Thomas Mundy Peterson: The Story of the 1st B...

On this episode of Our American Stories, for thousands of years, human mobility depended on our own legs and the animals we could harness. By the early 20th century, millions of working horses powered American cities, hauling goods, carrying people, and creating problems of conge ...  Show more

On this episode of Our American Stories, Vince Lombardi transformed the Green Bay Packers into a dynasty and helped turn football into a symbol of discipline, leadership, and the American experience. But behind the championships, the famous speeches, and the legendary Green Bay s ...  Show more

February 3, 1870. The 15th Amendment is ratified, which establishes the right to vote for black men in America. While Jim Crow laws would grip the south by 1877, there was a brief, seven-year window of opportunity. Half a million black voters turned out at the polls, and 2,000 bl ...  Show more

Drunken brawls, coercion, and lace curtains. Believe it or not, how regular people vote was not something the founding fathers thought much about, or planned for. Americans went from casting votes at drunken parties in the town square to private booths behind a drawn curtain. In ...  Show more

May 26, 1965. One hundred years after the Civil War, Congress is debating a bill whose goal is to enforce the 15th amendment, which, in 1870, promised the right to vote regardless of race. But that’s not what happened. Now the Civil Rights movement is saying: It’s time to make re ...  Show more

After getting arrested by racist police and being beaten to near death, Fannie puts her fight for voting rights into high gear. With the help of fellow activists, Fannie forms her own political party, the MFDP (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party), and appears on live television ...  Show more