Summer of 1968

**4Oranges** · March-09-10, 09:21 PM

Hello DYes people....looking for some thoughts from both sides of the fence for a paper I'm working on. The primary subject is the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, however I am looking for memories and thoughts about that point in time in general.

I am trying to capture both sides - particularly that of the police & National Guard, since that side of the story gets far less attention than that of all the black & blue hippies. I am most interested in "talking" to people who were what would have been considered "establishment" at the time: police, government, a member of the armed forces, etc.

I'm not looking for support and/or defense of the actions of the Chicago PD as much as I am looking for personal experiences & recollections from that time from those who might have been watching news coverage of the event and thinking, "they should have maced them days ago", or veterans who may have wanted 5 minutes alone with one of the flower children boo-ing them as they got off a plane or a bus or whatever upon returning from Vietnam. I have a friend who used to tell people he had just gotten out of prison, as he was treated better than when he said he had just gotten out of the Marines.

I am reading a book titled, "Battleground Chicago" which is very interesting, but I'm hoping to connect with some people to talk/interview on the subject.

**gnome** · March-09-10, 09:53 PM

the riots were '67, the tigers were '68

**bee@dee** · March-10-10, 01:28 PM

though i was only 13 @the time, i do recall much atten. given to the dem. convention. social conservatives came down on anti-establishment types[[activist hippies) particularly hard this time. strange how public opinion mattered less than the system actually trying to deliver fair and equal justice. it was a time when we took for granted the constitutional gifts that are eroding away so quickly today. were'nt the charges against them 'conspiracy to incite a riot'? i'm no lawyer, but it seemed difficult to prove such a charge from the outset. yesterday's hippie's are, today, lawyers, judges, and politicians. in the end, all their ideology has ultimately fermented into uncontrolled greed and self interest. the world changers of 1968 have all retired to their respective caves to fondle their gold and silver.

**Mikeg** · March-10-10, 06:05 PM

i do recall much atten. given to the dem. convention. social conservatives came down on anti-establishment types[[activist hippies) particularly hard this time.

It was a Democrat, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, who "came down" on them and he was hardly a social conservative. He was the classic Democrat Machine Boss and his hard-line response to the disruptions during the Democrat's 1968 Convention were mainly because he took it as a personal affront - having the National Convention in his city was a "plum" and it was supposed to be his time to shine in the national spotlight and he was not about to let a bunch of rabble-rousers interfere.

**eno** · March-10-10, 06:58 PM

"68 was a great year in so many ways. I was in my senior year of high school in Detroit. I saw the Doors at Cobo in May and started going to the Grande in June [[Cream). The Tigers brought the City together behind them.

"68 was a tragic year in many ways. Dr. King was assassinated and my high school in Detroit was used as a dispatch center for the National Guard. The hopes for an anti-war candidate were quashed with the assassination of Robert Kennedy. There was a cultural chasm opening up among Americans. My friends since the third grade were active supporters of George Wallace while I went to my first anti-war demonstration. Our friendship would end that year.

**Bobl** · March-10-10, 09:46 PM

A lot of well meaning, idealistic young people were suckered into attending. The violent conflict was desired, by both the more extreme organizers and the more militant police. They both got what they wanted.
I went, but saw the writing on the wall, and left. Ended up at Saugatuck, Michigan. We had been to a pop festival there earlier that summer, and wanted the vibe back. Didn't work. Despite strong anti alcohol feelings at the time, got seriously drunk at a bar that let us drink, sans proof of age. Meanwhile, two friends were getting their heads beaten in Chicago.
This was my own, personal, "Altamont".

**daddeeo** · March-10-10, 10:22 PM

Pretty depressing time all around. Martin Luther King then Bobby getting killed really sucked.
Democrats were in disarray. People had difficulty in which way to turn. People didn't want to be termed disloyal but the war was dragging on with no end in sight. Kind of reminds me of now.
Nixon promised to bring law and order to people afraid of rioting and anti war protesters.
Wallace was like the tea party people .. against fed. government but with vague solutions.
Tricky Dicky played on people's fears and got voted in. It's an old trick Republicans are trying again today.

**Lowell** · March-10-10, 10:49 PM

I was in Chicago for the entire convention. The police, not all but enough, were out of control. Their commanders turned a blind eye to random, unprovoked and violent attacks that included many innocent bystanders, citizens who had no interest in the events who just happened to be around because they lived in affected areas. Many reporters were attacked and beaten most notably Winston Churchill's grandson. Many victims were beaten and left in the street without being arrested. Plain clothes officers infiltrated the protest side and acted as provocateurs by throwing objects at the police lines to instigate attacks.

By contrast the Illinois National Guard was under control and performed as admirably as could be expected amid the chaos.

Yes there were radicals in among the protester who also were provocateurs and sought violent confrontation. Protest marshals [they were an identifiable organized group of volunteers who ringed the protest groups and patrolled the ground between the crowd and police lines to try to head off confrontations] did their best to isolate troublemakers. Other protesters assisted by outing them whenever possible knowing that violence from their side would defeat their message.

There was plenty of blame to go around but the final assessment by an investigative commission characterized the police activities as a "police riot". The criminals on both sides got what they wanted.

A period of frustration and radical reaction followed. The night I returned to Detroit, while drinking a cold one at Verne's [then on the southside of Forest just west of Woodward], a bomb destroyed a police officer's private car in the lot behind the 13th precinct just 50 yards away. It was a nutty and dangerous time and following on the urban riots one felt as if society was teetering on the edge of social breakdown, maybe even civil war.

**bee@dee** · March-10-10, 10:52 PM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

It was a Democrat, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, who "came down" on them and he was hardly a social conservative. He was the classic Democrat Machine Boss and his hard-line response to the disruptions during the Democrat's 1968 Convention were mainly because he took it as a personal affront - having the National Convention in his city was a "plum" and it was supposed to be his time to shine in the national spotlight and he was not about to let a bunch of rabble-rousers interfere.

sorry my sentence structure was rather fractured. the 'social conservatives' i was refering to are in the next sentence being 'public opinion'. yes, 'daly' was a force to be reckoned with, to put it nicely. his approach to the problem blew up in his face. when you say you were a democrat, does that mean 'past tense'? just curious. thanks for your story. i was too young to give any first hand knowledge. i remember wanting to go to the 'grandy' or 'eastowne' but that was out of the question

**Detroitej72** · March-10-10, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by bee@dee

when you say you were a democrat, does that mean 'past tense'? just curious. thanks for your story.

No, he's a Republican, he wears his heart on his sleeve, [[and keyboard)he never said he was a member of the Democratic Party.

Mikeg was just pointing out that this was a dark point in the history of the Democratic Party of America.

**humanmachinery** · March-11-10, 12:20 AM

Originally Posted by bee@dee

though i was only 13 @the time, i do recall much atten. given to the dem. convention. social conservatives came down on anti-establishment types[[activist hippies) particularly hard this time. strange how public opinion mattered less than the system actually trying to deliver fair and equal justice. it was a time when we took for granted the constitutional gifts that are eroding away so quickly today. were'nt the charges against them 'conspiracy to incite a riot'? i'm no lawyer, but it seemed difficult to prove such a charge from the outset. yesterday's hippie's are, today, lawyers, judges, and politicians. in the end, all their ideology has ultimately fermented into uncontrolled greed and self interest. the world changers of 1968 have all retired to their respective caves to fondle their gold and silver.

"They abandoned 'all you need is love' for 'he who dies with the most toys wins.'"
-Carlin

Sad truth. I find it more ironic when the baby boomers lecture my generation about being shallow, consumerist, and hedonistic.

**Jimaz** · March-11-10, 12:28 AM

Consider the possibility that you were presented the image of antiestablishmentarians that establishmentarians would choose you to perceive.

**bee@dee** · March-11-10, 10:37 AM

Originally Posted by Detroitej72

No, he's a Republican, he wears his heart on his sleeve, [[and keyboard)he never said he was a member of the Democratic Party.

Mikeg was just pointing out that this was a dark point in the history of the Democratic Party of America.

boy, i blew that one. i misread "IT was" for "I was". i should take my time reading, instead of 'scanning'.

**bee@dee** · March-11-10, 11:10 AM

Originally Posted by Jimaz

Consider the possibility that you were presented the image of antiestablishmentarians that establishmentarians would choose you to perceive.

i WAS the embodiement of that image unashamedly. we both stood in front of the same mirror, and saw two entirely, different things. i should have inserted 'quotes' around the word "anti-establishment". can't tell ya where it originated. for me, 'hippie' would have sufficed because i wasn't an active protestor. like many of our age, i did feel the hate from authority and returned it, in kind. i am fortunate that i didn't land in prison or worse. i remember a 'stress' cop wanting to beat my brains in for being belligerent and his hair was longer than mine! it was a confusing time.

**Mikeg** · March-11-10, 11:20 AM

No, he's a Republican, he wears his heart on his sleeve, [[and keyboard)he never said he was a member of the Democratic Party.

I never said that in my post, however, I will admit to voting for McGovern in 1972.

I was a sophomore in high school in April 1968 and I can still remember that I was working in the basement on a mechanical drawing project for the Detroit News industrial arts competition [[I got a 3rd place ribbon), when I heard on 20/20 News that MLK had been shot and killed. Following on the heels of the 1967 riots, it did indeed seem "as if society was teetering on the edge of social breakdown" and the growing number of anti-war protests against US involvement in Vietnam added to the turbulence.

I had just gotten my drivers license and I remember seeing for the first time the tank turret castings being trucked down Van Dyke and into the Tank Arsenal. With June came not only another summer recess but also another assassination. That August as I watched the grainy black and white TV images of the events inside and outside the Democratic Party's National Convention in Chicago, I thought the police response was horrific and sympathized more with the protesters than with the "old guard" Democrats. In Feb. 1969, the war became a bit more personal when my first cousin's best buddy came home from Vietnam in a body bag. In the fall of 1970, I was off to college, armed with a Selective Service deferment and a growing sense of opposition to the war in Vietnam. Two more years of college and a relatively low Draft Lottery number had further hardened my anti-war feelings, so it was only natural for me to plunk my first vote in a Presidential election on George McGovern.

I'd continue but I think the rest of my story is too far off topic.

**Detroitej72** · March-12-10, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by Mikeg

I'd continue but I think the rest of my story is too far off topic.

Actually, I enjoyed the insight, and thought it was appropriate for the thread title thus far.

**rb336** · March-12-10, 09:54 AM

all I know is there was a concert planned and the only band with enough guts to show up and play was the MC5

**gnome** · March-12-10, 10:58 AM

tet, Johnson dropping out, USSR in Prague,riots in Rome & Paris, MLK, RFK, Chicago,

and Apollo 8's pic "Earth Rise" on 12/21/68

**Bobl** · March-12-10, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by daddeeo

Pretty depressing time all around. Martin Luther King then Bobby getting killed really sucked.
Democrats were in disarray. People had difficulty in which way to turn. People didn't want to be termed disloyal but the war was dragging on with no end in sight. Kind of reminds me of now.
Nixon promised to bring law and order to people afraid of rioting and anti war protesters.
Wallace was like the tea party people .. against fed. government but with vague solutions.
Tricky Dicky played on people's fears and got voted in. It's an old trick Republicans are trying again today.

Yes, the GOP are trying, with success, today.

**Mikeg** · March-12-10, 12:16 PM

Apollo 8's pic "Earth Rise" on 12/21/68

I remember watching the Chicago convention coverage in black & white and the Apollo 8 live broadcasts in color, so my dad must have bought our first color TV sometime between the end of August and Dec. 21, 1968!

**eriedearie** · March-14-10, 06:52 AM

I really wish I had something intelligent to add to this thread. I was aware of all the 1968 happenings...but truth be told, I was more interested in riding in cars with boys.

**oladub** · March-14-10, 10:40 AM

Originally Posted by daddeeo

Pretty depressing time all around. Martin Luther King then Bobby getting killed really sucked.
Democrats were in disarray. People had difficulty in which way to turn. People didn't want to be termed disloyal but the war was dragging on with no end in sight. Kind of reminds me of now.
Nixon promised to bring law and order to people afraid of rioting and anti war protesters.
Wallace was like the tea party people .. against fed. government but with vague solutions.
Tricky Dicky played on people's fears and got voted in. It's an old trick Republicans are trying again today.

1968 Chicago
Hair - Let the Sunshine In [[musical interlude)

To which I'll add; Kucinch and Nader are sort of the McGovern-McCarthy wing of today's Democrat Party. Nader was booted out and Kucinich was mocked in his presidential run. Obama and Hillary correspond to the Johnson-Humphrey Democrat establishment. I voted McGovern in the primary. We had the big family argument at our family dinner table too when the police riots were shown on the news during dinner. There was no way I ever considered voting for Humphrey after his years of supporting Johnson. Nixon, to his credit, eventually ended US involvement in SE Asian wars and the draft. We will see if President Obama, playing the ghost of Humphrey, will similarly pull all US troops out of the middle east in his first [[five?) years in office.

Bobby was an opportunist who tried to capitalize on his last name. Like Humphrey, he was silent about the war all the while Senators Morse and Fullbright were taking the heat for questioning the war and until he saw McCarthy and McGovern having a lot of success. He split the anti-war vote three ways and thus reduced the chance of its success. Instead of McGovern or McCarthy being the peace candidate in 1968, Nixon became the improbable peace candidate by default.

**dblobaum** · March-15-10, 04:02 PM

Opinion polls taken shortly after the 1968 DNC showed that a majority of people thought the Chicago police had used the right amount of force OR too little force. So the police had plenty of support at the time. Had they not busted the heads of a couple dozen journalists they probably would not have gotten all the bad press that they did.

After more than forty years, you are not likely to find anyone who can recall their 1968 perceptions without bias. It's a problem that runs through Frank Kusch's book, which is an excellent exploration of why there was violence at the 1968 DNC, even though the folks he interviewed sometimes have hazy memories of what happened, when and where. You might find that going back to the accounts that were written at the time gives you a clearer picture. You can find an extensive list of sources at http://www.chicago68.com.

**gnome** · March-16-10, 08:36 AM

oladub, I fear the mists of time have moved a couple of dates around for you. Mr. McGovern didn't enter the '68 race until August, a mere two weeks before the Chicago Convention.

---
In the Hall-of-Fame of Unintended Consequences the Chicago Riot by Abby Hoffman et.al. probably did more to cinch the fall election for Nixon than anything else. Nixon's Silent Majority watched the maddness in Chicago in revulsion and turned to Nixon as the sane choice. Interestingly, the map below shows how the country voted in the fall.

The Red is Nixon, Blue Humphrey and Green is Wallace.

**oladub** · March-16-10, 10:07 AM

gnome, You are probably right about the fog of time. I brushed up on my history with an interesting Wikipedia read on George McGovern. It turns out that he didn't run until afer Bobby Kennedy had been shot as you noted but that he did have a long and active record of opposing the war being the first Senator to speak out against the Vietnam War as early as 1963. I had remembered Senators Morse and Fullbright as being the earliest opponents of the war with McGovern and McCarthy entering the frey a bit later and Bobby much later.