Fighting for a More Perfect Union: Protest and Politics in America

A new collection from AMERICAN EXPERIENCE featuring lifts, digital shorts, articles and additional content from our film archive that speak to the role of protest, agitation and struggle in the evolution of the country we live in today.

Features

Freedom Riders | Digital Short
Parchman Prison

In 1961, the Freedom Riders were arrested and sent to Mississippi’s Parchman Prison.
JFK | Comic
The Phone Call

Some say that JFK's call to Coretta Scott King changed the course of history.
Freedom Summer | Clip
Charles McLaurin - "The Foot Soldier"

"We were asked to leave. We did not, and we were arrested and locked up for the night," Charles McLaurin.
The Vote | Digital Short
Alice Paul: The Militant

Alice Paul joined the 'suffragettes' while studying in London to demand the right to vote.
Freedom Riders | Digital Short
Who the Hell is Diane Nash?

"She would not be moved."
Freedom Riders | Clip
The Exchange Student

After deciding to participate in the Freedom Rides in May 1961, Jim Zwerg called his parents for support only to be told that he was “killing his father.”
The Mine Wars | Article
Violence & Political Expression

Scholars discuss violence, militancy, and political struggle at the time of Mother Jones and the miners' unionization movement.
Digital Short
MCHR: Doctors & Nurses in the Background

In 1964 doctors and nurses from the North volunteered with black doctors in the South to form the medical arm of the civil rights movement.
Two Days in October | Digital Short
Police Tactics at a Vietnam Protest

In October of 1967, a massive protest at the University of Wisconsin turned violent when police arrived on the scene.
Freedom Summer | Clip
On a Hair Trigger

Local Mississippi leadership prepared themselves psychologically and militarily for Freedom Summer.
Two Days in October | Digital Short
The First Violent Protest

In 1967, a demonstration at the University of Wisconsin was the first violent campus protest of the antiwar movement.
Stonewall Uprising | Clip
An Uprising, Not a Riot

Reflections on the Stonewall Uprising.
Digital Short
MCHR: Doctors & Nurses in the Background

In 1964 doctors and nurses from the North volunteered with black doctors in the South to form the medical arm of the civil rights movement.
Two Days in October | Article
Student Protesters

As the Vietnam War escalated, more and more students at the University of Wisconsin were drawn into the demonstrations.