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On April fourth, nineteen sixty-eight, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior was shot to death in Memphis, Tennessee. Robert Kennedy informed a largely black audience in Indianapolis, Indiana, of King's death and appealed for calm.

ROBERT KENNEDY: "What we need in the United States is not division. What we need in the United States is not hatred. What we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom. And compassion toward one another. And a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black." [Crowd applause]

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No words, however, could calm the anger in many black communities. Martin Luther King had peacefully led the civil rights movement. His assassination led to violence in more than one hundred cities across America. Hundreds of people were killed or injured. National Guard troops were used to help police end the riots.

After the riots, another candidate decided to join the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. The new candidate was Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

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The primary season continued. Eugene McCarthy and Robert Kennedy tried to show voters how different they were. Many voters, however, saw little difference between their positions on major issues. Both men opposed the war in Vietnam. Both supported social reforms and civil rights.