The Strategies And Contexts of Political Protest: Political Mediation And The Impact of the Townsend Movement In California
Authors: Edwin Amenta, Drew Halfmann, and Michael P. Young
Abstract
We contend that the collective action of state-oriented challengers is politically mediated, and that the impact of collective action will differ according to political contexts. More specifically, we argue that mobilization and limited protest will yield collective benefits in specified favorable political circumstances; more assertive action is required in specified less favorable circumstances. In addition to specifying these arguments, we go some distance toward appraising them, by examining the Townsend Movement, an American old-age pension challenger of the 1930's and 1940's, and the politics of old-age pensions in California. Historical, "similar systems", and regression analyses indicate that the movement had an impact on California old-age policy that varied according to the expectations of our political mediation arguments.
Interested in reprints of this article? Click 
here for information and order form.