ABSTRACT: At the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago police (as well as the National Guard and regular army troops) responded to protests with a riot of their own. They beat protesters, chanting “kill, kill, kill.” Along Michigan Avenue, antiwar activists were clubbed and arrested. “The policeman isn’t there to create disorder,” Mayor Richard Daley announced as he spoke to reporters, before making a telling slip of the tongue: “The policeman is there to preserve disorder.” Delegates on the convention floor fought each other too.