1968: The Global Revolutions

The Democratic Party’s 1968 National Convention was held in Chicago in late August. Following the chaos and tragedy of the election season, the convention soon became a flashpoint for protests both inside and outside of the official proceedings. Although Eugene McCarthy had won the popular vote by a wide margin in the primaries, Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s allies secured him the party’s nomination. Demonstrators in downtown Chicago clashed repeatedly with police in melees broadcast live on national television. The officers used extreme force against the protesters, leading to denunciations of “Gestapo tactics” by convention delegates. The protesters, meanwhile, taunted the cops with chants of, “The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!”