Carl Browne
Title
Carl Browne
Description
Carl Browne helped Jacob S. Coxey lead the first march on Washington. In the spring of 1894, Coxey and Browne set out from Massillon, Ohio, and marched to Washington, DC, with a few hundred unemployed people. Together they advocated for a public jobs project for the unemployed. Once they arrived, Coxey decided to speak on the Capitol grounds, even though it was illegal. Both Coxey and Browne were arrested and imprisoned. Although Coxey was the public leader of the march, Browne was active in promoting the protest to the national press.
Creator
Source
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. View original image.
Coverage
First Name
Carl
Last Name
Browne
Birth Date
1846
Birthplace
Springfield, Illinois
Death Date
01/16/1914
Occupation
Biographical Text
Carl Browne's career began as a house painter and then he began painting large-scale landscapes. Moving to California in 1869, he began working as an editorial cartoonist for a newspaper. His drawings attracted the attention of political leader Denis Kearney, who hired Browne as his secretary. Browne accompanied Kearney on a trip to Washington in 1878 to meet with Rutherford B. Hayes in support of legislation preventing Chinese immigration to California.
Browne continued as a political agitator after parting ways with Kearney. He also tried his hand at preaching and selling patent medicine. He was known for his eccentric clothing and behavior. Browne met Jacob Coxey in Chicago in the early 1890s, and they bonded over a shared interest in monetary reform. Browne encouraged Coxey to lead a march on Washington from Coxey's home town of Massillon, Ohio, to demand publicly funded jobs to combat unemployment. The march ended with both Browne and Coxey in jail.
Shortly after being released from jail, Browne eloped with Coxey's daughter; the two men never spoke again. The marriage did not last very long. In the early twentieth century, Browne was again speaking on political causes in California, as well as reporting on radical gatherings, sometimes illustrating the stories with his own cartoons.
Browne continued as a political agitator after parting ways with Kearney. He also tried his hand at preaching and selling patent medicine. He was known for his eccentric clothing and behavior. Browne met Jacob Coxey in Chicago in the early 1890s, and they bonded over a shared interest in monetary reform. Browne encouraged Coxey to lead a march on Washington from Coxey's home town of Massillon, Ohio, to demand publicly funded jobs to combat unemployment. The march ended with both Browne and Coxey in jail.
Shortly after being released from jail, Browne eloped with Coxey's daughter; the two men never spoke again. The marriage did not last very long. In the early twentieth century, Browne was again speaking on political causes in California, as well as reporting on radical gatherings, sometimes illustrating the stories with his own cartoons.