1894: Coxey's Army Tests Limits on Protest

This illustration from the May 12, 1894, edition of Harper's Weekly shows businessman Jacob Coxey, called "General Coxey," in his role as leader of an "army" of unemployed men. Coxey and his followers marched to the U.S. Capitol to propose ideas to help alleviate the suffering caused by a nationwide economic recession. Their mission attracted widespread press coverage, as seen in this illustration: Coxey rides in a carriage while reporters with bicycles accompany the procession.

The May 10, 1894, edition of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Weekly, featuring a cover photograph of the scene at the U.S. Capitol when Coxey's Army attempted to deliver its petition asking for government aid to address the national recession. Jacob Coxey and a group of 500 men, along with a large crowd of curious observers, marched to Washington, D.C., from around the country. Coxey attempted to deliver a speech from the steps, but he was arrested before he could finish and charged with disrupting the peace on the Capitol grounds.

This front page from the April 16, 1894, edition of the New York Tribune features an article about Jacob Coxey and his followers as they approach Washington, D.C. Having entered Maryland, the article suggests, the group is "sufficiently near to the capital for precaution to be taken against possible disturbance." The article also includes information about the 1882 law that prohibited speeches, carrying signs or other forms of protest on the Capitol grounds. It quotes a member of the Committee on Rules saying that if Congress allows Coxey and his followers to "turn the right of petition into the exercise of threats and manifestations of physical force, it is not worthy to represent the people of these United States, and is lacking in the wisdom and courage which I ascribe to it."

This April 7, 1894, edition of The Saturday Blade, published in Chicago, features an article about the arrival of Jacob Coxey and his followers in Pittsburgh. It describes "thousands of citizens" coming to watch the "band of tramps" arrive. Schools were dismissed early and citizens put up decorations along the group's route. The Pittsburgh police, however, had attempted to bar the group from entering the city. The article also reports that the group has attracted an additional 200 followers to join the rest of the long march to Washington, D.C., even though its members continue to risk arrest for "vagrancy."

The cover of the May 12, 1894, edition of Harper's Weekly, features a cartoon titled "The Original 'Coxey Army.'" This cartoon depicts Andrew Carnegie, who a few years later would be named the richest man in the world, arriving at the U.S. Capitol, followed by a crowd of well-dressed businessmen who had traveled by train. They carry signs that say "Help a Poor Sugar Refiner" and "Help the Poor Plutocrat." Two men on the steps of the Capitol bow to them with open arms. When the real Coxey's Army arrived at the Capitol to ask for help for the unemployed, they were forcibly dispersed by the police.

This illustration from the May 12, 1894, edition of Harper's Weekly magazine shows Washington, D.C., police officers using their clubs to forcibly disperse the members of "Coxey's Army" who had arrived at the U.S. Capitol. The crowd of roughly 500 men had come from across the country to deliver a petition to Congress, but the superintendent of the D.C. police warned in advance that their gathering would not be allowed. He cited an 1882 law called the "Act to Regulate the Use of the Capitol Grounds" that was passed to protect the "quiet and dignity of the Capitol of the United States."

Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey created a plan for the U.S. government to help those suffering during a nationwide recession by hiring the unemployed for a massive road-building project. Coxey attracted many unemployed followers and organized a march to Washington, D.C., in 1894 to present the plan directly to Congress at the U.S. Capitol.

President Grover Cleveland served from 1885-1889 and again from 1893-1897. Cleveland did not believe the government should fund aid programs to address economic problems and help the unemployed. He ordered the Washington, D.C., police to protect the U.S. Capitol against any disturbance created by Jacob Coxey and his followers. 

William Moore was the superintendent of the Washington, D.C., police force at the time that Jacob Coxey led his followers into the nation's capital. Before Coxey and his men arrived in the city, Moore announced that their plan violated an 1882 law prohibiting most forms of protest on U.S. Capitol grounds and warned that the protesters risked arrest.

Sen. William Peffer of Kansas was the first populist senator elected to Congress. As a populist, he wanted greater recognition of the needs of average Americans — especially farmers — over wealthy business interests that had long held political influence. Along with Sen. William Allen of Nebraska, Peffer fought for Coxey's men to be received with respect and argued that turning them away would violate the First Amendment freedom to petition the government.

Sen. William Allen of Nebraska worked with Sen. William Peffer of Kansas to urge Congress to take Jacob Coxey and his followers seriously and form a committee to receive the group's petition. Congress did not follow this recommendation, but Allen continued to fight for Coxey, serving as his lawyer after he was arrested when attempting to deliver a speech on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. Allen argued that Coxey's arrest violated the First Amendment, but Coxey was convicted of violating an 1882 act prohibiting making speeches on the Capitol grounds.