# Canonical recap data for 1968 Democratic National Convention Riots (1968)
# Source: https://recap.at/1968/chicago-dnc-riots
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: chicago-dnc-riots
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1968/chicago-dnc-riots"
title: 1968 Democratic National Convention Riots
aliases:
- Chicago 1968
- Democratic Convention Riots
- Chicago Eight trial
subtitle: Chicago's convention erupted into violence between antiwar protesters and police, cementing the era's social divisions and reshaping electoral politics.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1968-08-26
endDate: 1968-08-29
datePrecision: day
year: 1968
decade: 1960
country:
name: United States
slug: united-states
summaryShort: "The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making the purpose of the convention to select a new presidential nominee for the "
summaryLong: The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making the purpose of the convention to select a new presidential nominee for the Democratic Party. Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine were nominated for president and vice president, respectively.
lede: When the Democratic Party gathered in Chicago in late August 1968 to pick a new presidential nominee, thousands of anti-war protesters filled the streets outside. Police responded with batons and tear gas, turning the convention into a flashpoint for the era's deepest fractures—over Vietnam, race, and who got a say in American politics.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Photograph_of_Hubert_Humphrey_and_Edmund_Muskie_at_the_1968_Democratic_National_Convention_a.jpg/1280px-Photograph_of_Hubert_Humphrey_and_Edmund_Muskie_at_the_1968_Democratic_National_Convention_a.jpg"
heroImageCredit: United States Information Agency · via Wikipedia
importance: 80
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Convention dates
  value: August 26–29, 1968
- label: Location
  value: International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois
- label: Estimated protesters
  value: 10,000–15,000
- label: Estimated police/National Guard
  value: 23,000
- label: Reported injured
  value: Over 600
- label: Arrested
  value: About 650
- label: TV viewers of convention
  value: 89 million Americans
- label: Democratic nominee selected
  value: Hubert Humphrey
timeline:
- date: 1968-03-31
  title: Johnson announces non-candidacy
  description: President Lyndon B. Johnson declares he will not seek reelection, throwing the Democratic race open and energizing the anti-war movement.
- date: 1968-06-05
  title: Robert Kennedy assassinated
  description: Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a leading anti-war candidate, is shot in Los Angeles and dies the next day, deepening the chaos within the Democratic Party.
- date: 1968-08-20
  title: Protesters begin arriving
  description: Anti-war activists and civil rights demonstrators start converging on Chicago ahead of the convention; the city mobilizes police and National Guard.
- date: 1968-08-26
  title: Convention opens; clashes begin
  description: The Democratic National Convention begins as the first confrontations erupt between protesters and police near the International Amphitheatre.
- date: 1968-08-28
  title: Wednesday's battle
  description: The most intense clashes occur during the night of August 27–28 in Grant Park and along Michigan Avenue; police attack protesters with batons and tear gas as the convention hall nominates Hubert Humphrey.
- date: 1968-08-29
  title: Convention ends
  description: The convention concludes with Humphrey as the nominee; police maintain heavy presence as remaining crowds disperse.
- date: 1968-11-05
  title: Nixon wins presidency
  description: Richard Nixon defeats Hubert Humphrey in the general election; exit polls and analysis attribute part of his victory to the backlash against the Chicago riots.
- date: 1969-03-20
  title: Chicago Eight trial begins
  description: Eight protest leaders, including Tom Hayden and Abbie Hoffman, go to trial on conspiracy charges; the trial becomes a flashpoint for free speech and police conduct debates.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention"
  title: 1968 Democratic National Convention riots
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The riots exposed the rupture between the Democratic establishment and the party's anti-war base, broadcast live to 89 million viewers and cementing 1968 as a hinge year. The violence helped fracture the New Deal coalition and handed Richard Nixon ammunition for November—he won the presidency in part by running against the chaos Chicago represented.
categories:
- protest
taxonomy:
domain: social_movement
eventTypes:
- protest
- riot
canonicalClasses:
- conflict
- mobilization
- transformation
impactRadius: national
velocity: sudden
predictability: forecastable
intentionality: coordinated
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: conflict
metaDescription: Police and protesters clashed outside the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Pivotal moment in the Vietnam era.
wikidataQid: Q83516
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260606134536/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-06
  label: 1968 Democratic National Convention riots
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention"
peoplesVoice:
- source: Mayor Richard J. Daley, Chicago
  voiceType: official
  context: Daley defended police response to protesters outside the convention hall during the height of clashes on August 28.
  excerpt: Gentlemen, let's get the thing straight, once and for all. The policeman isn't there to create disorder; the policeman is there to preserve disorder.
  sentimentLabel: dismissive
  significance: 88
  attribution: Press conference, August 29, 1968
  publishedAt: 1968-08-29
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Norman Mailer, Writer and Journalist
  voiceType: media
  context: Mailer was present at the convention and reported on the street violence as a firsthand witness and critic of police tactics.
  excerpt: The Democratic Party was nominating a man in a hall while the police were beating up kids in the street. America was splitting in two.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 75
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Mailer's convention coverage, Harper's Magazine and subsequent reporting
  publishedAt: 1968-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Vice President Hubert Humphrey, Democratic Nominee
  voiceType: official
  context: Humphrey, selected as the nominee despite anti-war sentiment, attempted to distance himself from the violence while supporting law and order.
  excerpt: I regret deeply the incidents which have occurred. But I also believe in law and order. We cannot tolerate violence in our streets.
  sentimentLabel: skeptical
  significance: 82
  attribution: Acceptance speech and subsequent statements, August 29, 1968
  publishedAt: 1968-08-29
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Tom Hayden, Anti-War Activist and SDS Leader
  voiceType: analyst
  context: Hayden was organizing protest efforts and witnessed police violence firsthand on the streets of Chicago.
  excerpt: They're trying to show America that dissent itself is dangerous, that you can't question the war without being beaten in the streets.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Hayden interviews and activist statements, August 28-29, 1968
  publishedAt: 1968-08-29
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Walter Cronkite, CBS Evening News Anchor
  voiceType: media
  context: Cronkite was broadcasting live coverage of the convention and the street violence, shaping national perception of events.
  excerpt: The Democratic Party is in the process of nominating its next presidential candidate while the police are clashing with thousands of demonstrators outside.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 85
  attribution: CBS Evening News broadcast, August 28, 1968
  publishedAt: 1968-08-28
  originalLanguage: en
