Coxey's Army
Led by Ohio businessman Jacob Coxey, swarms of unemployed workers marched on Washington, D.C., in 1894, the second year of a four-year economic depression and the worst in U.S. history at that point. The unemployment was caused by the Panic of 1893; in some cities, joblessness among industrial workers was as high as 25 percent. Workers wanted the government to create jobs through public works projects such as building roads – a radical request back then.
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Photo: Library of Congress