An American Journey: 3. Establishing Justice

About this episode

James Naughtie explores the evolving understanding of justice in America, focusing on the Civil Rights movement and contemporary political issues.

James Naughtie continues his look at the ideas tying America's founding to the modern United States, asking how 'justice' has been understood by different generations of Americans. In this third episode, James travels to Alabama in the American South, to understand how the Civil Rights movement sought to connect American reality with the promises in its founding documents. He hears from people in Texas on both sides of the debate about abortion, revealing how a movement built to oppose abortion rights brought millions of Christians into politics and dramatically shifted the politics of America's highest court. And in Midwestern Wisconsin, he hears how political division has come to the administration of justice itself. Producer: Giles Edwards

People in this episode

Host: James Naughtie

Topics covered

• American founding
• justice
• Civil Rights movement
• political division
• abortion debate

Keywords

• justice
• Civil Rights
• abortion
• politics
• American history

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Alabama, Texas, Midwestern Wisconsin

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