On September 17, 2011 in New York City, the movement began. Demonstrators made their way to Wall Street to protest against corporate greed, government corruption, high levels of unemployment, and a widening income gap between the rich and poor in a time when more and more Americans are living below the poverty line.
The movement calls themselves the 99%, in contrast with the wealthiest 1% of the American population that owns a disproportionate share of the wealth. The Occupy Wall Street movement spread not only around the US, but in Canada, Europe, and the rest of the world.
