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Hard Hat Riot

Season 37 Episode 5 | 1hr 21m 16s

On May 8, 1970, construction workers in NYC violently clashed with students protesting the Vietnam War, signaling the emergence of a new kind of class divide. Hard Hat Riot chronicles a struggling city, a flailing president, and a bloody juncture when the nation diverged ― culminating in a new political and cultural landscape that radically redefined American politics. FROM AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.

Aired: 09/29/25 | Expires: 09/30/28
Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Extras
The chimpanzees in Fongoli have adapted humanlike behaviors to survive their environment.
Appraisal: 1934 U.S. All-Star Team Baseball Signatures, in Sensational Finds.
Appraisal: "Mystery of the Maine" Posters & Banner, from Sensational Finds.
Appraisal: 1914 Pastime Novelty Co. "Kaloma" Photo
Appraisal: Jehan Georges Vibert Oil, ca. 1875
Appraisal: Clara Bow anklet, Cartier watch and note from Sensational Finds!
Appraisal: 1965 Noah Purifoy Watts Riots Sculpture, from Sensational Finds.
A story of theft lives in the strings of this rare candy apple red Fender Jazzmaster!
Appraisal: 1929 Radclyffe Hall “The Well of Loneliness” Victory Edition
Appraisal: Coro Duette Seahorse Brooch, ca. 1945
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