The Whole World was Watching: Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention - Clio

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1. City of Chicago - City Hall

Chicago’s seat of government and fifth-floor mayor’s office is located in a 10-story columned Neoclassical building that opened in 1911 in the heart of the downtown Loop district. Its most famous occupant, Richard M. Daley, was one of America’s most powerful mayors, dominating Chicago politics and wielding national clout within the Democratic Party as mayor for more than two decades (1955-1976). He undertook multiple ambitious capital projects that helped Chicago maintain its strength and influence, although his legacy also suffers from criticism that he worsened racial inequality with policies and projects that discriminated against poor Black neighborhoods and deliberately blocked them off from white ones. His iron-handed leadership style came under fire nationwide in the turbulent year 1968 for saying police should “shoot to kill” after a wave of riots erupted in April following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and again for advocating a police buildup and forceful crackdown on protesters who flocked to Chicago for the National Democratic Convention in August. The special commission appointed to investigate the violent clashes that took place placed the blame on Daley’s police in its Walker Report findings, calling the events a “police riot” directed at protesters.

2. General John A. Logan Statue (Grant Park)

The striking 19th-century equestrian monument in downtown Grant Park that honors Civil War Gen. John Logan of Illinois is one of Chicago’s most recognizable statues. It is long remembered as the site of one of the many clashes between police and anti-Vietnam War protesters who gathered in Chicago for the 1968 National Democratic Convention. Iconic photographs and nationally televised video showed the forceful arrest by police who rushed up the hill and dragged a protester from atop the statue during a mass demonstration on Monday, August 26th, reportedly breaking his arm. A much larger group gathered around the statue the next day to hear speeches denouncing aggressive police actions during the convention. Depictions of both gatherings became symbols of the antiwar resistance and violent clashes during the convention.

3. Conrad Hilton Hotel

The Role of Media in 1968 DNC & Anti-War Protests:The majority of the delegates to the 1968 National Democratic Convention stayed at the Conrad Hilton Hotel. When protesters against the Vietnam War were unable to get close to the International Amphitheater, where the convention was being held, the protesters took their demonstration to the Hilton. When police moved in to clear the crowd, all hell broke loose. And the TV cameras were right there to capture the chaos for 90 million Americans, almost 50% of the total population, who were watching. The media coverage which captured the violence outside the Hilton, as well as the mayhem ensuing within the convention hall, became an integral part of the story of the 1968 DNC and the Chicago riots. Televised scenes of police beating up demonstrators outside the Hilton, and heavy-handed security measures being exercised inside the rowdy convention hall, were initially seen by many as a case of extreme suppression tactics aimed at those who were opposed to the Vietnam War and American policy. Public reaction to the way the Television Networks presented the story differed. It turned out that the majority of Americans believed the media was biased in favor of trouble making and unpatriotic demonstrators, and that the police were doing what they had to do. Some historians believe this coverage of the polarization of America resulted in a set-back to the anti-war movement and the eventual victory of Nixon and the Republicans over Humphrey and the Democrats in the 1968 election.

4. Battle of Michigan Avenue

The climax of the violence engendered by the anti-war protests at the 1968 DNC happened in 18 minutes on the evening of August 28 and is known as the “Battle of Michigan Avenue.” Some 10,000 people had gathered in Chicago to protest the Vietnam War and the nomination of Hubert H. Humphrey as the Democratic candidate for president. Disillusioned by continued support of the war in Vietnam, and enraged by the recent assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and the lack of progress in civil rights, these protesters came to Chicago to try to make a difference. As host of the convention, Mayor Daley had amassed a huge law enforcement presence, over 20,000 combined police, National Guard and Army to ensure there would be no trouble or disturbance to the convention. For several days now, there had been sporadic clashes between police and protesters. Tensions and emotions grew as the convention moved toward the defining moment of nominating Humphrey on the evening of the 28th. When some 5,000 protesters moved from Grant Park onto Michigan Avenue toward the Hilton hotel, where most of the delegates were staying, all that was needed was a spark. And the police provided it by charging and indiscriminatingly clubbing, beating and using tear gas against the crowd, which was made up of not only demonstrators, but also journalists and innocent bystanders. Forever captured on film, police exhibited gratuitous and malicious brutality, in what would become officially declared as a “police riot.” Injuries were suffered by over 500 protesters, 100 innocent civilians and 150 police officers.

5. Everett M. Dirksen United States Courthouse - Site of the Trial of the Chicago 8

The Everett M. Dirksen United States Courthouse was host to the trial of the most notorious of the protestors at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The building is named for Everett McKinley Dirksen, who served Illinois as a U.S. Representative from 1933-1949 and U.S. Senator from 1951-1969 and was built by German born architect Mies van der Rohe. Mies' style was referred to as "skin-and-bones"; a modern, simple style composed of steel beams and lots of glass. Mies was one of the first industrial architects to utilize glass in large sections, while today, glass has become one of the most used building materials.The trial of the Chicago 8 began inside the Dirksen building on September 24, 1969 and lasted over four months. Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, Bobby Seale, Lee Weiner, John Froines and David Dellinger were the first protestors charged under the Anti-Riot Act, officially known as Section 18 United States Code § 2101, 2102, which ascribed criminal penalties for acts committed in civil disorders. The Anti-Riot Act was attached to the Civil Rights Act of 1968 despite serving no purpose in advancing civil rights. The Dirksen building continues to house the Northern District of Illinois federal circuit court and federal bankruptcy court, as well as the Seventh Circuit appellate division.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

The Whole World was Watching: Protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention

Created by Jesha Dill, Richard Kurth, Dave Carpenter on November 4th 2022, 11:58:27 pm.

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Description

Our tour begins at City Hall, where Mayor Richard Daley oversaw Chicago's transformation to an armed city with the buildup of over 20,000 police, National Guard and Army reservists, including many police in full riot gear and troops with machine guns and rocket launchers. The next stop is just over a mile to the southeast at the John Alexander Logan equestrian monument on a hill in Grant Park, scene of an iconic confrontation with police and an even bigger protest the following day. The tour proceeds a few hundred yards north to the Hilton Chicago (known then as the Conrad Hilton Hotel), which hosted most delegates and presidential candidates Hubert Humphrey (ultimately chosen as nominee) and Eugene McCarthy and was a focal point for a police buildup and clashes with protesters who assembled across the street in Grant Park. The next site is the adjacent intersection of Michigan Avenue and East Balbo Drive, where heavily armed police beat and tear-gassed demonstrators during the convention, violence that was shown on national television as protesters chanted "The whole world is watching!" The final stop is seven blocks away at the Everett M. Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, site of the trials of both the Chicago Eight (later Chicago Seven) and police charged in connection with the violence.

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