On April 4, 1968, the country was still reeling from racial tensions that had sparked deadly riots the year before in Detroit and Newark. The first amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees “the right of the people peaceably to assemble,” but peaceful protests for a cause have existed in the United States since before the country had even officially formed — and violent riots have often followed after tensions overflowed. Many inner city neighborhoods in these cities were destroyed. David Taylor and Sam Morris. The riots in Newark spread across the United States in most major cities and over 100 deaths were reported. L. 99–386, title I, § 106, Aug. 22, 1986, 100 Stat. How the 1968 Chicago 'police riot' shocked America and divided the nation. The United States erupted in violent riots, the most severe of which occurred in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Baltimore. The assault killed 1,500 Americans and burst the illusion that the United States was winning the war. The Detroit riots of 1968 may be considered a continuation of the riot of 1967. 822; Pub. Chicago Seven, group of political activists who were arrested for their antiwar activities during the August 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.A series of riots occurred during the convention, and eight protest leaders— Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, cofounders of the Youth International Party (Yippies); Tom Hayden, cofounder of Students for a Democratic … On January 31, 1968, communist troops launched an offensive during the lunar new year, called Tet. The rioting in the U.S. city of Minneapolis after the death of a black man in police custody is just the latest incident of racially charged mayhem to mark the United States … But the capital city was said to be special. 75; amended Pub. to aid or abet any person in inciting or participating in or carrying on a riot or committing any act of violence in ... any possession or Commonwealth of the United States, ... 1968, 82 Stat. Some of the biggest riots took place in Washington, D.C., … Many believe it to be the greatest wave of social unrest the United States had experienced since the Civil War. The Black Panthers march in New York City in protest of the trial of co-founder Huey P. Newton in Oakland, California, on July 22, 1968. In addition the Dr. King's assassination in 1968, the issues of civil rights, employment discrimination, poverty, racial profiling and police brutality lay at the center of both riots. 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