Emma Goldman

The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “The Effect of War on the Workers” (1900)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
THE EFFECT OF WAR ON THE WORKERS. (Address by Emma Goldman on February 20, in London.) FELLOW WORKERS.—Let me begin my address with a quotation from one of England’s greatest men; not the England of to day, the invading, murderous, crushing England, but the England of a time when Liberty and Hospitality were her main virtues—the England that has given the world the profoundest thinkers, the most brilliant writers, the most touching poets, from among whom Carlyle stands out like a shining star upon the firmament. It was he who said, when asked “What is the net purport of War?”: […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Police Brutality” (1906)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
POLICE BRUTALITY. Liberty by the grace of the police and the might of the club was again brought home to us in the most brutal and unspeakable manner. A club of young boys and girls, peaceably assembled Saturday night, October 27th, to listen to a discourse as to whether or not Leon Czolgosz was an Anarchist. At the close of the meeting three of the speakers—Julius Edelson, M. Moscow, and M. Rubinstein—were arrested and placed under $1,000 bail each. Tuesday, October 30th, a meeting was called to protest against the arrest of these boys and the suppression of free speech. […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “To the Readers of Mother Earth” (1906)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
TO THE READERS OF MOTHER EARTH. Those of you who have been startled by the rumor of Comrade Alexander Berkman’s disappearance and his supposed kidnapping I want to inform that there was little truth in the story. People never realize that there are worse things in human life than merely external forces. But what made it impossible for our friend to continue his tour lies in the terrible contrast of solitary confinement, enforced silence and monotony and the rush and hurry of our daily lives. Few have stood the years of hell as bravely as Comrade Berkman, but the lack […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Police Education” (1907)

June 27, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
POLICE EDUCATION Our criticism of the police brutality at the arrests on October 30th seems to have done the “Safety” Department some good. True, the word Anarchism still affects them like the proverbial red rag, but they have at least learned to perform their “duty ” in a more or less decent manner. After dogging our steps for nine weeks, their “perseverance” and “tenacity” have at last been rewarded. Sunday, January the 6th, the police closed our meeting held under the auspices of the “Mother Earth” Club, and arrested the Chairman, John R. Coryell, Alexander Berkman and myself. The Criminal […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman and Max Baginski, “Mother Earth” (1906)

June 8, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
MOTHER EARTH THERE was a time when men imagined the Earth as the center of the universe. The stars, large and small, they believed were created merely for their delectation. It was their vain conception that a supreme being, weary of solitude, had manufactured a giant toy and put them into possession of it. When, however, the human mind was illumined by the torch-light of science, it came to understand that the Earth was but one of a myriad of stars floating in infinite space, a mere speck of dust. Man issued from the womb of Mother Earth, but he […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, Letter to “Freedom” (November-December, 1924)

June 8, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
LETTER FROM EMMA GOLDMAN. Dear Comrades,—Ever since I have come to England I wanted to get in touch with you and tell you of my plans for activities in behalf of our ideas. But I have been very busy adjusting myself to the new conditions and meeting people who might be interested in the work 1 have in mind. I am glad to say that my efforts so far have met with greater success than I had expected. The dinner on November 12th brought out a huge gathering of men and women whose interest made me feel very hopeful for […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Simion Koldofsky, the Friend” (1936)

November 2, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
I first met Simion Koldofsky in Moscow in 1920, during the so-called military communism. Life was cruelly hard and the struggle bitter… Russia, surrounded by four fronts,–blockaded by all the European powers–was not in the mood for sociability. In the face of hunger, epidemics and death, the life of everyone was grim and self-centered; no-one cared for the tragedy of the other. My old pal, Alexander Berkman, and I, had been in Russia only a short time. We naturally felt the tragedy of the Revolution that was being played in the day-by-day struggle. We missed close comradeship and the fellowship […]
The Sex Question

Emma Goldman, “Has My Life Been Worth While?” (1933)

November 2, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
HAS MY LIFE BEEN WORTH WHILE? Have I wasted my life? Measured by the ordinary standards of value, my life may be considered wasted. I have nothing in social prestige, wealth and power—that holy alliance commonly called success—to show for my struggle of forty-three years. But then, I had never aspired to those treasures. I am therefore spared the bitter disappointment of those who had considered them fixed and unchangeable for all time. Station, power, wealth—how inadequate they have proved! How useless and insecure! The mighty of yesterday now standing before the world as the most successful failures of our […]
Anarchist Beginnings

Emma Goldman & John Most, “Anarchy Defended by Anarchists” (1896)

August 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
To most Americans Anarchy is an evil-sounding word — another name for wickedness, perversity, and chaos. Anarchists are looked upon as a herd of uncombed, unwashed, and vile ruffians, bent on killing the rich and dividing their capital. Anarchy, however, to its followers actually signifies a social theory which regards the union of order with the absense of all government of man by man; in short, it means perfect individual liberty. If the meaning of Anarchy has so far been interpreted as a state of the greatest disorder, it is because people have been taught that their affairs are regulated, […]
Anarchist Beginnings

Emma Goldman, “A Beautiful Ideal” (1908)

August 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
— A — Beautiful Ideal BY EMMA GOLDMAN The lecture which Emma Goldman was to have read before the Edelstadt Social, March 17th, 1908, at Workingmens’ Hall, 12th & Waller Streets, Chicago. But was prevented by Captain Mahoney of Maxwell Street Station with a squad of about fifty police. INTRODUCTORY. In fact and in truth Miss Goldman is a mild mannered little woman who would not kill a. fly or a spider. On the contrary she teaches peace, harmony and brotherly love among all men regardless of race, creed or color. We are publishing this little booklet so that she […]