Despite these obstacles, the August convention opened with great enthusiasm. Over 2,000 delegates attended, including many women. In 1912, neither Taft nor Wilson endorsed women's suffrage on the national level. The notable suffragist and social worker Jane Addams gave a seconding speech for Roosevelt's nomination, but Roosevelt insisted on excluding black Republicans from the South (whom he regarded as a corrupt and ineffective element). Yet he alienated white Southern supporters on the eve of the election by publicly dining with black people at a Rhode Island hotel. Roosevelt was nominated by acclamation, with Johnson as his running mate.