Coxey, Jacob S. (1854–1951)

Jacob S. Coxey, a wealthy stone quarry owner from Massillon, Ohio, led the first organized protest of the unemployed. The protest culminated in a march of about 500 unemployed workers, known as Coxey's Army, through the streets of Washington, D.C., in May 1894. In the 1890s, the United States experienced one of the most devastating economic depressions in its history. By 1894, many Americans had reached rock bottom with millions unemployed. A number of workers, notably laid-off railroad construction workers, talked of marching on Washington, D.C., but few made it to the capital. One group that did was the Army of the Commonweal of Christ, led by Coxey.

A Populist with a son that he named Legal Tender in honor of monetary reform, Coxey had a longstanding interest in reform. By the early 1890s, his interest in providing good roads merged with his concerns over unemployment. In 1892, he proposed that Congress hire the unemployed to build better roads, and he created the Good Roads Association to promote this legislation. In 1894, Coxey again sought to address the unemployment problem by combining his good roads program with a financing proposal that would fund the building of a variety of public buildings. With support from several people, Coxey initiated a protest march from Massillon to Washington, D.C., in March 1894. Coxey and his followers took 6 weeks to march 400 miles to the capital, where others sympathetic to the cause joined them. The national press followed the march, and other Coxey's Army groups formed across the nation.

Coxey's Army collapsed quickly when Washington police arrested and jailed Coxey for walking on the grass in violation of the Capitol Grounds Act. He received a 20-day jail sentence and returned to Massillon upon release. However, Coxey's Army and the growing political strength of Populism struck fear into the hearts of many Americans. Critics portrayed Populists like Coxey as socialists whose election would endanger property rights.

For a generation, Coxey's march remained vivid in the public memory. In countless homes, boys and girls grimy from play were warned to clean up or they would look like something from Coxey's Army. Children also reenacted a version of cops and robbers in which youthful Coxeyites stole wagons and were pursued by federal marshals. These parents and children were perpetrating a widespread but incorrect notion that Coxey's Army was merely a collection of dirty thieves.

In reality, Coxey continued as a well-respected political leader. Although the march did not lead to passage of the proposed public works legislation, the fame of the event allowed Coxey to continue in the public limelight for years. In 1896, he unsuccessfully ran for Congress on the Populist ticket. He continued to be involved in politics and finally was elected mayor of Massillon in 1931. He had more success at business and died a wealthy man. In time, the march of Coxey's Army faded from public memory, although its call for public works jobs anticipated a crucial element of the New Deal programs of the 1930s.