"Protests Never Change Anything"? Maine's History Says Otherwise
A brief overview of Maine's history of protest and change. We'll examine the various occasions when people have demonstrated in the streets for their causes. Did these protests make a difference? Let's explore.
April 5, 2025. Monument Square Portland, Maine. The crowd spilled over into the streets, shutting Congress street down for over two hours. It was an incredible mix of people, all coming together to say: ‘We’re not going to be quiet about all this abuse of power.’ It truly was an awesome sight to see! Photo by Nick Gervin © 2025
The other day I was chatting with a friend about what's been going on in the world, and you know how it is, the topic of protests came up. But what he said totally threw me for a loop. He just casually said, "Protests never really change anything." And honestly? I was a little stunned. It was a friendly chat, no biggie, but it kind of stuck with me, this idea that maybe it all feels pointless. Maybe you've felt that way too, whether you're out there marching in the streets or just watching from the sidelines. So, this week, I wanted to dig into our own backyard, Maine, and look back at all the times people have taken to the streets over the centuries, fighting for all sorts of things. Did it actually do anything? Let's find out together.
Pre-Revolutionary War Period- Okay, so way before Maine was even Maine, people here were already making their voices heard against the British. Think back to the 1760s – Mainers were right there resisting the Stamp Act, just like folks down in Boston. And can you even imagine what it must have been like when the British burned Falmouth – that's Portland today – in 1775? Talk about a reason to be furious! So yeah, it wasn't just Bostonians who were fed up with the Brits. I mean, having your city go up in flames? That's a pretty solid motivator to get riled up, right? And look where it got us – that little thing called American independence on July 4th, 1776. So, those early protests definitely had some serious impact!
Photo sourced from WikiMedia Commons. Suffragists parade in Market Square Houlton, Maine 1917.
19th Century- Fast forward a bit, and the 1800s in Maine were buzzing with protests about some big stuff: ending slavery, women getting the right to vote, and the whole temperance movement – trying to ban booze. We even had the Maine Anti-Slavery Society way back in 1833, and folks here were actively pushing against slavery. Women were organizing too, forming groups like the Maine Woman Suffrage Association to fight for their right to vote.
And then there was the temperance movement, which was HUGE here. Maine actually ended up with some of the toughest anti-liquor laws in the whole country by the end of the century. Neal Dow, the then mayor of Portland, was a major force behind all this. They even called him the "Father of Prohibition." He got this "Maine Law" passed in 1851, which was a really strict statewide ban on making and selling alcohol.
Now, not everyone was thrilled about this, especially the large Irish immigrant community in Portland. They often disagreed with the "Maine Law" and didn't really trust Dow, seeing the law as unfair. So, a few years later, rumors started going around that Mayor Dow was secretly stashing a bunch of liquor in City Hall. Well, on June 2nd, 1855, all that tension exploded into the biggest and most violent protest Portland has ever seen – the Portland Rum Riot.
A huge crowd gathered outside City Hall, and as the night went on, things got ugly with people throwing rocks and pushing back. Mayor Dow called in the militia, and on his orders, they actually fired into the crowd. Sadly, one person was killed, and seven others were wounded. This riot really messed up Dow's political career and is seen as a big reason why the "Maine Law" was repealed just a year later in 1856. So yeah, the next time you're chilling at one of Portland's awesome breweries, take a second to remember that someone literally lost their life for your right to enjoy that tasty beer.
• Here's a little local tidbit for you: Did you know that the term "bootleggers" actually started right here in Portland, on Exchange Street? Yep! Back when alcohol was banned and all the Old Port bars were shuttered, people would meet up on Exchange Street and illegally share drinks they'd stashed in flasks hidden in their boots. That's how the name "bootleggers" came about! The term was also used to label folks smuggling alcohol into the United States often coming down from Canada and into Maine.
20th Century- Even though Maine didn't have as many black residents as other states, we still had our own chapter in the Civil Rights Movement. Activists here were fighting hard against racial discrimination in things like housing and jobs. This resulted in the establishment of the Maine Human Rights Commission in 1971. Maine also has a rich history with the Labor Movement, where workers have long fought for better pay, safer working conditions, and the right to form unions, many of which still exist today.
Just like everywhere else in the country, the Vietnam War sparked a lot of protest here in Maine. You even had student strikes, like the one at Colby College back in 1970, showing that the national feeling against the war was definitely felt here too. Then, in the 1970s, Native American tribes in Maine really stepped up to protest for their land rights. That fight actually led to some really important legal settlements, though still imperfect.
21st Century- Now, jumping to today, the spirit of speaking out is very much alive, maybe more so than ever. Thousands of people rallied at Monument Square on Saturday April 5, and again on April 19, 2025 to protest against the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Musk. The Portland rallies were organized as part of national days of action led by the AFL-CIO, Indivisible, the League of Conservation Voters, the League of Women Voters, MoveOn and Americans for Tax Fairness.
April 5, 2025. Monument Square Portland, Maine. Andrew Tevanian is dressed to protest. Looking like they are right out of the 1960s.
Even U.S. Senator Angus King attended and spoke on April 5, in support of the people’s right to peacefully assemble. King expressed concern with the Trump administration, the attack on American jobs and our democracy.
“ There are two things that are going on. Some things that are really bad and some things that are really dangerous. The bad is D.O.G.E (Department of Government Efficiency). They are firing people for no good reason. They are gutting Social Security. They’re gutting the VA (Veterans Administration). They are going to fire 83,000 people from the VA and they say, oh, it won’t affect services. Do you believe that?
So, that’s the really bad part, but here’s the dangerous part. The dangerous part is this is the most serious assault on our Constitution in the history of this country”.
- U.S. Senator Angus King
On June 1, 2020, a large protest in Portland, Maine, initially peaceful, escalated into a violent demonstration that led to numerous arrests and property damage. The protest was held in response to a memorial that was destroyed by the Portland police a few days earlier. Rocks and bottles were thrown at the officers. The police deployed the use of pepper spray and fired rubber bullets into the air in attempts to disperse the crowd. Photo by Nick Gervin © 2025
Over the last decade and a half we’ve seen many issues brought to the forefront in the form of protest all with various progress. Something to consider about protests is that they tend to be long drawn out movements and even when the demands are made clear right from the start of the movement, there is often no definitive finish line. Social reform is more like a never ending relay race where one generation passes the baton to the next and the progress is measured over decades, not days. I believe this is what leads some people to the mindset “that protest never solved anything”.
Also consider our government is a very slow (and perhaps one could argue inadequate) system. More often than not, taking years, sometimes decades to accomplish anything, let alone sweeping social reforms. Give the book Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka a read if you want further insight into why the government is failing in the digital age and how we can do better. And that’s exactly it, we can do better, but only if we exercise our rights to peacefully assemble. Stand together, have empathy for one another and understand that real change takes time. Honestly, with everything feeling so crucial for so many people right now, it really feels like we might be seeing the start of something big, a whole new chapter in how we protest and make our voices heard. But hey, let's not forget that Mainers have been pretty darn active, exercising their First Amendment rights and will continue to do so in the foreseeable future.
