Despair and mourning after the election of a hostile president are part of the push-pull of American politics. But resistance to presidential administrations has historically led to positive change and the defeat of outrageous proposals, even in perilous times. And though conservative presidents require massive public protest to enact policy decisions, the same can be true of progressive ones. For instance, Barack Obama and the Indigenous protests against the Dakota pipeline is one modern example of resistance built on earlier actions. Resistance sometimes fails, but it has usually been successful, even if it does not achieve all of a movement’s goals.
Scholar Mary Frances Berry examines the following instances of resistance during the times of various presidential administrations: •Franklin D. Roosevelt and the March on Washington movement
•The movement against the Vietnam War*
•Reagan, civil rights, and the AIDS epidemic*
•The Free South Africa movement*
•The pro-choice protests during George H. W. Bush’s presidency**
•Bill Clinton and the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy**
•The Patriot Act and the War in Iraq
Dr. Berry herself participated in these movements, either as an activist (*) or by serving in that administration (**).
