Editing Soapbox (section)

==History==

===Origins of the term===

Throughout the 19th century and into the 20th, prior to the invention of [[corrugated fiberboard]], manufacturers used wooden crates for the shipment of wholesale merchandise to retail establishments. Discarded containers of every size, well-constructed and sturdy, were readily available in most towns. These "soapboxes" made free and easily portable temporary platforms for street corner speakers attempting to be seen and heard at improvised "outdoor meetings", to which passersby would gather to hear often provocative speeches on religious or political themes.

The decades immediately preceding [[World War I]] have been called the "Golden Age of Soapbox Oratory".<ref name="Challinor36">Raymond Challinor, ''The Origins of British Bolshevism.'' London: Croom Helm, 1977; pg. 36.</ref> Working people had little money to spend and public speakers pushing their social or political agendas provided a form of mass entertainment.<ref name="Challinor36" /> Radical political parties, intent on bringing what they perceived as an emancipatory message to the [[working class]], were particularly intent upon making use of "street meetings", with their speeches and [[pamphlet|leaflets]], to advance their specific message.

[[File:Crowd of Socialists, New York City, October 16, 1908.jpg|thumb|[[Political activist]]s in New York City, October 1908]]

Street-corner oratory could also present its share of problems. Chief among these was the policy of local law enforcement authorities, who sometimes saw in [[Political radicalism|radical]] political discourse a form of [[incitement]] to crime and violence and a threat to [[Public-order crime|public order]]. Additionally, large street corner crowds listening to "soapboxers" would often obstruct public walkways or spill into public streets, creating inconveniences to pedestrians or vehicular traffic alike. Consequently, local authorities would often attempt to restrict public oratory through [[license|licensing]] or [[Ban (law)|prescriptive banning]].

This conflict between dedicated political or religious partisans and civil authorities intent upon the maintenance of public order made soapboxing a matter of frequent public contention. Throughout its history, soapboxing has been tied to the [[Freedom of speech|right to speak]]. From the period 1907 to approximately 1916, the [[Industrial Workers of the World]] conducted dozens of [[free speech fights]] in the United States, particularly in the West and the Northwest, in order to protect or reclaim their right to soapbox. Many prominent [[socialists]] and other radicals began their political careers in these or similar free speech fights, including [[Seattle]] newspaper publisher [[Hermon Titus]], [[Socialist Party of Washington]] leaders [[Alfred Wagenknecht]] and [[L.E. Katterfeld]], IWW activist [[Elizabeth Gurley Flynn]], and prominent [[syndicalist]] [[William Z. Foster]].

Additional problems could be presented to street corner orators from rival political groups or [[hecklers]].<ref name="Challinor37">Challinor, ''The Origins of British Bolshevism,'' pg. 37.</ref> A skilled and effective "soapboxer" had to be clever, having the ability to express political opinions with clarity, to have ready answers for common objections, to be able to deflect hostility with humor or satire, and to be able to face difficulty or danger with fortitude. Soapboxing proved to be what one historian has called "a hard, but nevertheless necessary, process in the development of revolutionary leaders".<ref name="Challinor37" />

===Contemporary soapboxing===
[[File:Marianne Williamson (48541667257).jpg|thumb|left|[[Marianne Williamson]] speaking with supporters at the [[Des Moines Register]]'s "Political Soapbox" event]]
During the 1960s, a [[Free Speech Movement]] was initiated on the [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley, California Campus]] over fund-raising at an intersection and other political freedoms, and the fight eventually spread to other college campuses across the United States. As advertising professionals transitioned their craft to politics, they were reputed to be "selling candidates like soap", an expression with roots in 19th-century sales tactics to differentiate soap products.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marland|first=Alex|date=2003|title=Marketing political soap: A political marketing view of selling candidates like soap, of electioneering as a ritual, and of electoral military analogies|journal=Journal of Public Affairs|volume=3|issue=2|pages=103–115|doi=10.1002/pa.139}}</ref>

[[Marvel Comics]] writer [[Stan Lee]] included blurbs titled "Stan's Soapbox" in some of his comic books to share his opinions on various topics with readers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Stan's Soapbox: Elevating Excelsior|url=https://www.marvel.com/articles/culture-lifestyle/stan-s-soapbox-elevating-excelsior|access-date=2020-09-22|website=Marvel Entertainment|language=en}}</ref>

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