First of all, there's no mention of political parties in the Constitution, so you begin American history with not only no political conventions but also no parties.
Michael BeschlossSo the result was that as one approached a political convention for most of the 19th century and for most of the 20th century until the 1960's, part of the drama was the fact that you didn't know ultimately who was going to be the nominee at the end of that convention week.
Michael BeschlossThe Founding Fathers would be sorry to see that America had become so divided and factionalized.
Michael Beschloss