Jacob S. Coxey Jacob Coxey led the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/161">first march on Washington</a> in the spring of 1894. Starting in Massillon, Ohio, Coxey marched to the <a href="http://mallhistory.org/items/show/59">Capitol</a> to bring attention to the plight of unemployed Americans. Coxey proposed that the federal government subsidize a labor program for the unemployed. At the time, a law prohibited gatherings on the Capitol Grounds, but Coxey believed in his cause and tried to give a speech. He was arrested and then jailed for 20 days. Coxey returned in 1914 and successfully spoke on the Capitol steps pleading for a jobs program for the unemployed. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=39&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Jacob+S.+Coxey">Jacob S. Coxey</a> Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2005015542/">View original photograph</a>. <a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=38&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=1890-1919">1890-1919</a>