In the words of Norman Mailer, "The event was a convention that took place during a continuing five-day battle in the streets and parks of Chicago between some of the minions of the high established, and some of the nihilistic of the young."
Almost 30,000 police and troopers from the National Guard were involved in scenes of horrific violence, firing round after round of tear gas, and clubbing young protestors on the very doorsteps of the convention hotels.
"Even at the time it had the dark, grainy quality of a newsreel. Clouds of smoke and choking fumes riven by floodlights. Soldiers in gas masks and battle dress blocking the way, rifles forward," wrote Richard Cooper of the Los Angeles Times.
On the floor of the convention, Mailer recalls that the orchestra played "Happy Days are Here Again" in a vain effort to drown out noisy protests from the most liberal delegations. Meanwhile, the TV screens were alive with graphic footage of the bloody mayhem outside, intercut with the words of Mayor Daley — claiming that the Chicago police were the finest in the world.