Democratic National Convention 1968
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26-29 at the International Amphitheater in Chicago , Illinois . Since President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced that he would not seek re-election, the purpose of the Convention was to appoint a new Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States .
The convention came in a year of violence, political turmoil and unrest in the United States . So was Robert F. Kennedy , which lies next to Senator Eugene McCarthy had applied for the nomination, less than three months before the convention, on June 5, 1968 murdered. As early as 1967, counterculture protest groups and anti-Vietnam war groups had agreed to come to Chicago and disrupt the convention. City officials, on the other hand, had promised to maintain law and order. For eight days there were incidents between demonstrators and the Chicago Police Department and the National Guard in the vicinity of the convention . The riots and police violence reached their climax with many injured on the night of August 28, 1968.
The convention eventually nominated Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and Senator Edmund S. Muskie of Maine as candidates for the office of President and Vice President respectively.
Political situation before the National Convention
The Democratic Party, which controlled the House , Senate and White House , was split in 1968 over Johnson's war policies. Senator Eugene McCarthy campaigned in November 1967, challenging incumbent President Johnson. In March 1968, Robert F. Kennedy declared his candidacy. Johnson, who came within his party to object and the code in New Hampshire had won narrowly, announced the candidacy on March 31. Instead, Vice President Hubert Humphrey entered the election campaign, who had not participated in any primaries. He inherited the votes of the delegates who had previously supported Johnson, and then rallied delegates in the caucus states.
With Kennedy's assassination on June 5, the rift in the Democratic Party grew. The delegates who supported Kennedy were undecided after his murder. Support within the party was shared between Senator McCarthy, who was seen as a peace candidate, Vice President Humphrey, who was seen as a follower of Johnson's policies, and Senator George McGovern, who addressed some Kennedy supporters.
Channing E. Phillips, who led Kennedy's campaign in Washington, DC , was nominated as a candidate by the members of the district delegation after Kennedy's death. Thus, he was the first African American to receive a nomination at a Democratic Party convention as a candidate for president.
Result of the National Convention
Before the beginning of the convention on August 26th, there were competing lists of delegates in several states trying to secure seats at the convention. Some of these clashes with delegates did not end until August 26, at the start of the Convention. There it was voted which delegates from Texas , Georgia , Alabama , Mississippi and North Carolina were allowed to attend the congress.
In the end, the Democratic Party named Humphrey as a candidate, even though 80 percent of the primary voters were anti-war candidates . The nomination was seen as a result of the influence of President Johnson and the Mayor of Chicago Richard J. Daley . In the presidential election on November 5, 1968, however, it was not Humphrey who was elected, but Republican Richard Nixon .
| Candidates for President | Number of votes | Candidates for the office of Vice-President | Number of votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hubert Humphrey | 1759.25 | Edmund S. Muskie | 1942.5 |
| Eugene McCarthy | 601 | not matched | 604.25 |
| George McGovern | 146.5 | Julian Bond | 48.5 |
| Channing E. Phillips | 67.5 | David Hoeh | 4th |
| Dan K. Moore | 17.5 | Edward M. Kennedy | 3.5 |
| Edward M. Kennedy | 12.75 | Eugene McCarthy | 3.0 |
| Bear Bryant | 1.5 | Other | 16.25 |
| James H. Gray Sr. | 0.5 | ||
| George Wallace | 0.5 |
Source: Keating Holland, All the Votes… Really, CNN
Planning in advance of the National Convention
Democratic Party
On October 7, 1967, Daley and Johnson met on a fundraiser for Johnson's election campaign. During the meeting, Daley explained to the president that the president could lose the swing states with his electoral votes if the convention was not held in Illinois. Johnson's war policies had already created a major split within the party, and Daley hoped that Chicago's selection for the convention would resolve further conflicts with the opposition.
Some Democrats wanted to move the National Assembly from Chicago to Miami . The Republican Party also wanted to hold its National Convention there. It was hoped to avoid the protests announced for Chicago. The television stations also advocated relocation to Miami, as they had already installed the necessary infrastructure there.
The Mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley , eventually used his political influence to hold the National Convention in Chicago. He promised the maintenance of law and order and threatened to withdraw his support for Humphrey, the most likely candidate, if the convention did not take place in Chicago. President Johnson also spoke out for Chicago. The head of the committee for the selection of the location, David Wilentz, gave as the official reason for the choice of Chicago the central geographical location, which should reduce the transport costs.
Yippies and MOBE
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The Youth International Party was one of the most famous groups in organizing the protests. The party supporters, the yippies, politicized the hippie ideology and used street theater and other tactics to criticize the culture of the United States with the aim of bringing about change. Originally a "Festival of Live" for 100,000 people in Chicago should be organized. Lacking the financial, organizational resources or authorization to undertake such an undertaking, the group wrote articles, published pamphlets, gave speeches, and held rallies and demonstrations to announce that they were coming to Chicago and what was going to happen there. Various actions such as road blockades and the feeding of LSD into the city's water supply were threatened.
To create a more integrated movement, the Yippies wanted someone to talk about the Black Panther Party . The leadership of the Black Panther sent Bobby Seale to do this . He wanted to give a speech for human rights and against the Vietnam War.
The other group behind the protests against the Convention was the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (often abbreviated as MOBE ). MOBE was an umbrella organization that included various groups that spoke out against American involvement in the Vietnam War . MOBE was run by a small board that set the general framework for the mass demonstrations, sent invitations to the over 500 groups on their mailing lists, and coordinated activities between the groups. MOBE mobilized around 10,000 demonstrators.
Police and National Guard
The Chicago Police Department prepared for all sorts of threats after a series of riots in the United States in 1967 and the spring of 1968. The 1967 Newark riots left 26 dead and hundreds injured; the 1967 Detroit riot, which lasted five days , left 43 dead and 1,189 injured, and over 7,000 people arrested. In April 1968, serious unrest broke out in many cities over the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., with a total of nine deaths.
The venue was secured with barbed wire, and all police officers had to work 12-hour shifts. About 5000 to 6000 national guardsmen were specially prepared for the demonstrations. In addition, around 6000 members of the US Army and the 101st Airborne Division were mobilized, who were equipped with flamethrowers and bazookas . About 1,000 agents from the FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency were in town. Richard J. Daley later said there was evidence of plans to assassinate Democratic leaders, including himself.
Permits for counter-events
Both MOBE and the Yippies needed city permits to hold their respective events. The city had several reasons for denying MOBE and Yippie permits. The city was concerned about possible unrest among the black population during the convention. To avoid this, the city used its leverage with black organizations such as the Woodlawn Organization , the Black Consortium and Operation Breadbasket to get its members to keep quiet. Some of the militant black leaders were encouraged to leave the city during the convention so as not to become involved in outbreaks of violence.
The city believed that a demonstration of white protesters marching through the black neighborhoods with a large police force or a National Guard escort would stir them up. As a result, the city categorically refused permission for demonstrations that included parks in or marching routes through black areas.
As a final attempt, MOBE filed a lawsuit in federal court to compel Chicago to grant permits to rally at Soldier Field or Grant Park . However, the request was denied on the grounds that law and order were to be maintained.
Incidents before and during the National Convention
The beginning of the violence in Congress week is attributed, among other things, to the shooting of Dean Johnson by Chicago police officers. Dean Johnson, age 17, and another boy were stopped by police on a curfew early in the morning of August 22nd. When Johnson pulled a gun, the police shot him.
Pigasus nomination
The planned protests began on Friday, August 23. Jerry Rubin and other yippies attempted to nominate Pigasus, the Immortal, the pig as Yippie nominees for president . Several hundred spectators and reporters had gathered in the square of the Civic Center when Rubin arrived there with Pigasus. The police were waiting there, and as soon as the pig was released, Rubin, Phil Ochs, and five other yippies were arrested.
Saturday 24th August
Police began monitoring Lincoln Park at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 24th . The previous nights, the police had evacuated the park at 11 p.m. and showed a strong presence during the day. The demonstrators agreed not to stay in the park after the curfew, but to take the protest out on the streets. At around 11 p.m., the poet Allen Ginsberg led the demonstrators out of the park into the street. Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) leaders organized several hundred protesters to march through the streets while police guarded Lincoln Park. When the protesters blocked the intersection of Wells Street and North Avenue, a police contingent arrived and dispersed the crowd. Several police cars were then pelted with stones and eleven people were arrested.
Sunday 25th August
On Sunday MOBE organized a march under the motto “Meet the Delegates”. At 2 p.m., between 200 and 300 protesters from the Conrad Hilton marched across the street and another 500 marched south through the loop. After the police arrived, protesters moved to nearby Grant Park to avoid mass arrests and then to nearby Lincoln Park, where the Festival of Life began.
At 4 p.m. the festival started with MC5 , the only band that had appeared for the festival. The police refused to allow a pickup truck to act as a stage because they feared the Yippies would use it to stir up the crowd. When the owner of a food stand insisted on not using his sockets for the amplifiers, there was a commotion. While Rubin and other yippies excitedly tried to get the sound going again, Hoffman took advantage of the confusion to bring in the pickup truck. An agreement was reached with the police that the truck could be parked nearby but not in the park. The crowd that had gathered around and on the truck did not realize that an agreement had been reached and thought the truck would be removed.
Hoffman said the police had stopped the music festival and briefed those in attendance of propagation tactics to avoid arrest. When the next police shift began their duties, they were informed of the tense situation in the park. Due to the number of threats from the demonstrators, police feared they might face armed demonstrators. At 9 p.m., the police formed a battle line around the park's toilets. This attracted a crowd of protesters who harassed the police. The crowd grew rapidly until the police pushed their batons into the crowd and dispersed them. At around 11 p.m., the police drove the demonstrators out of the park. Most of the demonstrators gathered nearby to mock the police.
Initially, the police kept their line of action, but when a squad was ordered to vacate Clark Street in order to maintain traffic, they lost control. A guerrilla war between police and demonstrators began, with many injured. Jerry Rubin said to a friend:
“This is fantastic and it's only Sunday night. They might declare martial law in this town. "
“It's fantastic and it's only Sunday night. You could declare a state of emergency in this city. "
Order was not restored to the city until early Monday morning.
Battle of Michigan Avenue
The worst of the clashes followed on Wednesday, August 28, and is known as the "Battle of Michigan Avenue". Police used harsh violence to stop demonstrators marching to the convention site. The situation got out of hand: the police officers sprayed massive amounts of tear gas and beat demonstrators and many bystanders such as reporters or doctors who offered medical help.
The writer and director Norman Mailer was an eyewitness to the clashes:
“The police attacked with tear gas, with Mace , and with clubs, they attacked like a chain saw cutting into wood, the teeth of the saw the edge of their clubs, they attacked like a scythe through grass, lines of twenty and thirty policemen striking out in an arc, their clubs beating, demonstrators fleeing. Seen from overhead, from the nineteenth floor, it was like a wind blowing dust, or the edge of waves riding foam on the shore. "
“The police attacked with tear gas, with Mace, and with batons, they attacked like a chainsaw cuts through wood, the teeth of the saw the edge of their batons, they attacked like a scythe through grass, rows of twenty and thirty cops formed an arch, hit their batons, protesters flee. Seen from above, from the nineteenth floor, it was like wind blowing dust, or like the edge of waves washing foam on the bank. "
During the events, George McGovern was nominated by Senator Abraham Ribicoff . Given the pictures of the clashes, he said during the nomination speech:
"With George McGovern as President of the United States, we wouldn't have to have Gestapo tactics in the streets of Chicago."
"With George McGovern as President of the United States, we would not have Gestapo tactics on the streets of Chicago."
The Illinois delegates, especially Mayor Daley, threatened Ribicoff and verbally abused him.
Mayor Daley's Congressional Report later featured a list of 152 police officers who were wounded in hand-to-hand combat on Wednesday. Although the exact number of protesters injured is unknown, the Medical Committee for Human Rights (MCHR) said most of the 500 or so people treated on the streets suffered from minor injuries and the effects of tear gas. Throughout the week of Congress, 101 civilians were treated in local hospitals for unspecified injuries, 45 of them on Wednesday evening alone.
reporting
Many incidents were televised live. Well-known CBS news correspondent Dan Rather was caught in front of cameras by security guards and beaten up while attempting to interview a Georgia delegate who was being escorted out of the building by security. Rather's comments during the encounter with the security guards were broadcast live via the microphone of his headset.
After the guards let go of Rather, he told Walter Cronkite , the main newscaster for the CBS Evening News:
"Walter, we tried to talk to the man and we got violently pushed out of the way. This is the kind of thing that has been going on outside the hall, this is the first time we've had it happen inside the hall. We, I'm sorry to be out of breath, but somebody belted me in the stomach during that. What happened is a Georgia delegate, at least he had a Georgia delegate sign on, was being hauled out of the hall. We tried to talk to him to see why, who he was, what the situation was, and at that instant the security people, well as you can see, put me on the deck. "
“Walter, we tried to talk to the man and were forcibly pushed out of the way. These are the things that happened outside, but this is the first time it has happened inside the hall. We're sorry I'm out of breath but someone punched me in the stomach while doing it. What happened is that a Georgia delegate, at least he had a Georgia delegate sign, was dragged out of the hall. We tried to speak to him to find out why, who he is, what the situation was like, and at that moment, as you can see, the security people threw me on the road. "
Walker Report
The US National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence has appointed future Illinois Governor Daniel Walker to head a commission of inquiry into the violent clashes between police and protesters on the Democratic National 1968 Convention examined. In December 1968, the team published the Rights in Conflict report, known as the Walker Report.
The report was controversial. The report said that while demonstrators deliberately harassed and provoked the police, the police responded with indiscriminate violence against demonstrators and bystanders, which Walker described as a "police riot ". The report accused many police officers of criminal offenses and condemned failure to prosecute these officers.
McGovern-Fraser Commission
The 1968 convention was disastrous for the Democrats, both because of the demonstrations and violent police reactions in front of the congress hall and because of the convention itself. Hubert Humphrey was nominated who had not run in a single primary. Eugene McCarthy, who could claim to have demonstrated his attraction to voters in the primary, however, lost the nomination.
Dissatisfaction with the nomination process, perceived as undemocratic, prompted the Democrats to set up a "party structure and delegate selection committee" known as the "McGovern-Fraser Commission" to review the rules governing the election and the manner in which candidates are selected were nominated. The establishment of the Commission was approved on the second day of the Convention. The Commission established more open procedures and guidelines for positive action for the selection of delegates. Party leaders could no longer secretly select the convention delegates.
The first presidential candidate determined according to the new rules was George McGovern himself in 1972. His landslide defeat in the following presidential election led to criticism that well-organized fringe groups and “extremists” had gained too much influence over the Democratic Party. Another commission chaired by Barbara Mikulski recommended changes such as the introduction of super delegates . These changes were finally introduced after another lost presidential election in 1980 and again strengthened the influence of the party leadership in the nomination process.
Chicago Seven
After the riots in Chicago, the Justice Department brought charges against the so-called Chicago Seven , consisting of Abbie Hoffman , Tom Hayden , David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, John Froines, Jerry Rubin and Lee Weiner for conspiracy and incitement to violence in Chicago; the case against the eighth defendant, Bobby Seale , was held separately. Demonstrations took place daily during the process. In February 1970, five of the seven accused were convicted of incitement to riot, but none were found guilty of conspiracy. For disobeying the court, they were sentenced to between two and a half months and four years in prison. In 1972 the appeal convictions were overturned and the government refused to bring the case to trial again.
criticism
After the protests in Chicago, some demonstrators believed that the majority of Americans would show solidarity with them because of the events in Chicago and especially because of the behavior of the police. Although the press and television coverage of the antiwar demonstrators was largely sympathetic, the majority of Americans remained largely unresponsive to the protests. Opinion polls also showed that the majority of Americans supported the mayor's tactics. Daley himself said he had received 135,000 letters backing his point of view and only 5,000 condemning it.
It was often commented in the media that America decided to vote for Richard Nixon after the events of the Convention . Adam Garfinkle , founding editor of The American Interest magazine , wrote of the protests:
“New Left tactics adopted in 1968 were politically nihilistic, increasingly violent, and overwhelmingly counterproductive both to the new Left and to stopping the war. […] The New Left, by systematically trashing Humphreys campaign, thus helped to prolong the war and prolonged the killing, for a Humphrey administration almost surely would have effected a faster withdrawal than the Nixon administration did. "
“The New Left tactics of 1968 were politically nihilistic, increasingly violent, and largely counterproductive for both the new left and for ending the war. [...] The New Left, by systematically destroying the Humphreys campaign to prolong the war and prolong the killing, because a Humphrey government would almost certainly have caused a faster withdrawal than the Nixon government. "
The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Culture
The events at the Convention and the trial of the Chicago Seven prompted Graham Nash to compose the song Chicago . The first line of the song, "So your brother's bound and gagged, and they've chained him to a chair" refers to incidents at the trial of the Black Panther leader Bobby Seale. The judge had Seale gagged and chained to a chair after he repeatedly insulted and accused the judge and prosecutors.
The unrest during the convention forms the framework for the film Medium Cool by Haskell Wexler from 1969, which combines elements of the feature film and the documentary. The film contains a number of scenes that were filmed during the riots. The lyrics of the 1970 song Peace Frog by The Doors , released on the Morrison Hotel album , refer to the violence from the 1968 Convention.
literature
- Frank Kusch: Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention , The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008, ISBN 978-0-226-46503-6
- Todd Gitlin: The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage . Bantam Books, Toronto, 1987, ISBN 0-553-37212-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Remembering 1968: Chicago's bloody Democratic Convention , CBSnews.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ A party that had lost its mind: In 1968, Democrats held one of history's most disastrous conventions , Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ A Pearl Harbor in politics: LBJs stunning decision not to seek reelection , Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ Assassination attempt on Robert Kennedy , Deutlandfunk.de. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ↑ Channing Phillips, civic activist, politician dies , Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ↑ Julian Bond was only 28 years old at the time and therefore not constitutionally admitted to the office of Vice President.
- ^ All The Votes ... Really , cnn.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ^ David Farber: Chicago '68 . Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1988, ISBN 0226-23801-6 , p. 116.
- ^ A b c d Brief History Of Chicago's 1968 Democratic Convention , cnn.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
- ↑ David Farber: Chicago '68 . Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1988, ISBN 0226-23801-6 , p. 117.
- ^ "Violence Was Inevitable": How 7 Key Players Remember the Chaos of 1968's Democratic National Convention Protests .
- ^ The long hot summer of 1967
- ^ Todd Gitlin: The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage . Bantam Books, Toronto, 1987, ISBN 0-553-37212-2 , pp. 323-324.
- ↑ Frank Kusch: Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention , The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008, ISBN 978-0-226-46503-6 , pp. 58-59.
- ↑ Dennis D. Wainstock: Election Year 1968: The Turning Point , Enigma Books, New York, ISBN 978-1-936274-41-3 , S. 131st
- ^ Adam Cohen, Elizabeth Taylor: American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley ; Little, Brown, and Company, 2001, ISBN 0759524270
- ↑ a b Chicago '68 A Chronology .
- ^ Frank Kusch: Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention , The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2008, ISBN 978-0-226-46503-6 , p. 60.
- ^ The MC5 Performs at the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention, Right Before All Hell Breaks Loose .
- ^ Carola Fink, Philipp Gassert, Detlef Junker: 1968. The World Transformed. German Historical Institute, Washington, DC, Cambridge University Press. 1998, ISBN 0-521-64141-1 , pp. 226-227.
- ↑ Dan Rather. A reporter remembers .
- ^ Rights in Conflicts .
- ↑ Elaine C. Kamarck: Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System . Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-8157-0292-4 , p. 14.
- ↑ Stephen S. Smith / Melanie J. Springer: Choosing Presidential Candidates. in: Stephen S. Smith / Melanie J. Springer (eds.): Reforming the Presidential Nomination Process . Brookings Institution, Washington 2009 ISBN 978-0-8157-0288-7 pp. 1–23, here pp. 6f.
- ^ A Special Supplement: The Trial of Bobby Seale .
- ^ John P. Robinson: Public Reaction to Political Protest: Chicago 1968. In: Public Opinion Quarterly. 34, pp. 1-9, doi : 10.1086 / 267768 .
- ^ Leo Bogart: Polls and the Awareness of Public Opinion , Transaction Publishers, 1985, ISBN 0-88738-620-2 , p. 235.
- ^ David Culbert: Television's Visual Impact on Decision-Making in the USA, 1968: The Tet Offensive and Chicago's Democratic National Convention . In: Journal of Contemporary History , 33, No. 3, 1998, pp. 419-449.
- ↑ Review of the film .
- ↑ Song facts: Peace frog .