Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention

by Frank Kusch

The 1968 Democratic Convention, best known for police brutality against demonstrators, has been relegated to a dark place in American historical memory. Battleground Chicago ventures beyond the stereotypical image of rioting protestors and violent cops to reevaluate exactly how—and why—the police attacked antiwar activists at the convention.
            Working from interviews with eighty former Chicago police officers who were on the scene, Frank Kusch uncovers the other side of the story of ’68, deepening our understanding of a turbulent decade.
 
“Frank Kusch’s compelling account of the clash between Mayor Richard Daley’s men in blue and anti-war rebels reveals why the 1960s was such a painful era for many Americans. . . . to his great credit, [Kusch] allows ‘the pigs’ to speak up for themselves.”—Michael Kazin
 
“Kusch’s history of white Chicago policemen and the 1968 Democratic National Convention is a solid addition to a growing literature on the cultural sensibility and political perspective of the conservative white working class in the last third of the twentieth century.”—David Farber, Journal of American History

 

 

Genres: History, Research

233 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Louis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, the USA, perpetually raping the antiwar movement from the 60s until today — or, as ChatGPT would put it, “the U.S. has relentlessly crushed or co-opted the antiwar movement from the 1960s to today,” that is, if one wants to “reach a broader audience or invite dialogue, you might choose a different metaphor that’s still strong but less likely to shut people down.” Mediocre all the way — how we keep trying to make palatable that which should remain outrageous — and ChatGPT too!

Perhaps the most interesting book to read (what do I know, have I read them all? What do we ever know but from the perspective of our own slice of the pie-gone-bad) about the shift in radicalization of the police, and the crackdown of state violence on the heads of kids.

[Steve Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairly unique presentation of the 1986 DNC. While not letting them off the hook, Kusch offers a more sympathetic view of the CPD with lots of anecdotes and perspective. While all sides are presented, Mayor Daley gets a particularly rough ride--perhaps rightly so. It's easy to see a different outcome had the city's iron-fisted policy had been relaxed at the outset. Certainly draws parallels to the summer of 2020.

[Doug Kaleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very engaging book. Balanced, well presented, and gritty. Interviewing police and letting them provide their position doesn't make everyone happy but it's part of the historical story, deserving of being told just like the protestors and the journalists. Nicely done.

[Eric Riker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really unique view of that summer and the cops. The middle chapter, like chapter 5 really rock, and it gets better as it goes. A new, fresh view of the 1968 convention and the infamous police "riot".

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

An apologia for the Chicago police enforcing institutional violence with Gestapo tactics. Boo.

[Lainey · Rating 1 out of 5]

The complete lack of critical thinking in this book is almost impressive.

[David Kingman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating read and well-written. It is also likely to upset some readers who don't think the Chicago police deserve the time of day. But they were also members of the working-class, and as a book that offers an interesting view of class-conflict in the 1960s, few books do it better.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to finish this one . . . I really enjoyed it though - definitley a different perspective from what I had already known and learned about the '68 convention.