By Cynthia Littleton
Chaos at the Convention: The 1968 DNC
The skies above Chicago are clear and blue as Democrats gather this week to lay out their vision for America on live television over the next four nights.
But as high as the expectations of the faithful are, clouds hang over this particular Democratic National Convention that has been going on for more than 50 years. Ghosts of the last time Democrats gathered for a DNC in Chicago were clearly visible Sunday as delegates and other attendees arrived in the Windy City.
The events in and around the 1968 DNC in Chicago have stood as a landmark moment in political chaos and social change for America. In the convention hall, Democrats struggled mightily to coalesce around a consensus candidate after the upheaval of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision not to seek re-election and the assassination of his most likely Democratic successor, Robert F. Kennedy. Both events occurred within the space of a week (LBJ withdrew on March 31; RFK was shot dead in Los Angeles on June 6.)
