Chaltain ties the Occupy DC protest of 2011 to the Coxey’s Army march of 1894. Notable is the mention of the Capital Grounds Act, a measure used to silence political speech in Washington D.C.
…At the time of the parade, the United States was in the second year of a major economic depression and millions of Americans were unemployed; Coxey believed he had the answer to the nation’s economic woes. He proposed that the federal government issue $500 million in treasury bonds, that it apply those funds to initiate a massive program to build up the nation’s roads, and that it hire an army of workers, all of who would be guaranteed eight-hour days and daily wages of $1.50.
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