What is the History of Mass Protests in the United States

Mass protests have long been part of American culture, even before there was a United States. When the United States formed, it was recognized that the First Amendment protect citizens rights to protest. In many cases, these mass movements based on organized and sometimes not so organized protests have led to major social and political change. This is not always the case but these movements have been both a positive and sometimes destructive part of US history.

Early Mass Protests

The largest protests in US history have all occurred since 2016; however, early in US history mass protests were vital to social and political change. Class discontent has often been a main reason for mass movements and protests. Culpeper's Rebellion was one of the first large-scale, at least based on the population at the time, movements in Carolina Colony in 1677. This was led by John Culpeper in a protest movement and armed rebellion against the British authorities over the issue of taxes in the Navigation Act. At the time, the British had begun to create a series of duties on cotton and other exports from their American colonies, such as tobacco exports. The movement was ultimately suppressed but for a time the rebellion and protests worked in getting the British to exempt taxes, demonstrating some effectiveness of mass mobilization and mix of violence. John Culpeper even successfully defended himself while he was on trial in Britain. This also elped him to become a prominent citizen in what is today North Carolina, where ultimately his descendants continued to even be influential in North Carolina politics long after the establishment of the United States. The Knowles Riot of 1747 was a major disturbance in Boston that occurred after Admiral Charles Knowles attempted to impress poor Bostonians into naval service, leading to protests and armed rioting (Figure 1). This represented one of the largest class-based protests and riots, as it was mostly working class and poor affected, on the issue of civil rights in the 18th century, that is what rights do individuals have in refusing military service. While this was put down, it did lead to more cautious approaches by the British in recruiting colonists for their armed forces. The theme of taxes continued to be a strong one in North America and what ultimately sparked the Revolutionary War. The Stamp Act in 1765 proved very unpopular in the US Colonies, which raised taxes and required printed paper be produced in Britain. A series of increased protests occurred in the Colonies after this tax was imposed. Among different acts, the Townshend Acts, which led to a series of new taxes, created tensions that ultimately led to the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and subsequent American Revolution that was sparked by mass movements in reaction to this and other events. The main disputes centered on whether Parliament had the right to tax in the Colonies rather than local representatives. The Sons of Liberty, an initially secret organization led by Samuel Adams, opposed taxation without local representation as their main rallying call and helped lead a series of movements that led to coordinated anti-tax protests and disturbances, including the Boston Tea Party. It is arguable that the events leading to the American Revolution, led by the Sons of Liberty and other related groups, could be considered the first coordinate acts of disobedience and protests across what became the United States.

The Knowles riot resulted from an attempt to force Bostonians into naval service.

Later Developments

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. However, violence was still common. Shays' rebellion in 1786 led to an armed rebellion that was caused by the issue of tax collection and debt. Race became perhaps the most consistent and long-term issue in the history of the United States that led to protests and riots. Other 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 African American man refusing to get off a side walk when approaching white men came near him. In 1836 and 1839, the Cherokee natives tried to peacefully protest their forced removal from the southeastern United States to what is Oklahoma. Many natives simply refused to go with their possessions as they were moved but ultimately federal troops removed the natives and their long march and death along the way became known as the Trail of Tears.

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 movements by establishing key speakers, such as Frederick Douglass, and publications (The Liberty Bell) that helped such organization not only organize protests but also establish movements that lasted for decades through active enrollments of members. 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, such as for some railroad workers, and paid time off.

Modern Period Protests

The suffrage protests perhaps peaked in the 1910s with several large marches in the United States and globally (Figure 2). In the United States, Alice Paul led a large protest in Washington and became a key strategist in helping to have the 19th Amendment to be ratified. She continued to protest well after her younger years and even in the 1960s she was active in the Civil Rights and Women's Rights movements. In fact, in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, women became included, and not just African Americans, in protection against discrimination in large part because of her organization and campaigning. Interestingly, as the anti-slavery protests helped to shape the suffrage movement for women in the 1800s and early 1900s, it was the suffrage movement that also shaped the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, as peaceful large marches, including in Washington, became the norm in post-World War II protests in order to gain increased national attention. This was the case for Martin Luther King's protests, initially in the US South, but also the strategy in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 28, 1963. This march led to the well known "I Have a Dream Speech" by Dr. King but also demonstrated that large gatherings, filmed by the media, and focusing on inspirational and national figures could help spark success for protest movements. The subsequent anti-war Vietnam protests used similar strategies of having large protests, often by young people, focused on major cities and drawing national media coverage. Other events in the 1950s shaped the civil rights movement, which became the most prominent post-World War II protests and actions. This included Rosa Parks in 1955 being asked to give up her bus seat to a white man that helped to launch protests against segregation in Montgomery, Alabama and elsewhere. That incident not only launched Martin Luther King into a prominent leader for civil rights but it also demonstrate that non-violent civil disobedience could be an effective strategy of protest for many involved in the civil rights movement. The Montgomery Bus boycotts in 1955-1956 successfully ended bus segregation. From the 1957-1964, increasing civil rights laws at the federal level improved legal protection for African Americans despite persistent racial tensions. Both the anti-Vietnam war and civil rights movements helped to inspire and shape other non-violent protests in the 1960s and 1970s, such as the American Indian movement, but violence often persisted and accompanied more peaceful protests, including in against the war in Vietnam and civil rights. More recently, similar strategies were used for the gay, lesbian, and bisexual movements to gain increasing rights. One of the largest protests in United States history in Washington occurred in April 25, 1993, where over 800,000 marched in support of lesbian, gay, and bisexual rights.

In recent decades, riots often formed when racial injustice became evident. The Los Angeles riots in 1992 was a well known example, which occurred after white police officers were acquitted in he beating of motorist Rodney King. Anti-globalization protests sometimes turned violent such as the 1999 Seattle World Trade Organization meeting that led to clashes between police and protesters. The largest anti-war protests arguably occurred in February 2003 in the lead up to the Iraq War, when cities across the United States and many countries organized a day of protests against the impending war. The largest marches in United States history (both over 1.5 million people) occurred in the 2017 and 2018, with the Women's Rights march which were sparked by President Trump's statements that were seen as anti-women and offensive. The March of Our Lives in 2018 was another large-scale (over 1.2 million) demonstration against gun violence. Racial related protests and riots, however, continued to persist, including the Ferguson Unrest in 2014 that led to protests and rioting in Ferguson Missouri. The most recent example is the George Floyd killing, which has now led to mostly peaceful protests globally with some more violent incidents. These events highlight that while many protests and movements have shifted, often because of great success, race continues to be an issue leading to peaceful and violent protest movements in the United States.

Figure 2. The suffrage protests helped give an example to other protest movements.

Summary

Protests and the rights to express dissatisfaction with government and official policy is so ingrained in American history that it forms the country's First Amendment. While violence has continued to plague many movements and strong reactions to events, many protests have shifted over the decades in strategy. Pamphlets and underground actions were typical in the early protests against slavery. Later, powerful speakers such as Dr. King and mass media helped to inspire large-scale protests and movements. More recently, social media has helped galvanize efforts such as the Women's March in 2017 and 2018.