043 political mourning
"The same symbols which are used in mourning the death of an individual are often used for expressing political opposition and regret at particular events and policies. Public mourning was important during the American colonists’ struggle against the Stamp Act in 1765. When the tax stamps for Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland arrived by ship at Philadelphia on October 5, for example, all the ships in the harbor flew their flags at half-mast, and the city’s bells tolled throughout the day.192 When the Act was to go into effect, on November 1, the day was generally observed in the colonies as a day of mourning, again with the tolling of bells. In Boston, for example, the “Loyal Nine,” or “Sons of Liberty,” ensured that the day’s protest was conducted in perfect order.193"...
High scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
U.S. groups campaign to legalize abortion, 1969-1973
Many women were put in great danger by abortions in the 1960s. Abortions were illegal, forcing many women to turn to back-alley abortionists, many of whom utilized unsafe techniques. A small group of determined activists had been campaigning for abor...
Egyptians bring down dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, 2011
Beginning in 1981, Hosni Mubarak ruled Egypt for over twenty-nine years. Though he ran for presidential reelection several times, elections were marked by widespread fraud, and opposing politicians were legally prohibited from running against Mubarak...
El Salvadorans bring down a dictator, 1944
In 1938, El Salvadoran president General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez proposed changing the country’s constitution so that he could continue holding his position beyond the end of his second term. When Martínez came to power in the early 1930s as a...
Love Canal residents campaign for clean environment, New York, USA, 1978-1980
In 1894, William T. Love started construction on a power canal in an area outside of Niagara Falls in upstate New York. Although the canal was never completed, the neighborhood of Love Canal was born and soon became a locus of major chemical companie...
Tunisians overthrow dictator and demand political and economic reform (Jasmine Revolution), 2010-2011
Over the past several decades, high unemployment, high food prices, and widespread poverty have characterized much of Tunisia. Government corruption and a paucity of political freedoms have also painted its landscape, making it exceedingly difficult ...
Guatemalans overthrow a dictator, 1944
Beginning in 1931 Jorge Ubico ruled Guatemala with an iron fist with the help of the vicious secret police. He admired Hitler’s tactics. By the summer of 1944, a similarly brutal dictator, Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, was overthrown in the face of...
Iranians overthrow the Shah, 1977-79
Agitation in Iran was visible by May 1977 in predominantly intellectual circles. A group of lawyers—upset by the government’s interference in the judiciary—drafted a strongly worded manifesto chronicling the legal abuses that had occurred under the S...
Rutgers University students win divestment from apartheid South Africa, 1985
South Africa’s system of apartheid became law following the elections in 1948. Similar to the Jim Crow laws in the United States, the system of apartheid was a form of legalized racial segregation. Consequently, South African apartheid became a very ...
Philippine citizens overthrow President Joseph Estrada (People Power II), 2001
In 1992, Joseph E Estrada ran for Vice President on the National People’s Coalition ticket. Although the party’s presidential candidate, Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr., lost the election to Fidel Ramos, Estrada won the vice presidential contest. He served as...
Women form peace camp to protest housing of cruise missiles at Greenham Common, 1981-1993
Greenham Commons outside Newbury, England was purchased in 1939 by the Newbury District Council for the public use of Newbury inhabitants, including the collection of firewood. In 1941 this area was requisitioned by the Air Ministry for an airfield, ...
Low scoring campaigns using this method
Historical cases from the Nonviolent Action Database that used this method
Gazans March for the Right to Return to Their Homes, 2018-2019
From 30 March 2018 to 26 December 2019, Gazans protested at the Israeli border every Friday for the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and land that they had been displaced from since 1948. This series of demonstrations is known n...
Iranians protest election results, 2009
Iranians turned out in large numbers to elect their President on 12 June 2009. The candidates included the incumbent and favorite of the religious authorities, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as well as three challengers: Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Mohsen Rezaee, and...
Vancouver Women's Caucus fights for reproductive rights (Abortion Caravan), Canada, 1970
Reforms to the Canadian Criminal Code legalized abortion in 1969. Under the direction of Pierre Trudeau’s government, a constitutional amendment was made to Section 251 of the Code. The alteration limited legal abortions to be performed only when the...