Party conventions have a long history of getting out of control

The Republican National Convention in Cleveland begins Monday amid heightened tensions over race, police violence and one of the most divisive presidential candidates in decades.

As party representatives try to prevent a floor fight over the nomination of Donald Trump, police and protesters are expected to fill the streets. Guns are likely to be in abundance as several organizations have said their members intend to legally carry arms.

If that sounds like a recipe for tumult, it wouldn’t be the first time. A look back at some of the nation’s craziest conventions:

1860: Democrats, Charleston, S.C.

The convention, held in one of the most pro-slavery cities of the day, revolved around deep divisions over whether the practice should be outlawed. Northern Democrats supported Stephen Douglas, who favored letting the settlers of each territory decide for themselves. But Southern Democrats wanted John C. Breckinridge, a stalwart defender of slavery. At the time, the country was on the verge of splitting in two. “Breckinridge may not be for disunion, but all the disunionists are for Breckinridge,” Douglas said. After 57 votes, neither candidate had secured the nomination, and the delegates decided in desperation to adjourn the convention and reconvene a month and a half later in Baltimore. In the end, both Breckinridge and Douglas ended up on the ballot in November, allowing the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, to handily win the presidency.

1924: Democrats, New York

Known as “Klanbake” because of the heavy influence of the Ku Klux Klan, the convention was the longest in history, lasting 16 days and requiring 103 ballots before a candidate was finally nominated. Front-runners William Gibbs McAdoo, who was backed by the KKK and defended Prohibition, and Al Smith, who fought for the party to renounce the KKK, came head to head. For days, McAdoo supporters yelled “Booze! Booze! Booze!” while Smith loyalists chanted “Klu Klux McAdoo!” The party finally settled on a compromise candidate, John W. Davis, and approved a measure to denounce intolerance but avoided mentioning the KKK specifically. A celebration followed in New Jersey involving thousands of hooded Klan members who burned crosses and encouraged violence against blacks and Catholics.

1964: Republicans, San Francisco

Pandemonium ensued when moderates tried to block the nomination of Barry Goldwater, an arch-conservative who opposed the Civil Rights Act and supported aggressive military intervention in the Soviet Bloc. At the 11th hour, some moderate leaders tried to unite behind last-minute entrant William Scranton. On the convention floor, tensions escalated when a Goldwater conservative made a racist comment about Italian Americans. And when liberal candidate Nelson Rockefeller tried to deliver a speech, he was booed off the stage. Primary wins and popular support propelled Goldwater to an easy victory despite the opposition. In accepting the nomination, he declared: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice.”

1968: Democrats, Chicago

At the height of the Vietnam War, following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., thousands of antiwar protesters occupied Grant Park in Chicago near the convention hotels. Mayor Richard Daley called in more than 20,000 police and National Guard members. The situation rapidly spiraled out of control as police beat and gassed demonstrators in what is now known as the Battle of Michigan Avenue. The riot was caught on television and resulted in increased opposition to the war and mistrust of the political system. “Chicago 1968 was in a class by itself,” said Jack Rakove, a professor of history at Stanford University.

2004: Republicans, New York

Three years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the city was on high alert. Hundreds of groups showed up to protest the nomination of George W. Bush. Nearly 2,000 people were arrested as police came under criticism for tactics that included detaining people for hours at the Hudson Pier Depot on the Hudson River. Most cases were dismissed or ended in acquittals. The city did not admit any wrongdoing, but wound up paying $6.4 million to 430 people who sued for rights violations, $6.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit filed by 1,200 additional people, and $5 million in legal fees.

erica.evans@latimes.com