WI Urban riots escalate?

In 1968, the US was convulsed with riots. Is there any way for Lyndon Johnson to declare a state of emergency or nationwide martial law? Effects on the presidential campaign? Not something like 1081, which granted Ferdie absolute powers, due to the US Constitution, but similar, if not stricter than the Civil War?
 
Well, he could under the Insurrection Act, but there would need to be a major organized uprising of some sort, likely spanning state lines. Otherwise it'd be up to the states to clean up the mess.

That and unless there is an organized group in the shadows before the riots, the riots won't get organized. It's mostly just mobs of people taking advantage of lawlessness. Typically.
 
The "protests" of 1967 became the riots of 1968 after Dr. M.L. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. The riots were concentrated in urban centers. One week later, the Civil Rights Act of 1968 was enacted to outlaw discrimination in housing, real estate transactions and covenants in deeds. That was the last major piece of legislative infrastructure in the movement to outlaw segregation. The unrest continued into the summer, but there were no riots after RFK was killed in June. Unrest came back during the Democratic convention in Chicago, but was relatively isolated.

Yes, there was talk of what the upcoming years would be like if the trend continued. But by 1969, enough goals had been achieved that the remaining protests were against the Vietnam war. Protests had moved from poor, urban centers to university campuses. They let up when the selective service eased up on the draft.

All of the unrest was disorganized. There was no close-knit unity.
 
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