College of Arts and Sciences
History
November 6, 2017
With social media and 24-hour news outlets providing coverage of current protest efforts in the United States to the point of saturation, Americans may feel that they are witnessing a new trend in U.S. politics. Not so, according to Christin Hancock, associate professor of history and gender and women studies, and chair of UP's history department. Hancock describes protest and reform as “very American” and tied to what it means to be active in U.S. democracy. She includes reform when discussing protest movements because, she says, reform is what protest ultimately seeks.
According to Hancock, there is evidence of protest and reform within some of the nation’s founding documents. She says that social reform movements often harken back to the preamble of the Declaration of Independence because protestors see the inclusive language affirming their own rights as Americans.
There have been countless efforts demanding equality and justice throughout U.S. history, but Hancock offered three examples of protest movements that grew until reform was achieved. According to Hancock, in the last two years of the 72-year long women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul and the National Women’s Party (NWP) demanded the right to vote. Members of the NWP picketed the White House while the U.S. was involved in World War I, which the American public perceived as radical and “violating the social code.” Protestors were jailed, but immediately replaced by more women on the picket lines. Paul and her fellow protestors suffering in prison began a hunger strike, garnering more attention for their cause. Eventually Congress passed the 19th amendment, giving women the right to vote.
Another example offered by Hancock was the Bonus Army march and protest of 1932. Back wages, called a “bonus” by Congress, were to be paid to World War I veterans, but not until 1945. When the Great Depression hit, these veterans, who could no longer feed their families, marched on Washington, demanding their bonus immediately. President Hoover sent in the U.S. Army who forcibly removed the veterans, burning down their encampments. Newspaper coverage carried their struggle throughout America. Though they did not receive their bonus until 1936, some scholars suggest that their protest inspired passage of the G.I. Bill, which gave immediate aid to veterans returning from World War II.
When examining the struggle for civil rights in America and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. immediately come to mind. However, to give perspective to the current protest of athletes taking a knee during the national anthem, which NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began, Hancock described efforts by other black Americans who used their fame as a platform to call attention to racial injustice. In the 1950s, Paul Robeson, a professional athlete and internationally known singer and actor, spoke out against racism and colonialism. In the 1960s, Olympic gold medalist and boxing heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali protested America’s involvement in the Viet Nam war and later used his international renown to speak out against racial injustice. Both men became symbols of the civil rights movement and both faced backlash for their outspokenness.
University of Portland
5000 N. Willamette Blvd.,
Portland, Oregon 97203-5798
503.943.8000
This website uses cookies to track information for analytics purposes. You can view the full University of Portland privacy policy for more information.
