August 26

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
First televised Major League baseball game, 1939
American Revolution
Washington urges Hessians to desert, 1776
Automotive
Mini makes its debut, 1959
Civil War
Second Bull Run campaign begins, 1862
Cold War
Russia tests an intercontinental ballistic missile, 1957
Crime
"Preppy Murder" stuns New York, 1986
Disaster
NYC and Philly sizzle in heat wave, 1948
General Interest
Battle of Crecy, 1346
19th Amendment adopted, 1920
Democratic convention besieged by protesters, 1968
Charles Lindbergh dies, 1974
Hollywood
Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin born, 1980
Literary
Ralph Waldo Emerson meets Thomas Carlyle, 1838
Music
Grease movie soundtrack earns its second #1 hit, 1978
Old West
Lewis and Clark promote Patrick Gass to sergeant, 1804
Presidential
George Washington writes to Henry Lee, 1794
Sports
Lights, cameras, baseball, 1939
Vietnam War
Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president, 1964
Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam, 1967
Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago, 1968
World War I
Battle of Tannenberg begins, 1914
World War II
DeGaulle enters a free Paris, 1944

Vietnam War

Aug 26, 1968:

Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago

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The Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago and, immediately, a conflict erupts over the party's Vietnam platform. An antiwar faction led by Senators Eugene McCarthy (D-Minnesota) and George McGovern (D-South Dakota) advocated unconditionally halting the bombing of North Vietnam; negotiating a mutual withdrawal of U.S. and North Vietnamese forces from South Vietnam; encouraging the Saigon regime to open negotiations with the National Liberation Front; the acceptance of a coalition government; and the reduction of U.S. combat operations in the South. The other faction endorsed the Johnson administration's handling of the war, applauding the president's efforts to scale down U.S. commitment and begin peace talks.

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This Week in History, Aug 26 - Sep 1

Aug 26, 1964
Johnson receives Democratic nomination for president
Aug 26, 1967
Major George E. Day shot down over North Vietnam
Aug 26, 1968
Democratic National Convention opens in Chicago
Aug 27, 1970
Agnew meets with President Thieu in Saigon
Aug 27, 1972
U.S. aircraft conduct heavy raids on Hanoi and Haiphong
Aug 28, 1966
North Vietnamese pilots being trained in Soviet Union
Aug 28, 1967
More voices raised against the war
Aug 28, 1968
DNC endorses Johnson administration platform on the war in Vietnam
Aug 28, 1972
U.S. Air Force gets its first ace since Korean War
Aug 29, 1964
Khanh steps down
Aug 29, 1971
President Nguyen Van Thieu retains control of National Assembly
Aug 29, 1972
Nixon announces another troop reduction
Aug 30, 1966
China agrees to provide aid to North Vietnam
Aug 30, 1969
Ho Chi Minh responds to Nixon letter
Aug 30, 1970
Elections held in South Vietnam
Aug 31, 1955
Dulles supports Diem's decision not to hold national election
Aug 31, 1965
Ky refuses to negotiate with the Communists
Aug 31, 1967
Senate Committee calls for stepped-up bombing
Aug 31, 1970
Thieu government maintains control of Senate
Aug 31, 1972
U.S. weekly casualty figures hit new low
Sep 01, 1966
De Gaulle urges the United States to get out of Vietnam
Sep 01, 1968
Fighter pilot nominated for Medal of Honor
Sep 01, 1970
McGovern-Hatfield amendment defeated in the Senate

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