Photos: Look back at historic Dow Chemical anti-Vietnam War protests at UW-Madison
On Oct. 18, 1967, a student sit-in at UW-Madison turned violent and became a seminal event in local and national history related to the Vietnam War. Called the "Dow riot" -- after the makers of napalm, a brutal chemical weapon used in the war -- it started because students were protesting Dow Chemical's presence as a recruiter on campus. The university ordered the students to disperse, and they didn't, then called in Madison police. Police beat students, and the confrontation escalated. By the end of the day, the city would never be the same.
Using clubs
UW-Madison students clash with riot police during a campus demonstration to protest Dow Chemical's involvement in Vietnam on Oct. 18, 1967. Dow made napalm, a brutal chemical weapon in the war. Students were protesting the presence of Dow recruiters on campus and tried to block their path into UW's Commerce Building. The university called Madison police, and officers forcibly removed them, beating protesters and using tear gas for the first time. The Dow riot was seen as a turning point in the anti-war movement that mobilized more students.
Running from tear gas
Students flee from police officers spreading tear gas outside the Commerce Building (now Ingraham Hall) at a protest against Dow Chemical.
Taunting police
UW-Madison student protesters taunt police during October 1967 anti-war Dow Chemical protests.
Pulling down flag from Bascom
A protester pulls down the U.S. flag atop Bascom Hall during protests against Dow Chemical's presence on campus Oct. 18, 1967. This photo captured much attention at the time, and authorities launched an effort to identify and find this student in order to prosecute him for damaging the flag. He was later identified as Jonathan Stielstra.
Using a billy club
A police officer hits a student protester with a billy club during the Dow protest of Oct. 18, 1967.Â
Arrest during Dow riot
Vicki Gabriner, in costume as part of a protest, was one of the first people arrested during the Dow riots on the UW-Madison campus in 1967.
Broken window
The anti-Dow Chemical protest on Oct. 18, 1967, as seen through a broken window at the Commerce Building.
Dow Chemical protesters on Library Mall
Hundreds of students gathered on Library Mall to protest Dow Chemical, the maker of napalm, in October 1967. After the Dow riot, students called a general strike to protest police tactics.
Dow riots on State Journal front page
The front page of the Wisconsin State Journal from Oct. 19, 1967, led with news of the Dow riots on campus.
Lincoln wearing gas mask
The Lincoln statue on Bascom Hill wears a gas mask and protest rally card placed there by students on Oct. 19, 1967.
Dow makes soap
James B. Meyer, a graduate student in counseling, holds up a sign during Dow Chemical protests in 1967.
Nurse and daughter picket Dow
A UW Hospital nurse and her daughter picket Dow Chemical on Oct. 17, 1967. Earlier Dow protests had been peaceful.
Protest poster
This poster show a large image of the Dow Riot (Oct. 18, 1967) on the UW-Madison campus, showing riot police beating protesters. It includes the Lyndon Baines Johnson quote: "Our foreign policy must always be an extension of this nation's domestic policy. Our safest guide to what we do abroad is a good look at what we are doing at home." The poster was printed by the Madison underground newspaper "Connections."
Protesting napalm
UW students in the fall of 1967 protest the makers of napalm, a chemical weapon used in the Vietnam War that caused severe burns on skin.
March to Capitol
More than 1,700 UW-Madison students and faculty marched to the state Capitol on Oct. 21, 1967, to renew demands on administrators in the wake of the Oct. 18 Dow Chemical riot that left dozens of students injured. Protesters here listen to a speech on the steps of the Capitol after the march.
Taping demands on Capitol door
UW protest leaders Paul Soglin, left, and Ira Shor tape their demands to the State Street entrance of the Capitol on Oct. 21, 1967, after a silent march from campus by more than 1,700 student, faculty and teaching assistant protesters. The demands asked for an end to Madison police interference with university demonstrations, a continuation of the general class strike and that the university not take legal or disciplinary actions against the demonstrators in the Oct. 18 protests or future protests.
Studying and protesting
Students study while protesting Dow Chemical on campus in October 1967.
Prayer of hope
The Rev. Robert Trobaugh offers a prayer of hope at the student prayer vigil held the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 22, 1967, on Bascom Hill. Students voted that day to return to classes Monday to show a willingness to compromise. They had gone out on strike after the Wednesday melee.
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