Looking through the long arc of time it’s easy to see the big moments, the major wins and losses, but it’s the small stories and characters who slip through the cracks of the history books that are the most interesting. Theirs are the stories that feel the most human, and provide context for grand historical moments that feel more like stories in a book than something that actually happened.These photos tell the history of people who rose to the occasion to make a change for the better, and who stood up for themselves when faced with impending doom.