3 Protests That Shaped America
Americans love to be outraged. Our identity is endowed with a consistent distrust, if not vitriolic animosity, towards both government and the conditions detrimental to everyday life which the government has failed to address. Whether it be in politics or business, there is little consideration for the severity of this hatred or even the influence and power of the entity that we are disposed to hate. It is a deeply rooted, instinctual exercise in what it means to be an American. In no other nation on earth can a school board administrator be expected to face as much enmity as a candidate for Congress. America is, if anything else, a land of equal opportunity. Understanding this ancestry of hostility is possible just through a quick scroll on Facebook or even word of mouth. Still, its germination occurs through a national pastime as American as apple pie: protests.
On Saturday, October 18, we were reminded of that cultural tradition in a historic way. Attending 2,600 demonstrations across the country, five million Americans showed up to express profound discontent with President Donald J. Trump’s presidency. Specifically, participants in this most recent ‘No Kings’ protests organized to bring awareness to what they perceived as the increasingly authoritarian measures taken by Washington. Although both politically and historically significant, the event was just the latest in an onslaught of demonstrations in recent years that have zeroed in on government overreach and corruption.
It might be tempting to view the broader history of protests in the United States through the lens of these last few years; however, the reality is that the story of demonstrations in America is far more diverse and unique than the timed, spasmodic ideological brawl that renews every four years. The last 100 years have produced dozens of incredibly consequential acts of civil disobedience and mass protest that transcend conventional political grievances. As an illustration of how we got to this moment of hyper-partisanship and atypical political violence, they are an invaluable tool of understanding. As an alternative way of looking at America altogether, they provide a perspective that few histories of this country can.
Earth Day, 1970
The most consequential mass protest in U.S. history, the demonstrations across the country on the first-ever Earth Day, April 22, 1970, hold an incredibly unique place in the annals of American protests. An astonishing 20 million people, 10% of the total U.S. population at the time, gathered to send a message to Washington; the time had come to revolutionize environmental policy in the United States.
What would become arguably the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history was the brainchild of Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson. Once called the "nation's #1 conservationist" by legendary football coach and Green Bay Packers legend Vince Lombardi, the midwest democrat was a lifelong champion of environmental causes. Inspired by the 1969 student protests against an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California, Nelson hired activist Denis Hayes to organize what would ultimately become Earth Day.
Beyond the impressive size of the event, which dwarfed the contemporary Civil Rights Marches and Anti-War demonstrations of its time, Earth Day was largely a bipartisan affair. Transcending age, occupation, and ideology, the Huffington Post’s Mathew Will wrote in 2020 that, “Across the nation, tens of millions of radicals, moderates, and conservatives took part. Homemakers, union members, politicians, and business leaders joined high school students and grandparents.” As was typical for demonstrations at the time, however, the demonstrations did carry on the themes and iconography of new age: liberal idealism. Future executive editor of the New York Times Joseph Lelyveld humorously complained in his column at the time that the protests in NYC, “carried unmistakable whiffs of marijuana.”
Although praise for the event is sometimes criticized as a ‘white-washed’ retelling of history –with writers like Mike Ludwig arguing that the battle for environmental justice started generations before Earth Day – its ultimate impact cannot be disputed. Within a year of the protest, Congress voted to approve the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, which would in turn undertake the permanent and systematic clean-up of America’s beaches, lakes, and parks.
The Flint Sit-Down Strike, 1936
“It’s almost inconceivable for someone who views the conditions now to imagine what they were like then.”
In 1987, David Goodman of the Los Angeles Times sat down with 76-year-old Larry Jones, a participant in the infamous 1936 Flint Sit-Down Strike, to help inform his readers of the situation facing autoworkers at that time. The article, only 50 years removed from the demonstrations, provided a unique and personal view of one of the most important labor strikes in U.S history.
The summer of that year saw the deaths of hundreds of factory workers in General Motors' auto plants across Michigan. Men, young and old, dropped like flies on factory floors as the workday toiled on. “The rest of us were told to step right over them and keep working. When supervisors got around to it, they would pull these people away from their work stations and revive them.” Jones told the LA Times.
Yet, General Motors remained as prosperous as ever. While other manufacturers were still recovering from the Great Depression, GM pursued a cut-throat strategy of layoffs and monopolizing to come out on top. In each year of the economic malaise, GM turned a profit and actually grew its market by 15%. This was accomplished, in part, by firing entire segments of its production line, sending thousands into unemployment while dominating nearly 50% of the U.S. automarket.
“Management was ruthless,” Jones continued. “The Chevrolet plant manager said, ‘We hire you from the head down.’”
The Fisher Body Plant No. 1 in the city of Flint quickly became ground zero for the fight against General Motors’ brutal working conditions. Organized by the fledgling United Automobile Workers (UAW), workers organized a sit-in at the plant, which would come to define generations of union determination, grit, and strength. After multiple attempts to evict the protesters legally, GM took the extraordinary step of cutting off heat to one of the factories participating in the strike, forcing strikers outside to voice their grievances. Sensing opportunities, local authorities attempted to storm the plant, spraying tear gas and beating workers in the melee. Union members forced them back, defiantly labeling the incident as the 'Battle of the Running Bulls.'
After 44 days, 136,000 union members forced the nation's most powerful automaker to the negotiating table. General Motors eventually agreed to a dramatic wage increase, totaling $25 million, and perhaps more importantly, formal integration of the union. Tens of thousands of workers like Larry Jones, who had toiled on the factory line since he was 18, were finally entitled to the union representation that they so desperately needed. Today, the Flint Sit-Down strike is considered the first major victory for organized labor in American history, permanently elevating the status of the American worker in the decades to come.
The Bonus Army March, 1932
Braving the sweltering summer heat, what would become known as the Bonus Army descended upon a chaotic and treacherous Washington, D.C. in July of 1932. Comprised of nearly 20,000 veterans, many of whom had served in World War 1, the ragtag expeditionary force marched into the nation’s capital to pressure the Hoover administration into paying them a bonus promised years ago. What met them there was a government overwhelmed by the calamity of the Great Depression, and a paranoid, young military brass who were itching for a fight.
Facing economic hardship, the coalition of jobless veterans began amassing outside the city as early as May. Led by Sergeant Walter Waters, who served during the Meuse–Argonne offensive, the group crossed the Anacostia River into the city, intent on occupying federal buildings and disrupting the daily business of government. Initially, the protest was not only orderly and peaceful but also effective. Compelled by the demonstration, the U.S. House approved a bill that would release the contested bonuses. However, after the legislation was rejected by the Senate, the marchers became agitated, leading to the violence that took place on July 28th.
Deeply concerned after clashes between the police and protesters, President Herbert Hoover authorized the army’s forceful removal of the dejected veterans – with specific instructions. Hoover had given strict orders to clear out only the downtown portion of the Capitol, fearing what would come of city-wide violence. But a young General Douglas McArthur, convinced that the marchers had been organized by a communist conspiracy, pushed on despite the President’s mandate.
Using tanks and cavalry units, MacArthur’s men indiscriminately sprayed tear gas into the crowds, beating desperate veterans as they advanced. According to future President and Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was McArthur’s aide at the time, Hoover had sent multiple directives during the clash directly ordering the general not to pursue the protesters across the Anacostia bridge. When told of the instructions, McArthur reportedly replied that he was “too busy" to read them. In the end, three died, including a baby who had choked to death on the tear gas fumes, along with dozens of others who were injured.
Images of the riot flooded newspapers across the country, outraging millions of Americans. Although President Hoover defended the action, it was evident that the event contributed to the government’s growing image of cold indifference to the economic hardship that the nation was facing. Today, the fate of the Bonus Army is widely regarded as a dark chapter in U.S. history and a classic example of the consequences that can follow once military force is deployed against American citizens.
