A Class Apart Preview
From a small-town Texas murder emerged a landmark civil rights case. The little-known story of the Mexican American lawyers who took Hernandez v. Texas to the Supreme Court, challenging Jim Crow-style discrimination.
Bodies Falling from the Sky
The 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire claimed 146 lives. Among the victims were some of the same women who had previously gone on strike to advocate for better working conditions.
Police Brutality against Strikers
The general public showed no sympathy for striking garment workers. Policemen ran strikers into court everyday, where judges fined them, put them in jail, or sent them to the workhouse on Blackwells Island.
Calling for an Industry-Wide Strike
While union leaders cautioned against action, a 22 year old garment worker inspired a citywide strike.
The Triangle Shirtwaist Strike
In October, 1909, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, fought back against striking workers. Their tactics were often brutal.
No Protections for Garment Workers
In the early 20th Century, the United States has no workplace safety laws.
Slaves of the Machines
Machines in garment factories could be cruel taskmasters, as could employers.
Immigrant Workers & the American Dream
In the early 20th Century, many female immigrants worked in garment factories. Some were girls as young as ten, whose families had chosen America for its promise of a better future.
Paying Tribute to Triangle Fire Victims
The 1911 Triangle factory fire killed 146 and changed beliefs about workplace safety. New Yorkers from all walks of life came to pay tribute to the victims.
Triangle Fire Preview
On March 25, 1911, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York's Greenwich Village. By the time the fire had burned itself out, 146 people were dead. The landmark legislation that followed gave New Yorkers the most comprehensive workplace safety laws in the country.
Interview with Author Kirstin Downey
Author Kirstin Downey on the labor rights activist Frances Perkins, who would go on to become the secretary of labor and the first woman in a U.S. Cabinet.
Jimmy Carter Preview
Jimmy Carter's story is one of the greatest dramas in American politics. In 1980, he was overwhelmingly voted out of office in a humiliating defeat. Over the subsequent two decades, he became one of the most admired statesmen and humanitarians in America and the world. Jimmy Carter traces his rapid ascent in politics, dramatic fall from grace and unexpected resurrection.
Jimmy Carter Preview
Jimmy Carter traces the ascent of an ambitious country boy from a peanut farm in Plains, Georgia, to the Oval Office; it examines the failings of Carter's political leadership in the context of the turbulent 1970s; and explores the role religion played in his career.
Preview | Reagan, Part 2
Ronald Reagan left the White House one of the most popular presidents of the twentieth century — and one of the most controversial.
Chapter 1 | Reagan, Part 1
A passionate ideologue who preached a simple gospel of lower taxes, less government, and anti-communism.
Reagan Announces SDI
In a televised address to the nation, delivered on March 23, 1983, President Reagan announced his vision of a world safe from nuclear threat. His Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), later dubbed "Star Wars" by the press, is an idea that remains controversial to this day.
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