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Food Riot, 1917

Wartime inflation severely taxed the limited budgets of working-class families. After confronting pushcart peddlers who were charging exorbitant rates for necessities, thousands of women marched to New York’s City Hall on February 20, 1917, to demand relief. The “food riot” precipitated a boycott campaign that eventually forced pushcart prices down.

Source: National Archives.

Who Built America? An Open Educational Resource has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and funding from The Ford Foundation, Digital Scholar, and the City University of New York Central Office of Library Services. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this Open Educational Resource, do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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