Come Monday, Pennsylvania will become the epicenter of the Democratic party's response to last week's GOP convention, when the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Philadelphia.

The party has been billing the event as a historic moment for the country; it is expected to formally nominate Hillary Clinton as its presidential candidate for the general election in November. It would be the first time a major American political party has nominated a woman for the nation's highest office.

Democrats from Butler County, fresh off a week of watching conservatives celebrate their presidential nominee, real estate mogul Donald Trump, say Democrats have a myriad of issues to confront when they convene in the City of Brotherly Love.

For Jack Beiler, who is the treasurer of the Butler County Democratic Committee as well as a state committeeman, one of the big concerns is the violence on display over recent weeks.

He hopes Clinton and other leaders of the Democratic Party confront the problem during their remarks next week. The convention begins Monday and ends Thursday.

“I'd like to hear that we do something about this violence that we have in this country today, and these assault weapons that it seems everybody wants,' Beiler said. “I think the biggest thing we have now is the bigotry and the violence and the attacks on police.”

While the GOP's week in Cleveland played out with little external uproar — based on media reports it bore closer resemblance to a weeklong block party than the general anarchy some had feared would break out — questions are swirling regarding whether Democrats' week at Philadelphia's Wells Fargo Arena will play out as smoothly.

The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported that protest groups are claiming they will hold more than 30 demonstrations in the city this week. And not all of them are being organized by conservative activists.

Some will be run by activists who support Vermont's Sen. Bernie Sanders, who mounted an extended primary challenge to presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton and is expected to speak at the convention Monday along with first lady Michelle Obama and immigration activist Astrid Silva.

Tuesday's prime-time convention address is expected to be delivered by former President Bill Clinton. Wednesday will feature speeches by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden; Hillary Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea, will both speak on Thursday.

The key question of the week for the party is whether Democratic leaders can downplay divisions still raw from a vicious primary between Clinton and Sanders, who has offered tepid endorsements of the former Secretary of State in recent weeks.

For Butler County resident Anne Thompson, who will be vacationing with her family at the sea shore the week of the convention, unity and elevated discourse are the key elements she wants to see from the convention.

“I have never had such feelings of trepidation, because it is so mean-spirited,” Thompson said. “I think the main thing Mrs. Clinton has to do is present her ideas and defend the accusations against her.”

Clinton has become a unifying force for Republicans enraged by the FBI's recommendation prosecutors not file criminal charges against her related to the e-mail scandal that has dogged her candidacy for months now.

Thompson said she believes Clinton is the better-qualified candidate for president, and wants to hear her speak about jobs for blue collar workers as well as the country's debate over immigration policy.

Thompson said she doesn't view either of those things as a major problem, but believes the party needs to show voters it has a plan to address concerns, and an alternative to the conservative platform, which advocates hard-line positions against globalization and for aggressive deportation and boarder security measures.

“I think the country needs to be reassured,” she said.

Butler Township resident Dot Dodson said she wants more realism from Democrats at the convention.

She sees a disintegration of middle class jobs and positions for skilled workers as a chronic drain on the country's economy, and worries that the party won't be able to mobilize a disinterested electorate in the fall.