His Own Man

Abstract

Chapter Seven charts the turbulent Democratic National Convention through the experience of Hubert Humphrey, the onetime champion of American liberalism. In Chicago, the Democratic Party came apart on national television: delegates feuded on the convention floor, peaceniks caused trouble on the streets of Chicago, and police employed wanton violence in the name of “law and order.” Humphrey emerged with the nomination, thanks to the loyal party machinery, but the Democrats appeared doomed. Humphrey bore much of the responsibility: he chose a safe nomination by letting Lyndon Johnson dictate the party plank on Vietnam. His weakness intensified the displeasure of the party’s liberal anti-war wing, and neither Humphrey nor the Democratic Party ever fully recovered.