McGovern Commission

(noun)

A group created in response to the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Related Terms

Examples of McGovern Commission in the following topics:

  • The Election of 1972

    • In 1972, Nixon beat George McGovern in a landslide reelection victory due to negative views on McGovern's campaign.
    • McGovern won only the state of Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
    • McGovern had led a commission to redesign the Democratic nomination system after the divisive nomination struggle and convention of 1968.
    • The fundamental principle of the McGovern Commission—that the Democratic primaries should determine the winner of the Democratic nomination—has lasted through to the present day.
    • Eagleton accepted the nomination despite not personally knowing McGovern well and privately disagreeing with many of McGovern's policies.

  • The Election of 1968

    • The second faction, which rallied behind Senator Eugene McCarthy, was composed of college students, intellectuals, and upper-middle-class whites who actively opposed the war.
    • In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.
    • Nixon also proposed government tax incentives for African Americans to start small businesses and make home improvements in their existing neighborhoods.

  • The Nixon Administration

    • In 1972, Nixon was reelected, defeating Democratic senator George McGovern in a landslide victory.

  • 1968: The Year of Upheaval

    • McNamara, the Secretary of Defense who had overseen the escalation of the war but had eventually turned against it, stepped down from office.
    • With Johnson's withdrawal, the Democratic Party quickly split into four factions, each of which distrusted the others: labor unions and big-city supporters of Vice President Hubert Humphrey; college students and upper-middle-class whites who actively opposed the war and rallied behind Senator Eugene McCarthy; Catholics, African-Americans, Hispanics, and other racial and ethnic minorities who were passionate supporters of Senator Robert F.
    • In the end, the nomination itself was anticlimactic, with Vice President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot.
    • Nixon also proposed government tax incentives for African Americans to start small businesses and make home improvements in their existing neighborhoods.

  • The United States Banking System

    • A bank chooses a charter from a state government or from the U.S. federal government.
    • U.S. government imposed another restriction upon the U.S. banking industry – the McFadden Act.
    • The McFadden Act prohibited a commercial bank from opening a branch in another state.
    • These institutions either have a charter from the federal government or a state government.
    • In the United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires publicly traded companies (i.e. a company sells stock to the public) to disclose financial information based on acceptable accounting standards.

  • Regulating Campaign Finance

    • The amount spent on the presidential race alone was $2.4 billion, and over $1 billion of that was spent by the campaigns of the two major candidates: Barack Obama spent $730 million in his election campaign, and John McCain spent $333 million.
    • At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency.
    • Eligibility requirements must be fulfilled to qualify for a government subsidy, and those that do accept government funding are usually subject to spending limits.
    • Races for non-federal offices are governed by state and local law.
    • In 2008, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and Republicans John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul decided not to take primary matching funds.

  • [PF content: State Government Comparisons]

  • [PF content: Branches of State Government]

  • Peace Overtures and the Evacuation of Philadelphia

    • In response to the defeat at Saratoga, Parliament dispatched the Carlisle Peace Commission to negotiate peace with Congress.
    • After the British defeat at Saratoga in October 1777, Parliament repealed offensive measures, such as the Tea Act and the Massachusetts Government Act, and sent a commission to seek a negotiated settlement with the Continental Congress.
    • The commission was empowered to offer the colonies the semblance of self-rule, or what later became Commonwealth status.
    • The commission was authorized to negotiate with the Continental Congress as a body, representing a change in official British government policy, which had previously been willing to treat only with individual colonies.
    • Following France's entry into the war, Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton was ordered by the government to abandon Philadelphia and defend New York City, now vulnerable to French naval power .

  • Harding's Policies

    • Harding believed the federal government should be fiscally managed in a manner similar to the private sector and had campaigned on the slogan, "Less government in business and more business in government."
    • Due to these policies, the government budget was cut nearly in half in just two years.
    • On September 21, 1922, Harding enthusiastically signed the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act, which increased the tariff rates contained in the previous Underwood-Simmons Tariff Act of 1913 to the highest level in the nation's history.
    • From 1921 to 1923, the government spent a total of $162 million on America's highway system, infusing the U.S. economy with a large amount of capital.
    • Harding also advocated the establishment of an international commission to improve race relations between whites and blacks, but strong political opposition by the Southern Democratic bloc stopped the launch of the commission.