serious threat by Americans, pioneering effective forms of terrorism and utilising free publicity, this ensured that anarchism was an effective threat to America between 1906 and 1920, despite its size. The growing working-class resentment towards capitalism aided the popularity of Anarchist figures such as Emma Goldman. When touring around the nation in 1908, she was preaching to the working-class Americans who had just experienced the winter of 1907-1908 and suffered a severe economic crisis and mass unemployment. 15 It was ‘Mother Earth’ that led to working class sympathy for radical groups and the message that they were promoting. 16 Blaine McKinley notes that many who identified as anarchists were laborers who highlighted the ‘contradictions and inequalities’ that were present within America. 17 The significance of Anarchists being laborers is reflected by Peter F. Drucker who explains that labour unions were a substantial political force within the United States during this period. 18 Tensions between labour workers and the United States government increased during World War One. Jeffrey D. Simon highlights that the US entry into the war in April 1917 ‘provided more fuel for anarchist propaganda and action against the government’. 19 America experienced backlash before they had even joined the war, from movements such as the International Workers of the World and the American Union Against Militarism who aimed to prevent the US from entering the war. 20 America had experienced terror attacks in 1916 to warn against US involvement. The Preparedness Day Parade attack killed 10 and seriously injured 40, in a suspected German attack. 21 Another attack by a German radical was the bombing of Black Tom, killed four and injuring hundreds 22 but it was the Kingsland Explosion in 1917 that was orchestrated by German spies that forced President Woodrow Wilson to enter World War One, according to Christopher Maag. 23 Simon notes that the US entry resulted in an opportunity to 15 Jensen (2001), p. 33. 16 Jensen (2001), p. 33. 17 Blaine McKinley, ‘"The Quagmires of Necessity": American Anarchists and Dilemmas of Vocation’, American Quarterly , 34.5 (1982), 503-532 (pp. 503-505). 18 Peter F. Drucker, ‘The Age of Social Transformation’, The Atlantic Monthly , 274 (1994), 1-20 (p. 3). 21 Olivia B. Waxman, ‘The Bomb That Rocked San Francisco 100 Years Ago’, Time , 22 July 2016, section History. https://time.com/4411324/san-francisco-1916-bombing-preparedness-day-parade- anniversary-centennial/ [accessed 28 November 2020] (para 9 of 10). 22 New Jersey City University , Black Tom Explosion (2020), <https://njcu.libguides.com/blacktom> [accessed 28 November 2020] (para. 9-12 of 14). 23 Christopher Maag, Lyndhurst marks 100th anniversary of Kingsland explosion (2017), <https://eu.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/2017/01/10/lyndhurst-commemorates-100th- anniversary-historic-kingsland-explosion/96260318/> [accessed 29 November 2020] (para. 3-7 of 38). 19 Simon, p. 198. 20 Finan, p. 11-14.
31
Made with FlippingBook HTML5