Coxey's Army
Selinsgrove, Snyder County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Jacob Sechler Coxey (1854-1951), was born here. In 1894 he led a march of unemployed workers, popularly known as "Coxey's Army," on Washington. Public works programs and relief measures were asked. This focused attention on the plight of the unemployed.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Jacob Coxey was born in this Snyder County town in 1854 and grew into a reform-minded businessman with a bold idea. In 1894, amid a crushing economic depression, he led a march of jobless men—"Coxey's Army"—from the Midwest to Washington, demanding that the government create jobs through public works. Though he was arrested for walking on the Capitol lawn, his protest thrust the plight of the unemployed into the national spotlight.
Why it matters
Coxey's Army was one of the first great protest marches on Washington, foreshadowing the public-works relief programs that would define the New Deal decades later.
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Related people
- · Jacob Sechler Coxey
Related events
- · Coxey's Army march of 1894
Themes & tags
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