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Editorial
September 23, 1932
The Ironton News
Ironton, Lawrence County, Ohio
What is this article about?
The editorial dismisses European fears of revolution in the US amid economic unrest, such as veterans marching on Washington and Midwestern farmers blockading highways. It argues these are normal responses to depression, resolved through democratic evolution rather than armed rebellion, citing historical examples like Coxey's Army and the Pullman strike.
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Full Text
NO REVOLUTION
These are turbulent times. From almost every part of the United States we get reports of groups of distressed and indignant citizens taking the law into their own hands for various purposes. Bonus-seeking veterans march on Washington to demand relief from Congress. Farmers of the Middle West blockade the highways leading to the cities to maintain the price of farm commodities.
In this country we understand such manifestations. They occur whenever we have a serious industrial depression or whenever the return to the farmer for his produce continues below the level of profit for any considerable time. It does not take a long memory to recall the tobacco war in Kentucky when the "Night Riders" destroyed the seed beds of planters who would not join the equity. Coxey's Army of 1893, the Pullman strike of the same year and, going farther back into history, the "Molly Maguires" and their riots in the Pennsylvania coal and iron country, were alarming manifestations of unrest in their time.
European observers read reports of these things in the cable dispatches and conclude that the United States is on the verge of revolution. Revolution, to the European, means only one thing, the forcible seizure of the government by a desperate populace. What Europe does not realize is that in the United States, where every citizen has an equal voice in the government, it has never been necessary for any group with an honest grievance to resort to armed rebellion.
In one sense, we are in a constant state of revolution in America—that is in the sense that our governmental policies and methods are constantly undergoing change. One has only to read the political and economic history of the United States intelligently to realize that we have advanced, by this process of social evolution, faster and more certainly in the direction of universal liberty than any other nation has ever advanced by revolution.
These are turbulent times. From almost every part of the United States we get reports of groups of distressed and indignant citizens taking the law into their own hands for various purposes. Bonus-seeking veterans march on Washington to demand relief from Congress. Farmers of the Middle West blockade the highways leading to the cities to maintain the price of farm commodities.
In this country we understand such manifestations. They occur whenever we have a serious industrial depression or whenever the return to the farmer for his produce continues below the level of profit for any considerable time. It does not take a long memory to recall the tobacco war in Kentucky when the "Night Riders" destroyed the seed beds of planters who would not join the equity. Coxey's Army of 1893, the Pullman strike of the same year and, going farther back into history, the "Molly Maguires" and their riots in the Pennsylvania coal and iron country, were alarming manifestations of unrest in their time.
European observers read reports of these things in the cable dispatches and conclude that the United States is on the verge of revolution. Revolution, to the European, means only one thing, the forcible seizure of the government by a desperate populace. What Europe does not realize is that in the United States, where every citizen has an equal voice in the government, it has never been necessary for any group with an honest grievance to resort to armed rebellion.
In one sense, we are in a constant state of revolution in America—that is in the sense that our governmental policies and methods are constantly undergoing change. One has only to read the political and economic history of the United States intelligently to realize that we have advanced, by this process of social evolution, faster and more certainly in the direction of universal liberty than any other nation has ever advanced by revolution.
What sub-type of article is it?
Economic Policy
Constitutional
Social Reform
What keywords are associated?
Economic Depression
Farmers Blockade
Veterans March
No Revolution
Social Evolution
Democratic Change
Historical Unrest
What entities or persons were involved?
Congress
European Observers
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
No Revolution Despite Economic Unrest
Stance / Tone
Reassuring And Explanatory
Key Figures
Congress
European Observers
Key Arguments
Current Unrest Like Veterans' Marches And Farmers' Blockades Stems From Industrial Depression And Low Farm Profits.
Such Manifestations Are Understood And Historical In The Us, E.G., Night Riders, Coxey's Army, Pullman Strike, Molly Maguires.
Europe Misinterprets These As Signs Of Revolution, Meaning Forcible Government Seizure.
In The Us, Democratic Participation Prevents Need For Armed Rebellion Over Honest Grievances.
America Undergoes Constant Peaceful Revolution Through Evolving Governmental Policies.
This Social Evolution Advances Liberty Faster Than Revolutionary Means Elsewhere.