The 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City was historic – the last major U.S. political convention in which the presidential nomination was decided onsite. Days of debate, deals, and handshakes ended with incumbent Gerald Ford pulling out a narrow victory over former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, and the intense deliberations extended to the selection of Kansas Sen. Bob Dole as Ford’s running mate. Forty years later, Library Director Crosby Kemper III, leads a panel of experts, observers, and others in a discussion of the three days of drama in Kemper Arena and an enduring moment in our city’s – and nation’s – history. The event, made possible by a grant from the Enid and Crosby Kemper Foundation, is co-presented by the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. It marks the opening of a Library exhibit, Republican Showdown in Kansas City.

Watch at c-span.org