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Political party conventions may always be tense but [People at a convention hold up signs]

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they've got nothing on the democratic national convention of 1968 in Chicago

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when delegates showed up the neighborhood surrounding the

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International amphitheater where the convention was to take place had been [Delegates looked shocked]

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decorated with bright colorful posters of flowers and birds. Sound weird?

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Yeah that's because it was.. The anti-war hippies had redecorated the neighborhood in their

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peace-loving flower power image. Of course this decor totally clashed with

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the barbed wire armed guards and bulletproof doors that guarded the [Guards with guns and helmets on in the street]

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entrance to the amphitheater. There was a massive crowd of anti-war protesters

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flooding the streets of Chicago to make their voices heard to the political

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elite of the day. Protesters camped in parks and filled coffee houses and

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storefronts their presence permeated everything. Their combined smell probably

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did too but um, separate story there.. inside the walls of the convention things were

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just as tense. in 1964 Democrats had faced certain victory running Lyndon B. Johnson

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on a platform of social change. His administration had started off with a [Lyndon B. Johnson speaking into a microphone]

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bang with passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that outlawed segregation.

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Seemed like things were on the up and up for America but a new era of change was

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ready to begin, then Vietnam reared its ugly head taking over America's time and

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money and the lives of tens of thousands of its young men. Well add to that the [American soldiers in Vietnam]

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assassinations of Dr King and Robert Kennedy in 1968 and yep things were

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looking pretty bleak for the Democrats. America was a mess and they've been the

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ones in charge of it, there was a growing anti-war wing of the party that

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threatened the nomination of Hubert Humphrey and the unity of the party.

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Humphrey was Johnson's man through and through and managed to button down the

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nomination but only after intense debate. Well of course none of this tension was [Humphrey stood at a podium with people clapping behind him]

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as crazy as what was going on outside. In the streets of Chicago anti-war

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protesters came to blows with almost 12,000 policemen, 7,500 army troops,

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7,500 National Guardsmen and a thousand Secret Service agents. Not only were the

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protesters unarmed while security forces were as usual armed to the teeth, but [Angry looking police and guards]

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they were also outnumbered almost 3 to 1 well the protest got violent when

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protesters tried marching on the amphitheater and were forced by police

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from other restricted areas. While protesters had tried to get city permits

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to inhabit Linkin Park and protest the convention site, but Mayor Richard Daley

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denied all permits. No way was he going to rubber stamp all this hippie dippie [Protest permit is stamped denied]

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nonsense. Well on Sunday August 25th police tried to forcibly remove

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protesters from the park. They bombed the park with tear gas and came after

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protesters with billy clubs to vacate them from the park, well when that didn't

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work the tickle monster was also deployed.. didn't work either.. Well clashes [Elmo flies into a protester]

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like this occurred for five days with the ugliest events occurring during what

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was called the Battle of Michigan Avenue protesters were stopped mid march to the

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convention site and violently pushed back by police all while the press's

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cameras were rolling. Innocent bystanders offering medical help and business

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owners found themselves caught up in the violence and brutality. Wait innocent [Policeman smashes a shop window]

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bystanders? Yikes the streets of Chicago were starting to look like Vietnam. Well by

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the end of the convention almost 600 arrests had been made and more than 200

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individuals, police and protesters, had suffered injuries. In March 1969 eight

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policemen and eight civilians were charged with inciting the civil disorder [Court gavel is used]

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that took place at the Democratic convention. The anti-war activists called the

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Chicago eight, included Bobby Seale founder of the Black Panthers. They

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brought their anti-war and anti-authority attitude to court and the

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majority were charged with contempt and sentenced to unusually long prison

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sentences if only Judge Judy had been on the air back then, well they would have known how

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to behave in court. [Bobby Seale in court with the judge]

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