Jacob Coxey
Jacob Coxey was born on April 16, 1864, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, HaVing got education at Danville public school, he started working at a local mill. In 1881 he moved to Ohio where he established his own business Coxey Silica Sand Company. This business operated a sand quarry. In 1893 he faced financial difficulties. As the federal government failed to assist the populace during economic crisis known as the Panic of 1890s, Coxey formed A protest march. The idea was to demand that the United States government assist the American worker. With a group of 100 people he started the march in Massillon and intended to reach Washington. The group became known as Coxey’s army. Along the route hundreds of people joined them by the time they reached Washington the army encountered 500 men. However, when Coxey tried to speak at the U.S. Capitol, police arrested him for walking on the grass. Jacob Coxey gave a long speech 50 years later, addressing the government. He based his words on the Constitution demanding to give jobs to all in need. He repeated the words “We stand here today to..” explaining the needs of the people. Coxey died in Massillon in 1951.
Jacob Coxey was born on April 16, 1864, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, HaVing got education at Danville public school, he started working at a local mill. In 1881 he moved to Ohio where he established his own business Coxey Silica Sand Company. This business operated a sand quarry. In 1893 he faced financial difficulties. As the federal government failed to assist the populace during economic crisis known as the Panic of 1890s, Coxey formed A protest march. The idea was to demand that the United States government assist the American worker. With a group of 100 people he started the march in Massillon and intended to reach Washington. The group became known as Coxey’s army. Along the route hundreds of people joined them by the time they reached Washington the army encountered 500 men. However, when Coxey tried to speak at the U.S. Capitol, police arrested him for walking on the grass. Jacob Coxey gave a long speech 50 years later, addressing the government. He based his words on the Constitution demanding to give jobs to all in need. He repeated the words “We stand here today to..” explaining the needs of the people. Coxey died in Massillon in 1951.
I find it interesting how Coxey began a protest march to the capital and lots of people joined him along the way, then to be arrested for walking on the grass. Although, it seems as if Coxey might have gotten a brief speech before he was arrested. In Washington he demanded from President Grover Cleveland to give workers aid and have them work on public projects, the president declined his request. After he released from jail, he ran for the People's Party but was unsuccessful.
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https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Jacob_S._Coxey
I found it intriguing how he didn't necessarily start very well-off, in regards to finances, but he was able to establish his own business. He excelled at school in his early years and found himself working at a mill, to eventually create his own business with the help of his uncle. During the panic of 1893, he proved to be an influential leader, with his slogan, "Good Roads". He was lead to believe that his efforts would resolve the economic troubles the nation was experiencing at the time. This gave light to the issue of unemployment, among the thousands of destitute workers at the time.
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https://www.thoughtco.com/coxeys-army-march-of-unemployed-workers-1773910
I though it was really important that you included how Coxey himself had been effected negatively by the panic. I feel that this detail helps in outlining some of the motivations behind his march and why he was so determined and passionate about it. This post also helped to show that there were lots of people effected by the downfalls of the panic, Coxeys march began with 100 people and by the time he reached his destine he had picked up 400 more, all people who had most likely been negatively effected by the panic.
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