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# Hard Hat Riot
- URL: https://www.cascadepbs.org/show/american-experience/episode/hard-hat-riot-ocptxr/
- Published: 2025-09-25T15:30:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-19T19:30:54.000Z
- Description: The violent 1970 clash between student protestors and construction workers in downtown NY.
- Author: Cascade PBS Staff
- Tags: American Experience, Season 37, Episode 5, #ZZZ_Episode_76717aa8-f7f8-4a9d-88d5-8a5a310dd705, #episode, #ZZZ_Show_565410c5-fa6f-4aa6-b2bd-9f1fcdc0e587, #v1.16

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.