1968 Democratic National Convention protests

Protests at Grant Park during the 1968 Democratic National Convention

Protest activity against the Vietnam War took place before and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Since 1967, people of the counterculture and opponents of the Vietnam War had been promising to come to the city to ruin the convention. The city promised to maintain law and order.

For eight days the protesters were met by the Chicago Police Department in Chiacgo's streets and parks while the Democratic Party met at the convention in the International Amphitheater. The protests became violent in what a major report later said was a "police riot" on the night of August 28, 1968.