1 Imagine you are standing in the middle of a huge sports arena. Suddenly, it is decorated in red, white, and blue. One hundred thousand balloons float through the air. Large signs pop up where delegates from different states will sit. Huge television screens appear on the walls. A giant stage ascends from beneath the floor. And then, 25,000 -35,000 - even 50,000 cheering people dressed in patriotic hats and clothing appear. What is all this about? Why are these people here?
2 It's convention time! Democrats and Republicans hold their conventions in the summer of a presidential election year. The winners of the primaries and caucuses held earlier in the year are about to be officially nominated. Today, we already know the outcome, so the conventions are just a tradition. But, it has not always been this way.
3 Way back when our country was formed, candidates were selected members of Congress from each political party. Every four years, they held secret meetings to choose who would represent their party in the election. During the 1800s, the people of the United States began to speak out against these secret meetings. More and more people began to feel it was the job of the citizens to decide who would run.
