When the 1968 Democratic National Convention opened in Chicago , thousands of young activists from around the nation gathered in the city to protest the Vietnam War . On the evening of August 28 , in a clash which was covered on live television , Americans were shocked to see Chicago police brutally beating anti-war protesters in the streets of Chicago in front of the Conrad Hilton Hotel . While the protesters chanted " the whole world is watching " , the police used clubs and tear gas to beat back or arrest the protesters , leaving many of them bloody and dazed . The tear gas wafted into numerous hotel suites ; in one of them Vice President Humphrey was watching the proceedings on television . The police said that their actions were justified because numerous police officers were being injured by bottles , rocks , and broken glass that were being thrown at them by the protestors . The protestors had also yelled insults at the police , calling them " pigs " and other epithets . The anti-war and police riot divided the Democratic Party 's base : some supported the protestors and felt that the police were being heavy-handed , but others disapproved of the violence and supported the police . Meanwhile , the convention itself was marred by the strong-arm tactics of Chicago 's mayor Richard J. Daley ( who was seen on television angrily cursing Senator Abraham Ribicoff from Connecticut , who made a speech at the convention denouncing the excesses of the Chicago police ) . In the end , the nomination itself was anti-climactic , with Vice-President Humphrey handily beating McCarthy and McGovern on the first ballot
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 United States presidential election