its 1880 convention and nominated James Garfield for president, which was a bit of a surprise.

"He (Garfield) was not even a candidate. Coming in, he was here to act on behalf of one of the people seen as a possibility, John Sherman, who’s former treasury secretary and former senator from Ohio."

Now fast-forward to 1932.

"Roosevelt was nominated here three times. All three times at the Chicago Stadium on West Madison Street, just across the street from where the United Center is now, he was nominated in 1932, 1940 and in 1944," Hansen said.

Hansen said Franklin Roosevelt was the first presidential candidate to appear at his party's convention to accept the nomination, which produced another piece of U.S. history.

"And in his nomination acceptance speech, he promised the "New Deal" for the American people," Hansen said.

"He came back in 1940 which in many aspects the most significant of the three nominating conventions that was here Chicago. In 1940, he was seeking a third term, and no president had previously served three terms, going back to George Washington."

While Obama won the Oval Office in 2008, Hansen said the former president made history again when he located his national campaign headquarters for his 2012 reelection campaign in Chicago.

"It’s unusual because up to that time because presidents running for reelection ran their campaigns from Washington, D.C. He chose to have his campaign based elsewhere outside of Washington. He’s the first president to do so," according to Hansen.

When it comes to Kamala Harris, Hansen said there are many historical aspects to consider given the circumstances for her nomination and her personal background.

"She’s historic in another way in that is been a very long time, almost 200 years, since there’s been a candidate both of whose parents immigrated from other countries," Hansen said.

President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Kamala Harris | Getty Images

In addition to all of those historical moments, there are also plenty of pieces of presidential history in Chicago. Just ask Mike McMains, who runs a Chicago tour company that specializes in walking tours, including one on presidential history.

"When you think of presidential cities, Chicago’s not the first one that comes to mind, but it should," McMains said.

Fox 32 News caught up with him right outside the Tribune Tower, the starting point for that tour.

That’s where he showed us a marble stone from Abe Lincoln's original tomb and another stone from the White House that was built in 1817.

He also talked about the infamous newspaper headline: "Dewey Beats Truman."

"There are amazing presidential moments that have shaped not just Chicago but the entire world," McMains said.

And another one is about to take place in Chicago on Thursday night when Harris is expected to give her nomination acceptance speech at the United Center.

For you history buffs who are keeping score at home, the only other president whose parents were not born in the U.S. belongs to Andrew Jackson. His mother and father were both born in Ireland.