Marching on Washington : the forging of an American political tradition

When Jacob Coxey's army marched into Washington, D.C., in 1894, observers didn't know what to make of this concerted effort by citizens to use the capital for national public protest. By 1971, however, when thousands marched to protest the war in Vietnam, what had once been outside the political order had become an American political norm. Lucy G. Barber's lively, erudite history explains just how this tactic achieved its transformation from unacceptable to legitimate. Barber shows how such highly visible events contributed to the development of a broader and more inclusive view of citizenship and transformed the capital from the exclusive domain of politicians and officials into a national stage for Americans to participate directly in national politics.

beautifully Written. Lucy G. Barber Has Taken Different Stories And Woven Them Together So That Each Builds Into A Larger Narrative About The History Of Political Protest. By Looking Across A Series Of Marches, Barber Explores Issues That Escape More Focused Studies, Such As The Development Of Marching On Washington As A Political Strategy, And The Changing Conception Of Washington As A Public Space. The Scope Of The Research And The Author's Craft In Telling These Stories Sheds New Light On Important Moments In American History.—mary L. Dudziak, Author Of cold War Civil Rights

mary L. Dudziak

marching On Washington Is Beautifully Written. Lucy G. Barber Has Taken Different Stories And Woven Them Together So That Each Story Builds Into A Larger Narrative About The History Of Political Protest. By Looking Across A Series Of Marches, Barber Explores Issues That Escape More Focused Studies, Such As The Development Of Marching On Washington As A Political Strategy, And The Changing Conception Of Washington As A Public Space. The Scope Of The Research And The Author's Craft In Telling These Stories Sheds New Light On Important Moments In American History.

"Marching on Washington describes in detail six demonstrations and the protest movements behind them, beginning with Coxey's Army in 1894 and including marches for women's suffrage, veteran's bonuses, and equal opportunity, as well as the enormous March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963 and the anti-war protest of 1971. These depcitions show how ambitious, skillful, and daring organizers challenged the government and claimed the capital as a political space where citizens could voice their concerns to their elected leaders. An epilogue explores marches in Washington since 1971.". "On a broader level, Barber describes the strategic uses of demonstration to exercise the power of American citizenship and to include a more diverse population. At the same time, the history of marching on Washington is a story of changing access to public space, of the conflict between the right to assembly and the need for security. It is a fascinating account of how citizens project their plans and demands on national government, how they build support for their causes, and how they act out their own visions of national politics."--BOOK JACKET. An erudite history of marching on Washington, this text explains how this political tactic began as something unacceptable and gradually became legitimate. The author shows how these highly visible events contributed to the development of a broader and more inclusive view of American citizenship their way to Washington, some "Hungarians" tried to join. Browne explained that he gave the men "no badges, as I had 'weeded out' all but bona-fide citizens."