Hillary Clinton made history Tuesday.

Delegates at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia formally nominated Clinton for president, a historic moment making the former first lady the first woman in American history to be named the presidential nominee of a major political party — in the city where this nation was born — eight and four years after the first black president was elected and reelected.


Clinton herself recognized this historic moment long ago. When she lost the nomination in 2008, she acknowledged that “we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time,” but “thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it.”

This year proved to be the final blow. Clinton secured the commitment of enough delegates last month, joking to her supporters that they weren’t going to smash the glass ceiling they were all standing under. “Thanks to you, we’ve reached a milestone: the first time in our nation’s history that a woman will be a major party’s nominee,” she added.

South Dakota put Clinton over the top during the roll call vote on Tuesday night. “We proudly cast our 25 votes — 10 for the senator, Bernie Sanders, who inspired us all, and 15 for the 45th president of the United States and the first one who will be called madam president, Hillary Rodham Clinton,” said Ann Tornberg, chair of the state's Democratic Party.

Sanders closed out the roll call vote Tuesday to nominate Clinton by acclamation, a symbolic move for party unity that Clinton herself deployed for Barack Obama at the 2008 convention.

“I move that all votes — all votes cast by delegates be reflected in the official record, and I move that Hillary Clinton be selected as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of the United States,” the Vermont senator said to enormous applause.

Moments after South Dakota’s vote and Sanders’ remarks, Clinton shared two pithy messages via Twitter. “History” and “Stronger together.”

She added, “This movement is for every little girl who dreams big,” in a tweet that included a 2-minute, 45-second video and the hashtag “#WeMadeHistory.”

First lady Michelle Obama also recognized this moment. She delivered a stirring prime-time speech Monday, fully endorsing Clinton as the candidate she trusts to lead her and America’s children.

“Because of Hillary Clinton, my daughters and all our sons and daughters now take for granted that a woman can be president of the United States,” she said.

Hillary Clinton wins nomination - The reaction from the convention floor The reaction from the convention floor to Hillary Clinton securing the nomination.

Clinton was expected to easily exceed the 2,383-delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination — she had nearly 1,000 more delegates than Sanders going in. But divisions within the Democratic Party were still apparent during the first two days of the nominating convention.

Sanders supporters booed early and often at the mention of Clinton’s name throughout the opening day, and one Sanders delegate announced at a Texas delegation breakfast Tuesday that he was “condemning our presumptive nominee,” spurring a chaotic moment of clamor between Clinton and Sanders supporters.

About 100 Sanders delegates walked out of the convention hall following Clinton's nomination Tuesday, chanting “walk out” and wielding placards that read “On Nov. 8 don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

Retiring Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski nominated Clinton. The nomination was seconded by civil rights icon and Georgia Rep. John Lewis and Na’ilah Amarau, who won an online campaign contest.

The roll call votes for Clinton and Sanders at times drew mixed reactions from the crowd. Clinton’s childhood friend announced her delegate haul when the roll call reached Illinois, the state in which Clinton was born. “On this historic, wonderful day, in honor of Dorothy and Hugh’s daughter and my sweet friend — I know you’re watching — this one’s for you, Hill,” an emotional Betsy Ebeling said on the floor. “98 votes, yes.”

The New York delegation led chants of “Hillary! Hillary!” before Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the delegate totals.

“Madam secretary, the state of New York pledges 108 delegates to Sen. Bernie Sanders and applauds him for his call for unity for all Democrats,” he said to convention secretary Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. “And New York state pledges 181 delegates for the next president of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton!”

Clinton was thought to cruise to the nomination. But before her campaign ever kicked off, she was damaged by news that she had used a private email server during her time as secretary of state.

The email revelation has stained her entire campaign, even in the wake of the Justice Department’s announcement that it wouldn’t pursue charges. Clinton struggled through a year of multiple investigations and lawsuits, as well as the release of thousands of emails by the State Department.

When the saga ended with the formal conclusion of an FBI investigation, Director James Comey provided fresh fodder for Republicans when he announced that the former secretary of state and her staff were “extremely careless” with sensitive information.

The announcement that DOJ wouldn’t charge Clinton, however, came after the so-called tarmac summit, in which Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton met on a private plane at a Phoenix airport the prior week — fueling speculation that the meeting tampered with the outcome of the probe.

Sanders’ insurgent candidacy also proved to be a challenge for Clinton. While he chose to run a positive campaign, refusing to attack Clinton over her email saga, his message for economic equality and free college resonated with millions of young voters, who helped him win more than 20 states in the protracted Democratic primary.

His campaign also shed light on what critics view as the “undemocratic” superdelegate process. Clinton held a massive advantage in superdelegates — elected officials and party leaders who aren’t bound to support any particular candidate — even before Sanders entered the race.

Sanders endorsed Clinton earlier this month, after his campaign worked with Clinton’s camp to include more progressive language in the party’s platform. But now that the Vermont senator is with her, his supporters aren’t all onboard.

In an attempt to consolidate support around Clinton, many delegations nodded to Sanders’ campaign while also speaking to the historic nature of Clinton’s nomination Tuesday.

“Eight years ago our party, the Democratic Party, nominated and elected the first person of color to ever serve in the White House, not just for one term but two terms,” Lewis said in his nominating speech. “Tonight — tonight, on this night, we will shatter that glass ceiling again.”

