ABSTRACT
A boycott is the systematic refusal to purchase goods from, use the services of, or otherwise deal with a merchant company or public accommodation in order to force the party to change its policies or practices. Boycotts are usually planned and concerted actions to isolate their objects—such as persons, companies, or products—socially or economically. The purpose of the boycott is to force its object to succumb to the desires of the boycotters. Primary boycotts are lawful but often ineffective, especially for unions. People may continue to cross a picket line to patronize a strikebound store and, in the case of large industrial plants, suppliers may continue to sell to the plant and dealers may continue to sell its products. During the modern civil rights movement in the United States, the boycotting of segregated buses was one of the most successful tactics used to combat Jim Crow segregation and the system of apartheid in the American South.
