cover image MARCHING ON WASHINGTON: The Forging of an American Political Tradition

MARCHING ON WASHINGTON: The Forging of an American Political Tradition

Lucy G. Barber, . . Univ. of California, $34.95 (337pp) ISBN 978-0-520-22713-2

Ever since Coxey's Army brazenly (so it seemed at the time) marched on Washington in 1894, millions of Americans have pushed into the capital to build support for a cause, register protest or attempt to influence federal legislation. Demonstrators naturally adopted a wide variety of styles: thousands of women activists in 1913 staged a silent, "beautiful and dignified" pageant for women's suffrage; Vietnam War veterans in 1971 performed mock search-and-destroy missions on Pennsylvania Avenue; and, of course, Martin Luther King Jr. uplifted hundreds of thousands of marchers in 1963 with his "I Have a Dream" speech. Barber, archivist for the California State Archives, attends closely to the definition of success for these high-profile marches. The 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, for example, may have been massive, peaceful and orderly, with extensive media coverage and an unforgettable speech, but Barber notes that the march yielded no immediate legislative gains. That kind of critical analysis elevates this book from a mere historical chronicle to a more analytical account of marching as a form of political action and enduring change. Barber examines six notable marches, with special attention to the activists and organizers, politicians and public officials, and, finally, journalists and the general public. In her conclusion, Barber asks: "What political purposes do these protests serve now that they have become so pervasive? To what degree are they effective?" Although she does not have answers to those questions, her historical perspective on the successes and failures of previous marches provides a useful starting point. 33 b&w photos, 4 maps. (Jan.)