1968 presidential election![]() | |
![]() ![]() Nominees Humphrey and Muskie | |
Convention | |
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Date(s) | August 26–29, 1968 |
City | Chicago, Illinois |
Venue | International Amphitheatre |
Candidates | |
Presidential nominee | Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota |
Vice presidential nominee | Edmund Muskie of Maine |
Other candidates | Eugene McCarthy George McGovern |
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making the purpose of the convention to select a new presidential nominee for the Democratic Party.[1] The keynote speaker was Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.[2] Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Senator Edmund Muskie of Maine were nominated for president and vice president, respectively. The most contentious issues of the convention were the continuing American military involvement in the Vietnam War and voting reform, particularly expanding the right to vote for draft-age soldiers (age 18) who were unable to vote, as the voting age was 21.
The convention of 1968 was held during a year of riots, political turbulence, and mass civil unrest. The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in April of that year following his opposition to the Vietnam War further inflamed racial tensions in addition to the draft and popular opposition to voter suppression. King assassination riots in more than 100 cities followed.[3][4] The convention also followed the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, a candidate in the primary, on June 5.[5] Kennedy's assassination further derailed the convention, paving the way for the pro-war Humphrey. The Humphrey–Muskie ticket competitively failed to win the confidence of the democratic voters and so failed to unite liberals or attract anti-war voters. They were later defeated in the presidential election by the "silent majority" Republican ticket of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew.
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