Largest protests in American history


Constitutionally protected under the First Amendment, the right to assemble and protest was enshrined into the constitution under the clause, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."[1]

Widespread mass protest became a distinct characteristic of 20th century American civic engagement, with each of the top ten attended protests occurring since 1963.

List

In 1995, the National Park Service estimated 400,000 people attended the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., the official count for the event.[2] The organizers said more than a million people turned out, and they threatened to sue the Park Service unless it revised its estimate. Congress, in response, barred the agency from producing any more crowd estimates.[3]

Since then, official crowd estimates for organized political protests, demonstrations, and marches have relied on an amalgam of police data, organizer estimates, the research of crowd scientists, and journalists.[4]

Rank Protest City Estimated Size Date Image
1. Women's march United States of America 3,300,000–4,600,000[5][6] January 21, 2017
2. March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation Washington D.C. 800,000–1,000,000[7][8] April 25, 1993
3. Anti-nuclear weapon march New York City 700,000–1,000,000[9][10] June 12, 1982
4. Million Man March Washington D.C. 670,000–800,000[11] October 16, 1995
5. March for Women's Lives Washington D.C. 500,000–1,000,000[12][13] April 25, 2004
6. Million Woman March Philadelphia 500,000[14] October 25, 1997
7. Moratorium to end the war in Vietnam Washington D.C. 500,000[15] November 15, 1969
8. People's Climate March New York City 311,000–400,000[16][17] September 21, 2014
9. March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom Washington D.C. 250,000–300,000[18][19] August 28, 1963
10. Solidarity Day march Washington D.C. 250,000–260,000[20][21] September 19, 1981
11. February 15 Iraq war protests New York City 200,000–375,000[22][23] February 15–16, 2003
12. March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights Washington D.C. 200,000[24] October 11, 1987

References

  1. ↑ Andrew M., Winston (October 2014). "Right to Peaceful Assembly: United States". US Library of Congress. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  2. ↑ Michael, Janofsky (October 21, 1995). "Federal Parks Chief Calls 'Million Man' Count Low". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  3. ↑ Craven McGinty, Jo. "The 400,000 Man March? A Brief History of Crowd Counting". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  4. ↑ Sabrina, Stierwalt. "How Do You Estimate Crowd Size?". Scientific American. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ Owen, Tess (January 23, 2017). "The Women's March turnout is at 3.2 million and counting". Vice News (online ed.). Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ Waddell, Kavel (January 23, 2017). "The Exhausting Work of Tallying America's Largest Protest". The Atlantic (online ed.). Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  7. ↑ Smith, Nadine (April 25, 2013). "The 20th Anniversary of the LGBT March on Washington: How Far Have We Come?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Schmalz, Jeffrey (April 26, 1993). "March For Gay Rights; Gay Marchers Throng Mall in Appeal for Right". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  9. ↑ Jonathan, Schell (June 14, 2007). "The Spirit of June 12" (July 2, 2007 Issue). The Nation. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  10. ↑ Paul L., Montgomery (June 13, 1982). "Throngs Fill Manhattan to Protest Nuclear Weapons". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  11. ↑ Agrawal, Nina. "Before the Women's March on Washington there was the Million Woman March…and the Million Man March". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  12. ↑ Gibson, Megan. "The March for Women's Lives". Time Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  13. ↑ "March For Women's Lives: Up to a Million Descend on DC in One of the Largest Protests in U.S. History". Democracy Now. April 26, 2004. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ Tornquist, Cynthia (October 25, 1997). "Million Woman March fills Philadelphia streets". Cable News Network, Inc. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  15. ↑ History.com Staff. "Second moratorium against the war held". History. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  16. ↑ Dastagir, Alia E. (September 21, 2014). "'Largest-ever' climate-change march rolls through NYC". USA Today. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  17. ↑ Visser, Nick (September 21, 2014). "Hundreds of Thousands Turn Out For People's Climate March in New York City". The Huffington post. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  18. ↑ "King speaks to March on Washington". History. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  19. ↑ "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom". National Park Service. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  20. ↑ Pianin, Eric; Brown, Warren (September 20, 1981). "250,000 March to Protest Reagan's Policies". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  21. ↑ Merlino, Joseph P. (November 1, 1981). "A Retrospective Look at What 'Solidarity Day' Meant". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Cities jammed in worldwide protest of war in Iraq". Cables News Network, Inc. February 16, 2003. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  23. ↑ Tharoor, Ishaan. "Viewpoint: Why Was the Biggest Protest in World History Ignored?". Time Magazine. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  24. ↑ Williams, Lena (October 12, 1987). "200,000 March in Capital to Seek Gay Rights and Money for AIDS". The New York Times. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
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