Emma Goldman, known to some as “Red Emma,” was born in
Russia in the summer of 1869. At age 16 she immigrated to the United States along with her family. Because of her family’s lack of money, Emma worked in a clothing factory in
Rochester, New York. Here, a co-worker introduced her to the writings of
Johann Most, a
Libertarian essayist.
Influenced by the ideas of Johann Most, Goldman was prompted to move to
New York City in 1889, where she became an
Anarchist. Goldman fell into a group of young men and women with similar ideas and chose to participate in demonstrations often. Because of her involvement in a plot to
assassinate industrialist
Henry Clay Flick, Goldman began being watched by government officials and police. New York Police would often find minor reasons to attempt arrest on Goldman because of her political affiliations. In 1908, in an effort by the American government to limit Goldman’s rights and freedoms, she was stripped of her
citizenship. Following the legal loss of her residency, she was arrested several times, including once for urging unemployed men to steal food for their family. Her most notable imprisonment was for obstructing
conscription during the
first World War, for which she was placed behind bars for two years.
In 1919, the
Attorney General of the United States, in an effort to detain and deport all suspected
Communists and Anarchists arrested Goldman again. She was put on trial for her views and lost. Along with 246 others, she was
extradited to Russia. Not wanting to stay in her home country for very long, Goldman applied for and received citizenship in
Great Britain. Here, she continued to write and publish her essays and articles, managing to still have them circulated in the United States and Russia. With her style of writing and strong political beliefs, she was able to change the minds of many socialists and Communists about their form of government.
During the years between 1906 and 1917, Goldman, along with her comrade
Alexander Berkman, wrote, edited, and published "
Mother Earth", a periodical paper with concerns of different natures. Subjects addressed in the paper included
women’s suffrage, the right for
birth control, anarchism, trade unions, free love, and
World War I. She also penned works such as
Anarchism and Other Essays, a book containing essays from "Mother Earth" as well as letters to heads of states, and
My Disillusionment in Russia.
Goldman died in 1940 during a vacation in Toronto, Canada, where her body was displayed until her family came to bury her. Her family was later given permission by the United States to entomb her in
Chicago, because most of her living relatives resided there. Goldman’s works continued to be relevant and important in America throughout the
Cold War, and continue to have an effect to this day on political radicals.
No Author Given. Jewish Women's Archive. "JWA - Emma Goldman - Overview," 2004 http://www.jwa.org/exhibits/wov/goldman/index.html March 29, 2006
Wehling, Jason. “Anarchy in Interpretation: The Life of Emma Goldman” 1995. http://www.spunk.org/texts/people/goldman/sp001520/emmabio.html March 29, 2006