Читать книгу The Trial of the Chicago 7: History, Legacy and Trial Transcript - Bruce A. Ragsdale - Страница 6

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In the fall of 1967, the Democratic Party decided to hold its 1968 national convention and the expected renomination of President Lyndon Johnson in Chicago. Mayor Richard Daley promised his city would be free of the civil disorders that had broken out in major cities in recent summers. By the summer of 1968, the prospects for a smooth convention had vanished. Johnson, in the face of growing protests against the Vietnam War and alter assessing the surprising strength of Eugene McCarthy’s campaign for President, withdrew in March from the race for the nomination. The assassination of Martin Luther King in April provoked devastating urban riots in Chicago and other cities. The assassination of Robert Kennedy in June further shocked the nation and complicated the race for the Democratic nomination. The spring of 1968 had also brought the Tet offensive against American forces in Vietnam and unprecedented student protests on university campuses. By August, many Americans believed the nation was in the midst of a profound political and cultural crisis.