The Sacred Object Project
Page 4
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When government gets too big for its britches, citizens become very angry. They assemble in
the streets to protest. They say nasty things about the president and/or lawmakers and/or
maybe even judges, depending on who and what has made them angry.
You read the First Amendment on the previous page, so you know that all these things are allowed. That doesn't mean, however, that government has always respected the First Amendment. In the early 1960s, in some parts of the country, government tried to take rights away from citizens because of the color of their skin. Some people protested. The following pictures show what the police and the National Guard did to those protesters.
 They sprayed them with fire hoses.
 They exposed them to tear gas.
 They hit them with billy clubs.
 This woman was waiting to find out that her husband had been killed because he helped black people register to vote. Why did these people protest when it was dangerous? For some citizens -- not all of them, mind you -- freedom and civil rights are more important than their own safety. When government does something that makes citizens speak out against it, their protests aren't effective if nobody notices. If they so polite they don't even annoy government officials enough to send out the police, their protests might be a waste of time. Sometimes, very angry protesters decide to do something that will get government's attention... something that shows how terribly angry they are. One thing protesters can do that will annoy government a lot can be found on the LAST PAGE. |
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