Chicago erupted into days of unrest after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, and by April 7, 1968, thousands of National Guard troops occupied the city’s West Side. Armored vehicles rolled down Madison Street as officials tried to contain fires, looting, and clashes that revealed deep racial and economic fractures. Historians note that the Guard’s presence marked one of the largest domestic military mobilizations of the era, reshaping how the government responded to urban crises. Follow