Bedlam erupted among 1,500 ecstatic supporters when Bobby and Ethel Kennedy appeared. Looking tanned and rested, he stepped to the rostrum and pulled from his breast pocket an envelope on which he had jotted some notes. Giving a brief speech intentionally so he could wrap up the evening and get to the party, he congratulated his vanquished primary opponent, Eugene McCarthy, called for Party unity, and expressed hope that his campaign might end the divisions in America. . . . Bobby finished his remarks extemporaneously: "We are a great country, an unselfish country, and a compassionate country. And I intend to make that my basis for running." Pausing until the cheers died down, he added,
"So my thanks to all of you, and now it's on to Chicago-and let's win there."
The 1968 election was-and remains- spellbinding. Unlike modern presidential campaigns, where a dozen or more unknowns vie for debate stage sound bites, that year nine titans battled for the presidency. Fifty years later, most people are unaware that in a single race former Vice President Richard Nixon, California Governor Ronald Reagan, President Lyndon Johnson, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Senator Eugene McCarthy, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, former Alabama Governor George Wallace, and Michigan Governor George Romney all squared off for the White House. The shocking assassination of Robert Kennedy on the night of his California primary victory left a gaping hole in history. and for five decades left this unanswered question: What if?
On to Chicago answers for history-based on facts, not on idealized or romantic notions-what likely would have happened if RFK had lived to go on to Chicago, the city that hosted the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention. On to Chicago is a heavily researched and sourced work that twists the arc of history with facts that will appeal both to fiction lovers as well as pure history aficionados, because so much of it is true. With nearly one thousand endnotes online that confirm how much of this story mirrors reality, many revelations will surprise even the most dedicated history buffs.
James Rogan is a law professor, author, and a former Member of the United States House of Representatives from California. As a freshman member of the House Judiciary Committee, Rogan was chosen to help lead the prosecution in the impeachment and U.S. Senate trial of President Bill Clinton. Today he serves as a judge of the Superior Court of California.
