Speeches by spouses of nominees at United States presidential nominating conventions

speaking at the 1940 Democratic National Convention speaking at the 1972 Republican National Convention Before 1996, speeches by nominee's spouses were not a regular component of presidential nominating conventions. 1940 marked the first instance in which a nominee's spouse spoke before a convention. With Franklin Delano Roosevelt securing nomination for an unprecedented third term, he sent his politically-active wife (First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt) to the 1940 Democratic National Convention to deliver a speech in which she argued that extraordinary times required unity, an argument intended to bolster sentiments support of her husband's efforts to win a third term in the general election. At the 1988 RNC, Barbara Bush (wife of presidential nominee George H. W. Bush) delivered brief remarks speech in which she pledged her authenticity as a non-politician, "What you see with me is what you get. I'm not running for president ––George Bush is." ==Modern tradition (1990s–present)==

speaking at the 1992 Republican National Convention At the 1992 RNC, First Lady Barbara Bush delivered a speech that ushered in the modern mold for speeches by spouses of nominees. Her speech was centered upon anecdotes that painted a more humanizing image of her husband. with this becoming a standard expected-feature of nominating conventions. At the 2024 Republican National Convention, Melania Trump (who had been mostly absent from the campaign trail) abstained from the modern tradition of presidential nominees' spouses addressing convention. ==Summary table (by year)==

==Analysis of modern speeches==

speaking at the 2008 Republican National Convention speaking at the 2012 Democratic National Convention speaking at the 2016 Republican National Convention Purpose Speeches by spouses have typically served to illustrate a softer side of the nominee, with the spouses often sharing humanizing personal anecdotes. Historian Carl Sferrazza Anthony observed of speeches by the spouses of presidential nominees, In 2012, Allgor and Anthony each opined that the speeches are perhaps an outgrowth of Americans' and their media's long-standing fascination with the spouses of presidents. The Trump campaign at first denied allegations of plagiarism. Campaign manager Paul Manafort argued that the speech contained "not that many similarities" and the words used are not unique words "that belong to the Obamas." Chris Harrick, Vice President of Marketing at the plagiarism prevention service Turnitin, later reported that Trump used about 6% of Michelle Obama's words and found two types of plagiarism, "clone" and "find and replace". Grade-level analysis of speeches Smart Politics (a project of University of Minnesota) conducted Flesch-Kincaid grade level analysis of speeches by the spouses of presidential nominees between 1992 and 2012. In 2016, The Boston Globe conducted similar analysis of the speeches of key speakers at both conventions, including the speeches by presidential nominee spouses. ==References==