The 1976 Republican National Convention was the culmination of a six-month struggle for what one national TV news reporter deemed “the soul of the Republican Party.” ...

This week on For the Record: The 1976 Republican National Convention. Ann Compton, then a young White House correspondent for ABC News, remembers the '76 convention as "a real battle." ...

The magic number needed to capture the Republican presidential nomination in 1976 was 1,130 delegates, and Ronald Reagan was oh so close as the national convention prepared to convene.

The 1976 Republican National Convention was the culmination of a six-month struggle for what one national TV news reporter deemed “the soul of the Republican Party.” ...

After a hard-fought primary and a convention fight, Reagan lost the nomination. But he won the Republican Party. And it was all sorted out at that year’s Republican National Convention.

My first Republican National Convention was in 1952. This year, the party may finally fall apart. ... Ronald Reagan on the floor of the 1976 convention. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images) ...