Occupy Wall Street Has History on Its Side
Previous Protests Haven't Lasted as Long—or Accomplished as Much
To many Americans, Occupy Wall Street was a long time coming. On Wall Street, it seems to have been going on for a long time.
No, we're not talking about the six weeks the protest has been camping out. There's a long thread of Wall Street demonstration that dates back to after the Revolutionary War and establishment of a national bank.
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In many ways, Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange are the nation's town square, second only to the National Mall in Washington.
Wall Street protests are an American institution, from Father James Cox's Depression-era march on Washington, which I mentioned last week, to the populist movements of the late 19th century, to the Hard Hat Riot of 1970.
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Though their effect on public policy, big financial interests and public perception vary, the movements shared a central theme, except for the Hard Hats: greed run amok, inequality of income and a government beholden to financial interests.
Until now, none has had the singular focus of banking and finance, says Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College and author of "Wall Street: A History."
"This is a bit unique," Mr. Geisst says. "Historically, Wall Street has been a convenient target but never really a direct target."
The closest Wall Street came to the bull's-eye was in the late 19th century, when the populist movement railed against robber barons, trusts and labor conditions. J.P. Morgan, the man not the bank, was a favorite target of the protests. A raft of legislation aimed at breaking up monopolies and improving workers' rights followed.
Things quieted until 1920. Just past noon on Sept. 16 of that year, a horse-drawn carriage stopped near 23 Wall Street, where J.P. Morgan had an office. The carriage carried a bomb made from 100 pounds of dynamite and 500 pounds of cast iron. After the explosion, 38 were dead and hundreds injured.
The bombers were never caught, which led to several theories about the origin. The most popular suspect was the Galleanists, a group of Italians frustrated with economic and social conditions.
But the bombing didn't incite the reaction its perpetrators wanted. The confusion about exactly who was responsible—Bolshevists were an early suspect, according to reports in the New York Times—was part of the problem. Outrage over the attack seemed to turn public opinion against anticapitalists. And the stock market soon started a bull run.
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The Hard Hat riot differed in that its central issue was the Vietnam War. College and high school students gathered at Broad and Wall streets on May 8, 1970, to memorialize the four students killed at Kent State a few days earlier. They were confronted by an estimated 200 construction workers. A melee ensued. Reports of the riot said Wall Street brokers and traders tried to break up the fights.
From a financial-history perspective, the riot is only notable because of where it happened, not why it happened.
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A few years later, Wall Street was the site of more protests. This time, the cause was shareholder rights, Mr. Geisst says. Again, he says, the impact of those protests was hard to gauge.
In 1990, 250 protesters were arrested when groups such as Earth Day Wall Street called for corporate environmental responsibility and marched at the New York Stock Exchange and in San Francisco's Financial District. A pamphlet from that protest reportedly said: "Wall Street is the symbolic center for an economy based on limitless greed and speculation."
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In 2000, a "May Day" protest brought out mounted riot police in New York and closed the visitors' gallery at the Chicago Board of Trade. Protesters carried signs that would fit in neatly with Occupy Wall Street: "People Before Profit" and "Chicago Board of Traitors."
But if the history of Wall Street protest is a thread, Occupy Wall Street represents a big knot. Mr. Geisst says there's been no protest of this length on Wall Street. And he believes the protest has exceeded all previous efforts by expanding nationally and internationally. Part of the appeal is Occupy Wall Street's use of social networking and blogging.
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"It's the same thing that's been happening in the Middle East," he says.
That part is no accident. Occupy Wall Street is based on the Arab Spring model. Occupy Wall Street hasn't come close to overthrowing a government, of course, but it likely has accomplished more than any other protest in the rich history of demonstrations at Wall and Broad streets.
That's why Occupy Wall Street is different, even for bankers and brokers who have lived through a long history of protest.
Wall Street Journal reporters in New York, Chicago and Washington, DC asked a variety of protestors for their views on the Occupy movement.
-
In many ways, Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange are the nation's town square, second only to the National Mall in Washington.
Wall Street protests are an American institution, from Father James Cox's Depression-era march on Washington, which I mentioned last week, to the populist movements of the late 19th century, to the Hard Hat Riot of 1970.
-
Though their effect on public policy, big financial interests and public perception vary, the movements shared a central theme, except for the Hard Hats: greed run amok, inequality of income and a government beholden to financial interests.
Until now, none has had the singular focus of banking and finance, says Charles Geisst, a finance professor at Manhattan College and author of "Wall Street: A History."
The closest Wall Street came to the bull's-eye was in the late 19th century, when the populist movement railed against robber barons, trusts and labor conditions. J.P. Morgan, the man not the bank, was a favorite target of the protests. A raft of legislation aimed at breaking up monopolies and improving workers' rights followed.
Your money manager is too terrified to occupy Wall Street - with your money, MarketWatch's Brett Arends says. Photo: Getty Images.
The bombers were never caught, which led to several theories about the origin. The most popular suspect was the Galleanists, a group of Italians frustrated with economic and social conditions.
But the bombing didn't incite the reaction its perpetrators wanted. The confusion about exactly who was responsible—Bolshevists were an early suspect, according to reports in the New York Times—was part of the problem. Outrage over the attack seemed to turn public opinion against anticapitalists. And the stock market soon started a bull run.
-
The Hard Hat riot differed in that its central issue was the Vietnam War. College and high school students gathered at Broad and Wall streets on May 8, 1970, to memorialize the four students killed at Kent State a few days earlier. They were confronted by an estimated 200 construction workers. A melee ensued. Reports of the riot said Wall Street brokers and traders tried to break up the fights.
From a financial-history perspective, the riot is only notable because of where it happened, not why it happened.
-
A few years later, Wall Street was the site of more protests. This time, the cause was shareholder rights, Mr. Geisst says. Again, he says, the impact of those protests was hard to gauge.
In 1990, 250 protesters were arrested when groups such as Earth Day Wall Street called for corporate environmental responsibility and marched at the New York Stock Exchange and in San Francisco's Financial District. A pamphlet from that protest reportedly said: "Wall Street is the symbolic center for an economy based on limitless greed and speculation."
-
In 2000, a "May Day" protest brought out mounted riot police in New York and closed the visitors' gallery at the Chicago Board of Trade. Protesters carried signs that would fit in neatly with Occupy Wall Street: "People Before Profit" and "Chicago Board of Traitors."
But if the history of Wall Street protest is a thread, Occupy Wall Street represents a big knot. Mr. Geisst says there's been no protest of this length on Wall Street. And he believes the protest has exceeded all previous efforts by expanding nationally and internationally. Part of the appeal is Occupy Wall Street's use of social networking and blogging.
-
"It's the same thing that's been happening in the Middle East," he says.
That part is no accident. Occupy Wall Street is based on the Arab Spring model. Occupy Wall Street hasn't come close to overthrowing a government, of course, but it likely has accomplished more than any other protest in the rich history of demonstrations at Wall and Broad streets.
That's why Occupy Wall Street is different, even for bankers and brokers who have lived through a long history of protest.
Write to David Weidner at david.weidner@dowjones.com
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