This is backstory. I'm Peter Onuf. The Republicans have wrapped up their party convention. The Democrats are converging on Philadelphia, and the rest of us get to enjoy the sheer pageantry of it all.

For party delegates though, the conventions can be a slog.

We were told we were supposed to be there to hear speeches by the deputy vice mayor from East overshoe, Indiana, and so on. But nothing actually happened.

If you're not a party animal or conventions aren't your idea of entertainment, we sympathize. So today on backstory, we're going back to a time when the outcomes of political conventions were far from certain.

Take for example the challenge to segregation that played out at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

We had the National Spotlight on Mississippi. So this was the opportunity to change Mississippi and by definition to change the country.

The history of party conventions today on backstory.

Major funding for backstory is provided by the Shia Khan Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Joseph and Robert Cornell Memorial Foundation, and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

From the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, this is backstory with the American History Guide.

Welcome to the show. I'm Brian Ballot, 20th century guy, and I'm here with Ed Ayers. They're not these century guy. And Peter Ones with us.

18th century guy.

Well guys, there are pubgaz have wrapped up their nominating convention in Cleveland. No big surprise. They nominated Donald Trump.

In fact, there were just a few truly newsworthy moments in the entire four days. Like when Ted Cruz got booed by the crowd after he failed to endorse Donald Trump.

I'm assuming that the Democrats took notes and they're going to stick together singing Clinton's praises. I also think that it's a safe bet when it's all done, Hillary Clinton will be the nominee.

You know, I stole glimpses of the convention this last week. And one thing that occurred to me is that there has to be a lot of downtime there.

I seem to be a lot of people milling about while they were waiting for the next speaker to take the stage. I really wondered what do they do with all that time.

As it turns out, we actually have a former delegate to a Democratic National Convention from 12 years ago, Lloyd Snook. And we ask him, what did you actually do all that time?

We were told we were supposed to be there at four o'clock to hear speeches by the deputy vice mayor from East overshoe, Indiana, and so on.

And, you know, important guy. But nothing actually happened until seven o'clock or eight o'clock at night until prime time.

It was just a very boring, literally a snooze fast. There was one time when I was sitting there, probably the only members Virginia delegation there.

And I fell asleep with my head in my hand. I was awakened when a reporter from one of the Chicago papers tapped me on the shoulder and asked me my name.

And because she had taken my picture. And so I wound up with it with this picture of me splattered all over the papers in Chicago.

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