Basic Information

Anarchist, Political Activist, Writer and Lecturer Emma Goldman (1869-1940) radically changed the women’s movement with her ideas of freedom and equality for all and played a significant role in the establishment of anarchist political philosophies in both North America and Europe during the early 20th century.

Background Information

Emma Goldman was born in 1869 in Kovno (now known as Kauana, Lithuania) to Jewish parents Taube Bienowitch and Abraham Goldman. Goldman spent most of her early years in Kovno where her parents ran an inn (Emma Goldman, 2008). However, at the age of seven Goldman and her family moved from Kovno to East Prussia where she first began her education. In 1881, following the assassination of Czar Alexander Ⅱ, Goldman and her family moved from East Prussia to St. Petersburg where Goldman briefly continued her education. Following the assassination of Czar Alexander Ⅱ the Jewish community faced a series of riots and economic hardships. It was due to the extreme economic hardships during this time which ultimately forced Goldman to abandon her education and enter the workforce (Emma Goldman, 2008).

Though, Goldman’s schooling in St. Petersburg was short lived, it sparked something inside of her. It was while working as a corset maker that Goldman was first exposed to the ideas and work of revolutionary anarchists. Growing tired of factory work and the chastisement of her father, Goldman longed for change (Solomon,1987, p. 3). In 1885, at the age of sixteen Goldman emigrated to the United States in the hopes of finding the freedom she longed for. However, not long after her arrival, Goldman came to the realization that for a Jewish immigrant, America was not the land of opportunity which had been promised (Emma Goldman, 2008). While working as a seamstress in a Rochester clothing factory Goldman met Jacob Kersner, a well-educated immigrant from Odessa to whom she was briefly married ( Solomon, 1987).

In 1886, a bombing occurred in Chicago’s Haymarket square and the labor activists whom had been falsely accused of carrying out this crime were tried, convicted and executed. This greatly shocked Goldman and the outcry that followed this event triggered Goldman’s interest in anarchism and eventually led her to become a revolutionary (American Experience, 1996-2019). Tiring of factory work and her life in Rochester, Goldman longed for something greater, and in 1889 Goldman moved from Rochester to New York City (Solomon, 1987). Upon her arrival in New York City, young Goldman joined a German anarchist movement where she met Johann Most and Alexander Berkman the two people who drastically changed her life. It was the influence of writers like Most and Berkman that convinced Goldman that revolutionary change required direct action and the use of violence (Emma Goldman, 2008).

Contributions to the First Wave

Goldman’s work as an anarchist, political activist, writer, and lecturer was extremely controversial; however, her work radically changed the women’s movement and brought forth a new social order. Growing up Goldman saw the various struggles of peoples firsthand. It was these experiences which motivated Goldman and led her to dedicate her life work to helping others. Goldman strongly believed that all people were worthy of equal rights. Goldman’s deep commitment to the ideals of absolute freedom paved the way and fueled her work as an anarchist, activist, writer and lecturer and led her to advocate for a variety of controversial topics such as free speech, birth control, women’s equality and independence, men’s rights and union organization (Jewish Women’s Archive, 1998-2019).

While Goldman was “idolized as “an iconic ‘rebel woman’ feminist by admirers and derided as an advocate of politically motivated murder and violent revolution by her critics” (Emma Goldman 2008), Goldman’s work sought to bring political and social change both of which were important to her. Goldman supported anarchism and the anarchist movement because it offered visions of liberty, harmony and true social justice all of which she dedicated her life to fighting for. Goldman’s work as an anarchist and activist often got her into trouble. Goldman was arrested, imprisoned, and deported various times throughout her lifetime.

In 1893, Goldman was imprisoned at Blackwell’s Island penitentiary after she publicly urged unemployed workers to “Ask for work. If they do not give you work, ask for bread. If they do not give you work or bread, take bread” (Emma Goldman, 2008). During her time at Blackwell’s Island penitentiary Goldman gained an interest in nursing and following her release in 1894 Goldman worked as a practical nurse and midwife in tenements and slums. Goldman enjoyed nursing because it made her financially self-sufficient and allowed her the free time needed to devote to her anarchist activities (Solomon, 1987, p. 16). In 1901, Goldman and nine other anarchists, were arrested based on the suspicion that they had conspired with Czolgosz to assassinate President McKinley (New World Encyclopedia, 2008). In 1916, Goldman was arrested and imprisoned for distributing birth control literature. Goldman like several other contemporary feminists, believed that abortion was the tragic consequence of social conditions and that birth control was a positive alternative (Emma Goldman, 2008). In 1917, Goldman was again imprisoned, this time for conspiring to obstruct the draft. Goldman held the strong belief that the mandatory draft of young men to fight in the war was unconstitutional because it violated the 13th amendment (Emma Goldman, 2008).

While most of her work was done through public lecturing in which she advocated for a variety of controversial causes Goldman also worked as a writer. Throughout her lifetime, Goldman wrote for various publications and she also wrote and published her own works. In 1906, Goldman published Mother Earth an anarchist journal which covered current events from a feminine anarchist perspective. Writing, editing, and publishing her own magazine and being able to bring together her interests and political ideas excited her (Solomon, 1987, p. 21). In 1931, Goldman wrote an autobiography entitled Living My Life in which she focused on events, such as the Haymarket executions, which led her to become an anarchist and activist. While Goldman begins her autobiography with her arrival in New York City at the age of twenty, which she explains as the emotional and political turning point in her life, she also acknowledges that the experiences early in her life helped pave the road which she followed throughout her lifetime.

“Environment can only bring out what is inherent in human beings. It can never put anything in sterile ground. If I had not been born with the love of freedom and the intense hatred of injustice, I do not believe that I would have become what I am.”
~ Emma Goldman (Solomon, 1987 p. 1)

Analysis and Conclusion

While much of Goldman’s work as an anarchist, political activist, writer and lecturer was controversial it started revolutions of change and radically changed history and helped to shape the women’s movement. Her dedication to creating a new social order and beliefs that both the political and economic organization of society were unjust fueled her work. It was her commitment to these unpopular and controversial ideals of freedom and gaining revolutionary change with violence which ultimately fueled her work and led her to advocate for freedom and rights for women and men. Rights such as the right to self-expression, sexuality, birth control, equality, education etc. Goldman’s courage to work against the social norms in order to spark revolutionary change marked her as a dangerous woman. Despite multiple imprisonments and deportation Goldman never stopped fighting for what she believed in. In fighting for what she believed in despite endless obstacles Goldman was able to radically change and shape the Woman’s movement.

References

American Experience. (1996-2019). PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldman-1869-1940/

Emma Goldman  (2008). New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Emma_Goldman#Birth_and_early_years

Bain News Service (1915 – 1920).Emma Goldman. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA . Retrieved 05 18, 2019, from https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2014700948/

Solomon , M. (1987). Emma Goldman. Boston, MA: Twayne Publishers. Retrieved 05, 18, 2019, from http://go.galegroup.com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/ps/retrieve.do?resultListType=RELATED_DOCUMENT&searchType=BasicSearchForm&userGroupName=wash_main&inPS=true&contentSegment=9780805739350&prodId=GVRL&isETOC=true&docId=GALE|CX1571400012

Women of Valor; Emma Goldman. (1998-2019). Jewish Women’s Archive, Retrieved from https://jwa.org/womenofvalor/goldman