Americans have both the right and the duty to protest government policies they believe are unjust and a threat to democracy. It’s a tradition rooted in the nation’s founding. From colonial resistance to British taxation to movements for civil rights, labor protections, and women’s suffrage, dissent has repeatedly pushed the country toward greater equality and accountability.
Scholars note that the First Amendment protects this core democratic practice, emphasizing that peaceful protest serves as a check on governmental power. While debates continue over the limits of protest, experts widely agree that civic engagement and public dissent are essential components of a healthy democracy, ensuring citizens help shape the nation’s direction.
Ralph Young’s "American Patriots: A Short History of Dissent" offers a concise and timely examination of protest as a defining American tradition.
Young argues that dissent is not only a recurring feature of American public life but a key expression of patriotism itself—a way citizens have historically pushed the nation closer to its professed ideals.
Young frames dissent as central to the American experiment, tracing a clear line from colonial protests against British taxation to women’s suffrage, labor movements, civil rights activism, antiwar demonstrations, and the more recent Women’s March, Occupy movement, and Black Lives Matter protests. Throughout this broad sweep, he highlights both celebrated figures—Ida B. Wells, Woody Guthrie—and lesser-known organizers whose grassroots work helped shift public consciousness.
But "American Patriots" also confronts a more complicated question: When does dissent cease to be dissent? Young devotes new analysis to the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, concluding it does not qualify as legitimate protest. Motivated by disinformation and aimed at overturning a democratic election, he argues, the attack represents what he calls “synthetic dissent”—movements fueled by false grievances rather than efforts to expand democratic rights. He draws similar contrasts with the 2017 Charlottesville rally and escalating white supremacist violence.
Guest:
Ralph Young is Professor of Instruction in History at Temple University. He is the author of “Dissent: The History of an American Idea,” and the editor of “Make Art Not War: Political Protest Posters from the Twentieth Century” and “Dissent in America: The Voices That Shaped a Nation.
The Source Open Mic: Community Voices – Community Conversations
For more on this conversation about the patriotic duty to dissent join TPR's David Martin Davies and special guests, on Wednesday November 19, 2025, at La Tuna Icehouse for a live community conversation exploring what it means to love — and question — your country.
Doors open at 5p.m. The community conversation begins at 5:30 p.m.
No need to make reservations, just swing on by! There will be drink specials, and everyone is welcome. More information here.
"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org.
This episode will air on Monday, November 17, 2025 at noon.
