Activism is the driving force behind many policies and legislation in America. The concerted efforts of individuals in pursuit of a cause is crucial to a working democracy. The resources below provide insight on some of the great political activists and their movements throughout American history.

Conversations with History

The Berkley Institute for International Studies maintains an oral history project with numerous interview categories.

The Free Speech Movement Oral History Project

Housed at Berkeley's Bancroft Library, the Free Speech Movement (FSM) oral history project covers the role of Mario Savio and other participants in Berkeley's campus free speech activism and reform.

Sixties Project: Primary Document Archive

Housed at the University of Virginia, this site holds "manifestos and position papers issued by Sixties-era organizations." View primary documents from SNCC, Black Panther Party, SDS, and others.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project

This cooperative venture between the King Center and Stanford University provides online access to a fourteen volume collection of Dr. King's correspondence, sermons, speeches, published writings, and unpublished manuscripts.

May 4 Collection

This special collection from the Kent State library displays photographs, oral histories, and a bibliography for further readings on the 1970 shooting of student protesters by the Ohio National Guard.

Documents from the Women's Liberation Movement

Administered by the special collections library at Duke University, this archival site holds the following categories: general and theoretical; medical and reproductive; music; organizations and activism; sexuality and lesbian feminism; socialist feminism; women of color; and women's work and roles.

Suffragists Oral History Project

This project of the Bancroft Library at UC-Berkeley holds the oral histories for seven leading woman activists.

Chicago Women's Liberation Union

This political group maintains a historical archive of documents that "tell the story of how the CWLU evolved and reveal the concerns of its members."

The Feminist Chronicles

This section of the Feminist Majority Foundation's web site contains some full text sections from The Feminist Chronicles, 1953-1993, a work that “dramatizes the ever-on-going, day-by-day, year-by-year effort of feminist women to improve the lives and status of all women and to empower them as equal players in the world's affairs.”

Hardhat Riot of 1970

Administered by the Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, this site contains various primary and secondary sources related to the Hard Hat Riots of 1970.

National Park Service History

This government website chronicles the history of the National Park Service, including oral histories, an extensive online bibliography, and historical themes to explore.