Activities: Guided Reading/Secondary
1968 Democratic National Convention
August 26–29, 1968
Chicago, Illinois
Vice President Hubert Humphrey won
the 1968 Democratic Nomination for
President. This election pitted him against the
Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon.
This election came at an unsettled time for
America. The United States was in the middle
of the longest-running war in its history. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in
April of that year. Democratic presidential candidate Senator Robert F. Kennedy
was assassinated in June. Protests disrupted the 1968 Democratic National
Convention.
American youth’s hostility toward the war in Vietnam was the source of
most of the protests. Young anti-war activists had met a few months earlier to plan
the march on Chicago. Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, David Dellinger, Rennie
Davis, John Froines, Jerry Rubin, Lee Weiner, and Bobby Seale organized many of
the protests. Dellinger was the editor of Liberation magazine and the head of the
National Mobilization Committee to End War in Vietnam. Davis was the head of
the Center for Radical Research and, along with Hayden, the head of the Students
for Democratic Society. Rubin and Hoffman were the leaders of the Youth
International Party (YIPPIES). Seale and Newton were the co-founders of the
Black Panther Party, an African-American social activist group. These men
became known as the Chicago Eight.
In March 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced he would not run
for reelection. His popularity ratings were dipping because of the Vietnam War.
With Johnson’s announcement, many anti-war activists were unsure of which
candidate to support at the convention. Most anti-war activists threw their support
behind Robert Kennedy, Eugene McCarthy, and George McGovern. However,
many mainstream Democrats thought the perfect candidate should be Johnson’s
vice president, Hubert Humphrey. By the end of the April, he was an official
candidate. Anti-war Democrats claimed the convention excluded many anti-war
delegates and pushed the choice for president to Humphrey. Because Humphrey
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Activities: Guided Reading/Secondary
was Johnson’s vice president, he campaigned in support of Johnson’s Vietnam
War policies.
Leading up to the convention national tragedies and civil unrest disrupted
American life. On April 4, James Earl Ray assassinated King in Memphis,
Tennessee. Following his assassination, riots erupted across the country. In
Chicago, Mayor Richard Joseph Daley issued a “shoot to kill” order to quell the
riots. On June 5, presidential candidate, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, was
assassinated after he had won the California Democratic Primary. Student
protesters at Columbia University in New York City took over the university’s
main administration building after students discovered the university’s support for
military research.
Many officials thought it might be safer to move the convention out of
Chicago. Some Democratic leaders thought it would be best to move the
convention to Miami, which was hosting the Republican National Convention.
Television networks also fought to move the convention to Miami. There was an
ongoing telephone strike in Chicago. Democratic officials thought it could cause
an assortment of telecommunication problems for the convention. Mayor Daley
refused to let the convention leave Chicago. He assured officials that any political
protests would not affect the convention. Daley also threatened to withdraw his
support from Humphrey if the convention was moved.
As the convention neared, Humphrey seemed to have secured the
Democratic nomination. Many groups supported him: labor groups, African
Americans, and Southern Democrats. However, Humphrey was still unsure
whether he would win the nomination. Humphrey represented the war in Vietnam,
and he feared he would lose the increasing number of anti-war voters. Many
Democrats wanted John and Robert Kennedy’s younger brother, Ted Kennedy, to
run for president. Kennedy was an early opponent of the Vietnam War.
On the opening day of the convention, Hawaii Senator Dan Inouye gave the
keynote address. While he was delivering his speech, protests were boiling outside
the building. Finally, it was time for the convention delegates to debate the
Vietnam War. Representative Phillip Burton spoke in opposition to the Vietnam
War, and Senator Edmund Muskie spoke in support of the war. Following the
debate, protests spilled onto the convention floor. National television broadcast the
protests within the convention. Eventually, Humphrey won the Democratic
nomination. Outside the convention, volatile confrontations erupted. Protesters
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Activities: Guided Reading/Secondary
were battling police, army troops, National Guard
troops, and the Secret Service. The battle escalated
when police officers began removing protesters
from the area.
The violence actually began the day before
the convention. Anti-war protesters were denied
permits to sleep in Lincoln Park, adjacent to the
convention site. Protesters who remained in the park were forced out with tear gas
and police officers wielding billy clubs. Police also attacked seventeen journalists
among the protesters. Activists such as Hoffman and Hayden gave speeches in
Lincoln Park. Wednesday was the worst day of rioting and was later referred to as
the “Battle of Michigan Avenue.” More protesters began their march to the
convention site, but Chicago police officers stopped them. It was reported that the
police used excessive force against the protesters. The police attacked some
innocent bystanders, including reporters and doctors. There was another
confrontation between protesters and the police on the final day of the convention.
By the end of the convention, police had made five hundred eighty-nine arrests.
Two hundred nineteen police officers and protesters were injured. After an
extensive investigation, Chicago police were blamed for the riots.
The following year, eight police officers and eight civilians were indicted for
their roles in the riots. The eight civilians were labeled the Chicago Eight. They
were charged under provisions of the 1968 Civil Rights Act. One of the provisions
stated it was a federal crime to cross state lines to incite a riot. The eight charged
were the anti-war leaders: Hoffman, Seale, Dellinger, Davis, Hayden, Rubin,
Froines, and Weiner. The Chicago Eight went on trial in September 1969. The trial
was chaotic, and the defendants were extremely disruptive in the courtroom. The
defense attorneys accused the judge of bias against the defendants. Later, Bobby
Seale’s case was separated from the others because of his constant courtroom
outbursts. He was sentenced to fours years in prison for contempt. The remaining
decisions were delivered on February 14, 1970. Froines and Weiner were
acquitted; but Dellinger, Davis, Hayden, Hoffman, and Ruben were convicted.
Each was fined $5,000 and sentenced to five years in prison.
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Activities: Guided Reading/Secondary
Name: ________________________________
Date: ____________________
1968 Democratic National Convention
August 26–29, 1968
Chicago, Illinois
Discussion Questions:
1. Why did Lyndon Johnson decide not to run for re-election in 1968?
2. Why did some Democratic leaders want to move the Democratic National
Convention from Chicago to Miami?
3. Why was Hubert Humphrey unsure he would win the Democratic nomination?
4. What criminal charges were filed against the Chicago Eight?
5. What was the result of the Chicago Eight trial?
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