DALEY AND THE 1968 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION DISCUSSION
The 1968 clashes and violence that happened in Chicago between police and demonstrators remains to be one of the biggest and polarizing showdowns to happen in 1960. The anticipated anxiety exploded on the night of Aug 28, with numerous groups being involved who had different motives and techniques. Yippies wanted to have outdoor sex while black Chicagoans wanted to challenge the brutality of the police, and the supporters of McCarty wanted several changes done in the government system. Therefore, not all demonstrators had the intention to cause chaos as purported by Chicago Mayor Daley.
In the documentary, a group of Yippies can be seen holding posters while on a peaceful demonstration. As recalled by one of the demonstrators Katz, they were holding peaceful demonstrations until the police become exceedingly brutal, making them fight back. It’s during this time that Daley unleashed the Chicago Police department to deal with the demonstrators where he gives them permission to “shoot and kill” in certain situations (Farber, 2015). He deployed 12,000 police in the street and even requested for further reinforcement of 15,000 more police.
The move to use the Chicago Police Department to brutally attack the demonstrators can be assessed as a move to curtail any peaceful or legitimate demonstration. The assessment of these events being brutal is true because not all demonstrators had the intention to fight back the police, but they wanted their views addressed (Farber, 2015). Instead, heavy volumes of tear gas smoke can be seen covering all the demonstrators while the police are ravaging on the demonstrators.
Thus, with Daley’s policemen striking demonstrators in such a force, there is no chance for even peaceful demonstration. Therefore, the Democratic National Convention of 1968 can be fairly assessed as a Daley’s move to stop and curtail any legitimate or peaceful demonstration.
References
Farber, D. (2015). Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Journal of American History, 92(4), 1522–1523. https://doi.org/10.2307/4486036