What does it mean to protest in a country that was founded by revolutionaries? Are radicals heroes or traitors? Dissenters like Sarah Grimke, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, Eugene V. Debs, Emma Goldman, Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez and others struggled for different convictions but had one thing in common: to further their causes they had to overcome the traditional aversion to radicalism in America. This course traces not only the history of particular protest movements since revolutionary times, but also the historical development of mainstream politics, law, and public opinion regarding radical dissent.
