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History
TV-PG
American Experience

Hard Hat Riot

American Experience, TV's most-watched history series, brings to life the compelling stories from our past that inform our understanding of the world today.

Hard Hat Riot

Season 37 Episode 5 | 81m 16s | CC

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.

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Corporate sponsorship for American Experience is provided by Liberty Mutual Insurance and Carlisle Companies. Major funding by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

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