Soapbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about a platform. For other uses, see Soapbox (disambiguation). For the Wikipedia policy, see Wikipedia:NOTSOAPBOX.

A man soapboxing in Speakers' Corner, London

A soapbox is a raised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject.

The term originates from when speakers would stand on a wooden box meant for holding soap. The term is also used metaphorically to describe a person engaging in often flamboyant impromptu or unofficial public speaking, as in the phrases "He's on his soapbox", or "Get off your soapbox." Hyde Park, London is known for its Sunday soapbox orators, who have assembled at Speakers' Corner since 1872 to discuss religion, politics, and other topics. A modern form of the soapbox is a blog: a website on which a user publishes one's thoughts to whoever reads the page.

[edit] History

Throughout history, soapboxing has been tied to the 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. During the 1960s, a Free Speech Movement was initiated on the 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.