Republican National Convention's Trail of Tears

Aug. 31, 2012 -- intro: From the campaign trail to the trail of tears, the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa seemed to be an emotional roller coaster. Here we list some of the major moments, night by night.

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quicklist:1title:Ann Romney's Emotional Speechcategory:August 28, 2012text:Ann Romney gave an emotional speech about her husband Mitt at the 2012 Republican Convention. She talked about Mitt the man and the father.

In her speech, Mrs. Romney touched upon her marriage, her home life and her battles with MS and breast cancer.

While watching her speech, several of Ann's five sons had tears in their eyes. And not only family were moved.

The tear-prone Speaker of the House, John Boehner, cried in public, telling Fox News's Bret Baier that he was a "mess" during Ann's speech.

"I don't. I just don't," Boehner said, laughing in retrospect. "You should've seen me last night watching Ann Romney give the speech. I was a mess. I was a mess. She did a great job."

CNN's Erin Burnett also had a particularly emotional response to the remarks, telling her colleague, Wolf Blitzer, that she had a tear in her eye while listening to Mrs. Romney.

"Her speech was just one of the many memorable moments, and I have to say this, Wolf, when he came out and her talking about the love for him, I had a tear in my eye — and I think lot of people did."

She also tweeted, saying that many in the audience had the same emotional reaction: "When @MittRomney came on stage after Ann Romney's speech, many in audience moved to tears. A moment for everyone in the room."

quicklist:2title:Paul Ryan Sheds Some Tearscategory:August 29, 2012text: Paul Ryan, the Republican vice presidential nominee, spent much of his acceptance speech attacking President Obama for his shortcomings, but he showed a soft side, bringing himself as well as some members of the audience to tears as he talked about his mother.

Ryan's wife, Janna, also looked to be close to tears during his address.

Not even 10 minutes into Ryan's speech, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker was seen with a big tear running down his cheek as well. Walker appeared to react when Ryan talked about his father, who died when the vice presidential nominee was just a teen.

Condoleezza Rice also choked up when speaking about her experience as a girl growing up in segregated Birmingham, Ala. The former Secretary of State talked about how she wasn't allowed to order a hamburger at Woolworth's.

quicklist: 3title: Romney Boys Get Sentimentalcategory: August 30, 2012text:Mitt Romney's Spanish-speaking son, Craig, choked up during his speech on the final night of the convention, talking of his father and his ancestors who came from Mexico.

"It's easy to forget that the story of my father's success begins with the story of two immigrants," Romney said. "My grandfathers, who came to this country with little more than hope in the opportunity of America."

Most of the night was dedicated to emotional testimonies to Mitt Romney as a person -- including speeches by Pam Finlayson and Ted and Pat Oparowski -- who put their emotions on display when talking about their deceased children, all of whom were touched by the Republican Presidential candidate.

''When I see Mitt Romney, I know him to be a loving father, a man of faith and a caring and compassionate friend,'' Finlayson said Thursday night.

Derek Parra, the 2002 winter speed skating Olympian, spoke about how Romney led the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. He shed a tear talking about carrying the World Trade Center flag. The Romneys' eldest son, Tagg, apparently was choked up during Parra's testimonial.

The main speech of the convention was Romney's own. Mitt Romney showed his vulnerable side twice during his acceptance speech, once when talking about his mother, and again when reminiscing about his sons as young boys.

"But if you ask Ann and I what we'd give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room -- well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that," Romney said.

ABC's Kyle Blaine and Kaye Foley contributed to this report