1968 Democratic Convention
Video Segment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
1Iye1NQy1NY
Preview Assignment
• Given what you know
about American history
and the late 1960s and
early 1970s, write about
what you think would
happen when police and
protestors came together
outside the Democratic
Convention in Chicago in
1968. Use the picture to
help inform your thought.
State of the Democratic Party
• In 1968 the Democratic Party was divided.
• Senators Eugene McCarthy and Robert F.
Kennedy had entered the campaign in March,
challenging Johnson for the Democratic
nomination.
• Vice President Hubert Humphrey then entered
into the race
• Johnson, facing dissent within his party, had
dropped out of the race on March 31.
Robert F Kennedy Assassinated
• After Kennedy's assassination on June 5, the
Democratic Party's divisions grew.
Two Sides of the Party
• When it came to choosing a candidate, on one
side stood supporters of Senator McCarthy,
who ran a decidedly anti-war campaign and
who was seen as the peace candidate.
• On the other side was Vice President
Humphrey, who was seen as the candidate
who represented the Johnson point of view.
Chaos in Chicago
• A large number of demonstrators appeared
outside of the convention in order to protest
the pro-war section of the Democratic Party.
• Rioting took place between demonstrators
and the Chicago Police Department, and the
Illinois National Guard.
Size of the Protests and Riots
• In the end, 10,000 demonstrators gathered in
Chicago for the convention where they were
met by 23,000 police and National
Guardsmen.
Day of the Police Riot
• August 28, 1968 came to be known as the day
a "police riot" took place.
• The entire event took place live under the T.V.
lights for seventeen minutes with the crowd
shouting, "The whole world is watching"
End Result
• Hubert Humphrey was nominated.
• It was often commented through the popular
media that on that evening, America decided
to vote for Richard Nixon.
Election Influence
• The convention helped to influence Americans
to vote for Richard Nixon.
• Nixon supported and increased the intensity
of the Vietnam War.
Chicago Seven
• Page 4 timeline book.
• In the aftermath of what was later characterized
as a police riot by the U.S. National Commission
on the Causes and Prevention of Violence, a
federal grand jury indicted eight demonstrators
and eight police officers.
• Originally the Chicago Eight, before one of the
defendants insulted the judge and was held in
contempt of court, and sentenced to 4 years in
prison. There then remained seven defendants.
Chicago Seven
• President Lyndon Johnson's Attorney General,
Ramsey Clark, discouraged an indictment,
believing that the violence during the
convention was primarily caused by actions of
the Chicago police.
• The grand jury returned indictments only after
President Richard Nixon took office and John
Mitchell assumed the office of Attorney
General.
Chicago Seven
• On March 20, 1969, eight protesters were
charged with various crimes and eight police
officers were charged with civil rights
violations.
Chicago Seven
• On February 18, 1970, all seven defendants
were found not guilty of conspiracy.
• Two were acquitted completely, while the
remaining five were convicted of crossing
state lines with the intent to incite a riot, a
crime instituted by the anti-riot provisions of
the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Chicago Seven
• On February 20, they were sentenced to five
years in prison. In addition, they were fined
$5,000 each.
• $5,000 in 1970 is worth around $30,663 today.
Chicago Seven
• On November 21, 1972, all of the convictions
were reversed by the United States Court of
Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on the basis
that the judge was biased in his refusal to
permit defense attorneys to screen
prospective jurors for cultural and racial bias.