The Democratic Convention took place August 26-29 1968. There were many issues causing tension in the Nation; specifically clashing views on the Vietnam War, the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the murder of Andy Warhol and the assassination of presidential candidate Robert Kennedy. Many were skeptical of Chicago’s ability to hold a peaceful, productive convention, but they were assured by Mayor Daley that peace would be kept in his city. This did not happen. Groups of over 100,000 anti-war demonstrators came into the city and were denied a permit to rally in Lincoln Park. When they did so anyway, a riot broke out when police used excessive force to evacuate the area. The riots were televised and Chicago’s police brutality was exposed to the world. When another speaker at the convention called Daley out on the brutality of the Chicago police, he responded in rage giving him the middle finger and dropping the ‘f bomb.’ In attempt to counteract the damage he had done, Daley had hundreds of “We Love You Daley” signs made and orchestrated a pro-Daley rally the following day. This event was said to have given Chicago a ‘black-eye’ that would be very hard to heal.
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