Changes

The main difference between protests in the 18th century and those in the early 19th century was many protests were more likely to be less violent as the First Amendment came into effect. After the establishment of the United States, protests often shifted to different issues that reflected the politics of the time, including taxes, question of state rights, and rights to vote. Shays' rebellion in 1786 led to an armed rebellion that was caused by the issue of tax collection and debt. However, race became perhaps the most consistent and long-term issue in the history of the United States, as race riots and protests have continued to occur. Protests often turned violent, such as the Hard Scrabble and Snow Town riots in 1824 and 1831, when mostly working-class whites destroyed homes occupied by African Americans. The first riot in 1824 was sparked by a black man refusing to get off a side walk when approaching white men came near him. In 1836 and 1839, the Cherokee natives were peacefully protesting their forced removal from the southeastern United States to what is Oklahoma. Nevertheless, they were still removed and their long march and death along the way became known as the Trail of Tears. <ref>For more on early US protests and incidents, including violent actions, see: Danver, Steven Laurence, ed. <i>Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia</i>. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2011.</ref>

While the Trail of Tears and protests during the forced removal of Native Americans failed to lead to any political change, one of the most successful peaceful protests that created political and social change was the Women's Suffrage Movement that spanned from the 1840s to 1920. The main achievement was the establishment of the 19th Amendment in the Constitution. However, the early years of the movements sprang from the anti-slavery movement, including the eventual acceptance of women to join the American Anti-Slavery Society which occurred for the first time in 1839. Women became active in peaceful national protests against slavery. One of the first political parties to form that advocated not only an end to slavery but also suffrage for all was the Liberty Party, which formed in the 1840s but ultimately failed. Its prominent members, however, went on to help found the Republican Party in the 1850s and put Abraham Lincoln as President. The American Anti-Slavery Society also became a key blueprint for protests movement by establishing key speakers, such as Frederick Douglass, and publications (<i>The Liberty Bell</i>) that helped such organization not only organize protests but also establish movements that lasted for decades. The organization used publications and speakers to also establish networks across the United States that helped to gain an increased following among anti-slavery supporters. In the post-Civil War era, labor strikes and protests became an increasing phenomenon as industrialization accelerated. The Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor (AFL) were among the most successful organizations to conduct protests and strikes, which became common in the 1880s. While strikes and protests often led to violent incidents, such as the Haymarket affair in 1886, eventually improved labor conditions and pay by the early 1900s did lead to some success for the labor movement, including access to healthcare for some railroad workers and paid time off.<ref>For more on labor, anti-slavery, and suffrage movements and protests, see: Berkin, Carol, ed. <i>Making America: A History of the United States</i>. 6th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012.</ref>