When Chaos Came to Chicago: An Oral History of the 1968 Convention Riots

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It was August 1968, and Chicago was ready to combust. The Democratic National Convention had come to town, along with thousands of delegates, guests and journalists. Demonstrators arrived in the city ready for battle, protesting the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War, which by then had killed more than 25,000 Americans. Mayor Richard J. Daley, who had seen the West Side of his city burn months earlier after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., was determined to protect the city’s residents from more unrest — and crack down on protesters who were furious at the war, the draft and the deaths of their peers.

And he did. Over several days, protesters and the police clashed on the streets in rioting that was captured on national television. Authorities used tear gas, called in the National Guard and arrested hundreds of demonstrators, often with brutal force.

There are some unmistakable parallels between that convention and the one beginning on Monday in Chicago: an overseas conflict stirring disapproval at home, a wave of campus demonstrations and a new Democratic presidential nominee taking the stage.

But the comparisons end there, many people who remember 1968 said. The turmoil and tension leading into the 1968 convention in Chicago were far different from this year’s, which is now characterized by Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign of optimism. Police officers have been trained to protect protesters’ First Amendment rights and to de-escalate situations — and the current mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, who has joined labor protests in the past, is part of the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

Still, the chaos of 1968 remains vivid. Here are recollections of what happened, as told by the activists, journalists, police officers and other observers who lived it. Some comments have been edited for brevity and clarity.