In 1893, after a major British bank failure, a run on U.S. gold
reserves, and a late-June stock-market crash, America was in the
throes of a serious economic depression. Unemployment rose,
foreclosures climbed, and popular unrest mounted. By the following
spring, businessman and Populist agitator Jacob S. Coxey was fed up
with government inactivity in the face of the crisis. With the help
of eccentric showman Carl Browne, he led a group of several hundred
unemployed wage earners, small farmers, and crossroads merchants on
a march from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to present a
"petition in boots" for government-financed jobs building and
repairing the nation's roads. On May 1, the Coxeyites descended on
the center of government, where Coxey attempted to deliver a speech
on the Capitol steps. The police attacked, a melee ensued, and
Coxey and Browne spent a month in jail. Meanwhile, other
Coxey-inspired contingents were on their way east from places as
far away as San Francisco and Portland. Some of them even hijacked
trains along the way. Who was Coxey, and what motivated him-along
with the angry marchers who joined his cause? What did other
Americans think of the protesters? Was there ever any chance that
the protesters' demands would be met? Where did the agitators fit
in with the politics of their day, and how did their actions jibe
with the other labor-related protests happening that year? In this
concise and gripping narrative, Benjamin F. Alexander
contextualizes the march by vividly describing the misery wrought
by the Panic of '93. Alexander brings both Coxey and his fellow
leaders to life, along with the reporters and spies who traveled
with them and the diverse group of captivated newspaper readers who
followed the progress of the marches and train heists. Coxey's Army
explains how the demands of the Coxeyites-far from being the wild
schemes of a small group of cranks-fit into a larger history of
economic theories that received serious attention long before and
long after the Coxey march. Despite running a gauntlet of ridicule,
the marchers laid down a rough outline of what, some forty years
later, emerged as the New Deal.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(2)
