Examining Related Evidence: Conflicting Press Accounts of the "March on Washington," 1963
This internet activity is based on the Examining the Evidence feature found on page 925 of
The American Pageant, Twelfth Edition. Or you can view the feature
here.
These two differing press accounts of the March on Washington disagreed on the orderliness of the marchers and the need for a police presence. Photographs of events also can convey conflicting information. To investigate further, examine the photographs at the following websites and answer these three questions for each photograph:
Describe the photograph
Does the photo show a significant police presence?
What impression of the March does this photo convey?
- Photo in U.S. News and World Report. Go to the American Memory Project and click on Search; limit the search to Photos and Prints; do a search for "March on Washington"; select the second item, from the African-American Odyssey collection.
- Photo of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Aerial view of the March
After you have answered the above questions for each photograph answer the following:
- Which newspaper account seems more supported by these photographs?
- Is this photographic evidence conclusive? Why or why not?
- Does photographic evidence present some of the same difficulties as newspapers do?
