Days Of Rage Online
Following the failure to spark a mass uprising, the Weathermen went underground, transitioning into a clandestine group that conducted a years-long bombing campaign against government and corporate targets.
The resulting legal battles and internal divisions led to the collapse of the SDS as a national organization.
The were a series of violent direct actions and riots that took place from October 8–11, 1969 , in Chicago. Organized by the Weathermen (later the Weather Underground), a radical faction of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the event was designed to "bring the war home" and ignite a domestic revolution against the Vietnam War and American imperialism. Context and Goals Days of Rage
Over 280 people were arrested , and the city of Chicago suffered roughly $183,000 in damages and related costs.
The demonstrations fell far short of the expected turnout of tens of thousands, with only a few hundred "ragers" arriving to face roughly 2,000 heavily armed police officers. Following the failure to spark a mass uprising,
The violence alienated many in the broader anti-war movement. Black Panther leader Fred Hampton famously denounced the action as "anarchistic" and "folly".
A final "vicious melee" occurred in The Loop , Chicago's business district. During this clash, city attorney Richard Elrod was paralyzed after an altercation with a protester. Impact and Aftermath Organized by the Weathermen (later the Weather Underground),
Protesters gathered in Lincoln Park and charged through the affluent Gold Coast neighborhood, smashing windows of luxury cars, businesses, and the Chicago History Museum.