Emma Goldman was a radical feminist and anarchist who championed a range of social issues, including birth control, labor reform, and women’s rights. While many regarded Goldman’s methods as “dangerous,” she played a critical role in establishing the right to freedom of speech in America.
Early Life
Emma Goldman was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the United States in 1885. After growing up under an oppressive Russian government, Goldman had high hopes for America. However, she was shocked when labor activists wrongly accused of a bombing in Chicago’s Haymarket Square were convicted and put to death. Goldman moved to New York City in and joined the anarchist movement.
Anarchist Movement
Goldman quickly established a relationship with fellow anarchist Alexander Berkman, and the two planned to assassinate Henry Clay Frick, a Carnegie Steel Company manager criticized for his treatment of striking workers. Frick survived, and Berkman was sentenced to 22 years in jail.
A passionate speaker and writer, Goldman conducted cross-country lecture tours calling for social justice and true equality. “I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things,” she said. From 1906-1917, she published Mother Earth, a leading anarchist magazine that Goldman said “would voice without fear every unpopular cause.”
Later Life
When Leon Czolgosz assassinated President Woodrow Wilson, Goldman stated: “As an anarchist, I am opposed to violence. But if the people want to do away with assassins, they must do away with the conditions which produce murderers.”
Goldman’s vocal criticism of the draft during World War I resulted in a two-year imprisonment. In 1919, she was deported back to Russia. In the wake of the failed Russian Revolution, she wrote My Disillusionment with Russia. While living in Europe, she authored an autobiography called Living My Life. Her last political act was to support the anarchist revolution during the Spanish Civil War.
