Since the Civil War, no other period in the history of American politics may have been quite so violently divisive.
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
Early 1900s Photos Of “The Old Paris” Just Before It Was Lost To Modernization
25 Photos Of How The Gibson Girl Became America’s Preeminent Lifestyle Influencer Of The Early 1900s
33 Photos Of Early 20th-Century Native American Masks Brought To Life In Color
1 of 34On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was shot and killed by a radical anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The president was shaking hands with members of the crowd when his assassin stepped forward and shot him twice. McKinley died of his injuries eight days later.T. Dart Walker/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 34McKinley’s assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a steel worker in Cleveland who turned to anarchism after he lost his job in the economic crash of 1893. He was caught immediately and sentenced to death by the electric chair.Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34Mugshot of prominent anarchist Emma Goldman. She was booked in 1901 when she was implicated in inspiring the assassination of President McKinley. Her refusal to condemn the assassination hurt the reputation of anarchism even among radical political circles.Bain News Service/Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34Leon Czolgosz in prison awaiting execution. 1901.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34Daniel De Leon was an early leader of the Socialist Party of America and developed the ideology of revolutionary industrial unionism that gained popularity in the U.S. at the time. The ideology held that radical unions would transfer power and ownership of corporations to the workers. 1902.Tim Davenport/Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34In the early 1900s, the American labor movement arose to protest the horrible working conditions and pay at the time. This movement worked closely with communist, socialist, and anarchist organizations fighting for the liberation of the working class.
Demonstration for unemployed laborers. 1909.Library of Congress 7 of 34Labor parade in New York. Date unspecified.Library of Congress 8 of 34Eugene V. Debs was a founding member of the International Workers Union and a prominent member of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as their candidate for president five times, reaching his highest percentage of the vote in 1912 when he won six percent. Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Socialist demonstrators in New York’s Union Square. 1912.Wikimedia Commons 10 of 34Men killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist at a Union Square demonstration in 1908. The bomb was intended for the police but accidentally killed two bystanders.Library of Congress 11 of 34Casualty of the Union Square bombing being taken away on a stretcher. Library of Congress 12 of 34Police searching a suspect immediately after the Union Square bombing.Library of Congress 13 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1910.Library of Congress 14 of 34Russian Labor Association marching in a New York City labor parade. 1911.Library of Congress 15 of 34Children working at a silk factory in Paterson, NJ are bussed to a New York City labor parade. 1913.Library of Congress 16 of 34Picture of Bertha Hale White, a teacher, journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. 1913.Library of Congress 17 of 34Anarchists marching at a labor parade in New York. 1914.Library of Congress 18 of 34Anti-war demonstration in New York City protesting U.S. involvement in World War I. 1914.Library of Congress 19 of 34Leading member of the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman, speaks to a crowd in New York City. 1914. Wikimedia Commons 20 of 34Ian Turner, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) committee, wears a hat with a card labeled “Bread or Revolution” stuck in the brim. 1914.Library of Congress 21 of 34Anarchist labour organizer Marie Ganz appears onstage with Berkman. Ganz was a sweatshop worker before becoming an activist. 1914.Library of Congress 22 of 34Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman together in 1917. The two were close friends and lovers. That same year, both were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to “induce persons not to register” for the draft. After their release, they were both deported to Russia.Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons 23 of 34Aftermath of a bomb attack on the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919. The perpetrator was the Galleanist Italian anarchist movement. Palmer was unharmed by the attack.Moyabrit/Wikimedia Commons 24 of 34On September 16, 1920, anarchists set off a bomb on Wall Street in New York City. The bomb killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 others. Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34Aftermath of the Wall Street bombing.Library of Congress 26 of 34A man killed by the Wall Street bomb.Library of Congress 27 of 34The body of a man killed in the Wall Street bombing lies on the street.Library of Congress 28 of 34Anarchists, communists, socialists, and radicals who were rounded up in New York arrive at Ellis Island to be deported in 1920. At that time, political radicals were often deported from the United States as punishment. Many of them had grown up in the U.S. and knew little of their home country.Bettmann/Getty Images 29 of 34Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco, two Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering a security guard in an armed robbery, taken in 1921. Their case became a popular cause among leftists who believed that the two were innocent and persecuted because they were immigrants. They were both executed in 1927, but the question of their guilt still remains contested.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 34Plainclothes Colorado State Rangers patrol a demonstration of coal miners on strike. The rangers opened fire on the unarmed strikers, killing six and injuring dozens. 1927.University of Washington/Flickr 31 of 34IWW member killed by Colorado state police during the strike.University of Washington 32 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1930.National Archives of Estonia/Flickr 33 of 34Carlo Tresca, an Italian-born anarchist thinker once known in New York City as the “Town Anarchist,” was shot and killed a few feet from his doorstep in downtown Manhattan in 1943. He was likely killed by Italian-Americans who supported fascism.Bettmann/Getty Images 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S. View Gallery
As the political climate in modern America becomes more radicalized, it may seem as though these new movements on the far left and the far right could tear the country apart. Of course, however, these movements and all other radical political ideologies like them are, at least in spirit, hardly new at all.
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
Early 1900s Photos Of “The Old Paris” Just Before It Was Lost To Modernization
25 Photos Of How The Gibson Girl Became America’s Preeminent Lifestyle Influencer Of The Early 1900s
33 Photos Of Early 20th-Century Native American Masks Brought To Life In Color
1 of 34On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was shot and killed by a radical anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The president was shaking hands with members of the crowd when his assassin stepped forward and shot him twice. McKinley died of his injuries eight days later.T. Dart Walker/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 34McKinley’s assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a steel worker in Cleveland who turned to anarchism after he lost his job in the economic crash of 1893. He was caught immediately and sentenced to death by the electric chair.Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34Mugshot of prominent anarchist Emma Goldman. She was booked in 1901 when she was implicated in inspiring the assassination of President McKinley. Her refusal to condemn the assassination hurt the reputation of anarchism even among radical political circles.Bain News Service/Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34Leon Czolgosz in prison awaiting execution. 1901.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34Daniel De Leon was an early leader of the Socialist Party of America and developed the ideology of revolutionary industrial unionism that gained popularity in the U.S. at the time. The ideology held that radical unions would transfer power and ownership of corporations to the workers. 1902.Tim Davenport/Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34In the early 1900s, the American labor movement arose to protest the horrible working conditions and pay at the time. This movement worked closely with communist, socialist, and anarchist organizations fighting for the liberation of the working class.
Demonstration for unemployed laborers. 1909.Library of Congress 7 of 34Labor parade in New York. Date unspecified.Library of Congress 8 of 34Eugene V. Debs was a founding member of the International Workers Union and a prominent member of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as their candidate for president five times, reaching his highest percentage of the vote in 1912 when he won six percent. Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Socialist demonstrators in New York’s Union Square. 1912.Wikimedia Commons 10 of 34Men killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist at a Union Square demonstration in 1908. The bomb was intended for the police but accidentally killed two bystanders.Library of Congress 11 of 34Casualty of the Union Square bombing being taken away on a stretcher. Library of Congress 12 of 34Police searching a suspect immediately after the Union Square bombing.Library of Congress 13 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1910.Library of Congress 14 of 34Russian Labor Association marching in a New York City labor parade. 1911.Library of Congress 15 of 34Children working at a silk factory in Paterson, NJ are bussed to a New York City labor parade. 1913.Library of Congress 16 of 34Picture of Bertha Hale White, a teacher, journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. 1913.Library of Congress 17 of 34Anarchists marching at a labor parade in New York. 1914.Library of Congress 18 of 34Anti-war demonstration in New York City protesting U.S. involvement in World War I. 1914.Library of Congress 19 of 34Leading member of the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman, speaks to a crowd in New York City. 1914. Wikimedia Commons 20 of 34Ian Turner, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) committee, wears a hat with a card labeled “Bread or Revolution” stuck in the brim. 1914.Library of Congress 21 of 34Anarchist labour organizer Marie Ganz appears onstage with Berkman. Ganz was a sweatshop worker before becoming an activist. 1914.Library of Congress 22 of 34Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman together in 1917. The two were close friends and lovers. That same year, both were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to “induce persons not to register” for the draft. After their release, they were both deported to Russia.Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons 23 of 34Aftermath of a bomb attack on the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919. The perpetrator was the Galleanist Italian anarchist movement. Palmer was unharmed by the attack.Moyabrit/Wikimedia Commons 24 of 34On September 16, 1920, anarchists set off a bomb on Wall Street in New York City. The bomb killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 others. Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34Aftermath of the Wall Street bombing.Library of Congress 26 of 34A man killed by the Wall Street bomb.Library of Congress 27 of 34The body of a man killed in the Wall Street bombing lies on the street.Library of Congress 28 of 34Anarchists, communists, socialists, and radicals who were rounded up in New York arrive at Ellis Island to be deported in 1920. At that time, political radicals were often deported from the United States as punishment. Many of them had grown up in the U.S. and knew little of their home country.Bettmann/Getty Images 29 of 34Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco, two Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering a security guard in an armed robbery, taken in 1921. Their case became a popular cause among leftists who believed that the two were innocent and persecuted because they were immigrants. They were both executed in 1927, but the question of their guilt still remains contested.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 34Plainclothes Colorado State Rangers patrol a demonstration of coal miners on strike. The rangers opened fire on the unarmed strikers, killing six and injuring dozens. 1927.University of Washington/Flickr 31 of 34IWW member killed by Colorado state police during the strike.University of Washington 32 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1930.National Archives of Estonia/Flickr 33 of 34Carlo Tresca, an Italian-born anarchist thinker once known in New York City as the “Town Anarchist,” was shot and killed a few feet from his doorstep in downtown Manhattan in 1943. He was likely killed by Italian-Americans who supported fascism.Bettmann/Getty Images 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
Early 1900s Photos Of “The Old Paris” Just Before It Was Lost To Modernization
25 Photos Of How The Gibson Girl Became America’s Preeminent Lifestyle Influencer Of The Early 1900s
33 Photos Of Early 20th-Century Native American Masks Brought To Life In Color
1 of 34On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was shot and killed by a radical anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The president was shaking hands with members of the crowd when his assassin stepped forward and shot him twice. McKinley died of his injuries eight days later.T. Dart Walker/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 34McKinley’s assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a steel worker in Cleveland who turned to anarchism after he lost his job in the economic crash of 1893. He was caught immediately and sentenced to death by the electric chair.Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34Mugshot of prominent anarchist Emma Goldman. She was booked in 1901 when she was implicated in inspiring the assassination of President McKinley. Her refusal to condemn the assassination hurt the reputation of anarchism even among radical political circles.Bain News Service/Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34Leon Czolgosz in prison awaiting execution. 1901.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34Daniel De Leon was an early leader of the Socialist Party of America and developed the ideology of revolutionary industrial unionism that gained popularity in the U.S. at the time. The ideology held that radical unions would transfer power and ownership of corporations to the workers. 1902.Tim Davenport/Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34In the early 1900s, the American labor movement arose to protest the horrible working conditions and pay at the time. This movement worked closely with communist, socialist, and anarchist organizations fighting for the liberation of the working class.
Demonstration for unemployed laborers. 1909.Library of Congress 7 of 34Labor parade in New York. Date unspecified.Library of Congress 8 of 34Eugene V. Debs was a founding member of the International Workers Union and a prominent member of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as their candidate for president five times, reaching his highest percentage of the vote in 1912 when he won six percent. Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Socialist demonstrators in New York’s Union Square. 1912.Wikimedia Commons 10 of 34Men killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist at a Union Square demonstration in 1908. The bomb was intended for the police but accidentally killed two bystanders.Library of Congress 11 of 34Casualty of the Union Square bombing being taken away on a stretcher. Library of Congress 12 of 34Police searching a suspect immediately after the Union Square bombing.Library of Congress 13 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1910.Library of Congress 14 of 34Russian Labor Association marching in a New York City labor parade. 1911.Library of Congress 15 of 34Children working at a silk factory in Paterson, NJ are bussed to a New York City labor parade. 1913.Library of Congress 16 of 34Picture of Bertha Hale White, a teacher, journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. 1913.Library of Congress 17 of 34Anarchists marching at a labor parade in New York. 1914.Library of Congress 18 of 34Anti-war demonstration in New York City protesting U.S. involvement in World War I. 1914.Library of Congress 19 of 34Leading member of the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman, speaks to a crowd in New York City. 1914. Wikimedia Commons 20 of 34Ian Turner, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) committee, wears a hat with a card labeled “Bread or Revolution” stuck in the brim. 1914.Library of Congress 21 of 34Anarchist labour organizer Marie Ganz appears onstage with Berkman. Ganz was a sweatshop worker before becoming an activist. 1914.Library of Congress 22 of 34Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman together in 1917. The two were close friends and lovers. That same year, both were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to “induce persons not to register” for the draft. After their release, they were both deported to Russia.Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons 23 of 34Aftermath of a bomb attack on the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919. The perpetrator was the Galleanist Italian anarchist movement. Palmer was unharmed by the attack.Moyabrit/Wikimedia Commons 24 of 34On September 16, 1920, anarchists set off a bomb on Wall Street in New York City. The bomb killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 others. Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34Aftermath of the Wall Street bombing.Library of Congress 26 of 34A man killed by the Wall Street bomb.Library of Congress 27 of 34The body of a man killed in the Wall Street bombing lies on the street.Library of Congress 28 of 34Anarchists, communists, socialists, and radicals who were rounded up in New York arrive at Ellis Island to be deported in 1920. At that time, political radicals were often deported from the United States as punishment. Many of them had grown up in the U.S. and knew little of their home country.Bettmann/Getty Images 29 of 34Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco, two Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering a security guard in an armed robbery, taken in 1921. Their case became a popular cause among leftists who believed that the two were innocent and persecuted because they were immigrants. They were both executed in 1927, but the question of their guilt still remains contested.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 34Plainclothes Colorado State Rangers patrol a demonstration of coal miners on strike. The rangers opened fire on the unarmed strikers, killing six and injuring dozens. 1927.University of Washington/Flickr 31 of 34IWW member killed by Colorado state police during the strike.University of Washington 32 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1930.National Archives of Estonia/Flickr 33 of 34Carlo Tresca, an Italian-born anarchist thinker once known in New York City as the “Town Anarchist,” was shot and killed a few feet from his doorstep in downtown Manhattan in 1943. He was likely killed by Italian-Americans who supported fascism.Bettmann/Getty Images 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
And if you liked this post, be sure to check out these popular posts:
Early 1900s Photos Of “The Old Paris” Just Before It Was Lost To Modernization
25 Photos Of How The Gibson Girl Became America’s Preeminent Lifestyle Influencer Of The Early 1900s
33 Photos Of Early 20th-Century Native American Masks Brought To Life In Color
Share
- Share
1 of 34On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was shot and killed by a radical anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The president was shaking hands with members of the crowd when his assassin stepped forward and shot him twice. McKinley died of his injuries eight days later.T. Dart Walker/Wikimedia Commons 2 of 34McKinley’s assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a steel worker in Cleveland who turned to anarchism after he lost his job in the economic crash of 1893. He was caught immediately and sentenced to death by the electric chair.Wikimedia Commons 3 of 34Mugshot of prominent anarchist Emma Goldman. She was booked in 1901 when she was implicated in inspiring the assassination of President McKinley. Her refusal to condemn the assassination hurt the reputation of anarchism even among radical political circles.Bain News Service/Wikimedia Commons 4 of 34Leon Czolgosz in prison awaiting execution. 1901.Wikimedia Commons 5 of 34Daniel De Leon was an early leader of the Socialist Party of America and developed the ideology of revolutionary industrial unionism that gained popularity in the U.S. at the time. The ideology held that radical unions would transfer power and ownership of corporations to the workers. 1902.Tim Davenport/Wikimedia Commons 6 of 34In the early 1900s, the American labor movement arose to protest the horrible working conditions and pay at the time. This movement worked closely with communist, socialist, and anarchist organizations fighting for the liberation of the working class.
Demonstration for unemployed laborers. 1909.Library of Congress 7 of 34Labor parade in New York. Date unspecified.Library of Congress 8 of 34Eugene V. Debs was a founding member of the International Workers Union and a prominent member of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as their candidate for president five times, reaching his highest percentage of the vote in 1912 when he won six percent. Wikimedia Commons 9 of 34Socialist demonstrators in New York’s Union Square. 1912.Wikimedia Commons 10 of 34Men killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist at a Union Square demonstration in 1908. The bomb was intended for the police but accidentally killed two bystanders.Library of Congress 11 of 34Casualty of the Union Square bombing being taken away on a stretcher. Library of Congress 12 of 34Police searching a suspect immediately after the Union Square bombing.Library of Congress 13 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1910.Library of Congress 14 of 34Russian Labor Association marching in a New York City labor parade. 1911.Library of Congress 15 of 34Children working at a silk factory in Paterson, NJ are bussed to a New York City labor parade. 1913.Library of Congress 16 of 34Picture of Bertha Hale White, a teacher, journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. 1913.Library of Congress 17 of 34Anarchists marching at a labor parade in New York. 1914.Library of Congress 18 of 34Anti-war demonstration in New York City protesting U.S. involvement in World War I. 1914.Library of Congress 19 of 34Leading member of the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman, speaks to a crowd in New York City. 1914. Wikimedia Commons 20 of 34Ian Turner, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) committee, wears a hat with a card labeled “Bread or Revolution” stuck in the brim. 1914.Library of Congress 21 of 34Anarchist labour organizer Marie Ganz appears onstage with Berkman. Ganz was a sweatshop worker before becoming an activist. 1914.Library of Congress 22 of 34Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman together in 1917. The two were close friends and lovers. That same year, both were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to “induce persons not to register” for the draft. After their release, they were both deported to Russia.Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons 23 of 34Aftermath of a bomb attack on the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919. The perpetrator was the Galleanist Italian anarchist movement. Palmer was unharmed by the attack.Moyabrit/Wikimedia Commons 24 of 34On September 16, 1920, anarchists set off a bomb on Wall Street in New York City. The bomb killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 others. Wikimedia Commons 25 of 34Aftermath of the Wall Street bombing.Library of Congress 26 of 34A man killed by the Wall Street bomb.Library of Congress 27 of 34The body of a man killed in the Wall Street bombing lies on the street.Library of Congress 28 of 34Anarchists, communists, socialists, and radicals who were rounded up in New York arrive at Ellis Island to be deported in 1920. At that time, political radicals were often deported from the United States as punishment. Many of them had grown up in the U.S. and knew little of their home country.Bettmann/Getty Images 29 of 34Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco, two Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering a security guard in an armed robbery, taken in 1921. Their case became a popular cause among leftists who believed that the two were innocent and persecuted because they were immigrants. They were both executed in 1927, but the question of their guilt still remains contested.Wikimedia Commons 30 of 34Plainclothes Colorado State Rangers patrol a demonstration of coal miners on strike. The rangers opened fire on the unarmed strikers, killing six and injuring dozens. 1927.University of Washington/Flickr 31 of 34IWW member killed by Colorado state police during the strike.University of Washington 32 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1930.National Archives of Estonia/Flickr 33 of 34Carlo Tresca, an Italian-born anarchist thinker once known in New York City as the “Town Anarchist,” was shot and killed a few feet from his doorstep in downtown Manhattan in 1943. He was likely killed by Italian-Americans who supported fascism.Bettmann/Getty Images 34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
1 of 34On September 6, 1901 President William McKinley was shot and killed by a radical anarchist at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. The president was shaking hands with members of the crowd when his assassin stepped forward and shot him twice. McKinley died of his injuries eight days later.T. Dart Walker/Wikimedia Commons
2 of 34McKinley’s assassin was Leon Czolgosz, a steel worker in Cleveland who turned to anarchism after he lost his job in the economic crash of 1893. He was caught immediately and sentenced to death by the electric chair.Wikimedia Commons
3 of 34Mugshot of prominent anarchist Emma Goldman. She was booked in 1901 when she was implicated in inspiring the assassination of President McKinley. Her refusal to condemn the assassination hurt the reputation of anarchism even among radical political circles.Bain News Service/Wikimedia Commons
4 of 34Leon Czolgosz in prison awaiting execution. 1901.Wikimedia Commons
5 of 34Daniel De Leon was an early leader of the Socialist Party of America and developed the ideology of revolutionary industrial unionism that gained popularity in the U.S. at the time. The ideology held that radical unions would transfer power and ownership of corporations to the workers. 1902.Tim Davenport/Wikimedia Commons
6 of 34In the early 1900s, the American labor movement arose to protest the horrible working conditions and pay at the time. This movement worked closely with communist, socialist, and anarchist organizations fighting for the liberation of the working class.
Demonstration for unemployed laborers. 1909.Library of Congress
7 of 34Labor parade in New York. Date unspecified.Library of Congress
8 of 34Eugene V. Debs was a founding member of the International Workers Union and a prominent member of the Socialist Party of America. He ran as their candidate for president five times, reaching his highest percentage of the vote in 1912 when he won six percent. Wikimedia Commons
9 of 34Socialist demonstrators in New York’s Union Square. 1912.Wikimedia Commons
10 of 34Men killed by a bomb thrown by an anarchist at a Union Square demonstration in 1908. The bomb was intended for the police but accidentally killed two bystanders.Library of Congress
11 of 34Casualty of the Union Square bombing being taken away on a stretcher. Library of Congress
12 of 34Police searching a suspect immediately after the Union Square bombing.Library of Congress
13 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1910.Library of Congress
14 of 34Russian Labor Association marching in a New York City labor parade. 1911.Library of Congress
15 of 34Children working at a silk factory in Paterson, NJ are bussed to a New York City labor parade. 1913.Library of Congress
16 of 34Picture of Bertha Hale White, a teacher, journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. 1913.Library of Congress
17 of 34Anarchists marching at a labor parade in New York. 1914.Library of Congress
18 of 34Anti-war demonstration in New York City protesting U.S. involvement in World War I. 1914.Library of Congress
19 of 34Leading member of the anarchist movement, Alexander Berkman, speaks to a crowd in New York City. 1914. Wikimedia Commons
20 of 34Ian Turner, of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) committee, wears a hat with a card labeled “Bread or Revolution” stuck in the brim. 1914.Library of Congress
21 of 34Anarchist labour organizer Marie Ganz appears onstage with Berkman. Ganz was a sweatshop worker before becoming an activist. 1914.Library of Congress
22 of 34Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman together in 1917. The two were close friends and lovers. That same year, both were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiring to “induce persons not to register” for the draft. After their release, they were both deported to Russia.Materialscientist/Wikimedia Commons
23 of 34Aftermath of a bomb attack on the home of U.S. Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919. The perpetrator was the Galleanist Italian anarchist movement. Palmer was unharmed by the attack.Moyabrit/Wikimedia Commons
24 of 34On September 16, 1920, anarchists set off a bomb on Wall Street in New York City. The bomb killed 38 people and seriously injured 143 others. Wikimedia Commons
25 of 34Aftermath of the Wall Street bombing.Library of Congress
26 of 34A man killed by the Wall Street bomb.Library of Congress
27 of 34The body of a man killed in the Wall Street bombing lies on the street.Library of Congress
28 of 34Anarchists, communists, socialists, and radicals who were rounded up in New York arrive at Ellis Island to be deported in 1920. At that time, political radicals were often deported from the United States as punishment. Many of them had grown up in the U.S. and knew little of their home country.Bettmann/Getty Images
29 of 34Bartolomeo Vanzetti (left) and Nicola Sacco, two Italian-born anarchists convicted of murdering a security guard in an armed robbery, taken in 1921. Their case became a popular cause among leftists who believed that the two were innocent and persecuted because they were immigrants. They were both executed in 1927, but the question of their guilt still remains contested.Wikimedia Commons
30 of 34Plainclothes Colorado State Rangers patrol a demonstration of coal miners on strike. The rangers opened fire on the unarmed strikers, killing six and injuring dozens. 1927.University of Washington/Flickr
31 of 34IWW member killed by Colorado state police during the strike.University of Washington
32 of 34May Day parade in New York City. 1930.National Archives of Estonia/Flickr
33 of 34Carlo Tresca, an Italian-born anarchist thinker once known in New York City as the “Town Anarchist,” was shot and killed a few feet from his doorstep in downtown Manhattan in 1943. He was likely killed by Italian-Americans who supported fascism.Bettmann/Getty Images
34 of 34Like this gallery?Share it:
Share
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S. View Gallery
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S. View Gallery
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S. View Gallery
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S. View Gallery
American Anarchy: Intense Photos Of The Early 1900s Reign Of Radicalism In The U.S.
View Gallery
Most any political ideology has been considered, and likely gained traction, at some point in American history. Nearly a century ago, for example, ideologies like socialism, communism, and even anarchism — ideologies that still draw followers today — were powerful forces in the American political landscape.
At the turn of the century, the American labor movement began to form in response to the horrible working conditions inside factories. Workers had little to no rights and began organizing and striking in order to gain better conditions in terms of pay, benefits, safety, and child labor laws.
The government and employers’ violent responses to these protests only drove demonstrators into increasingly radical ideologies.
Prominent figures in the labor movement like Daniel De Leon and Alexander Berkman, for example, began subscribing to and propagating communist and anarchist beliefs. This movement gained traction among many disaffected workers across America, but especially in the industrialized cities of the East Coast.
This, in turn, led to the popularity of the Socialist Party of America, a party that in 1912, at its height, secured six percent of the presidential vote with their candidate Eugene V. Debs.
Meanwhile, anarchists like Emma Goldman, who believed in the destruction of social and economic hierarchies, also rose to prominence within the movement.
And the beliefs of this movement sometimes led to violence. In 1901, President John McKinley was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz while he was shaking hands with the public. This was followed by an anarchist bombing in 1908 at a labor demonstration in Union Square in New York City.
In the late 1910s, this escalating violence, along with the fear of revolution following the communist uprising in Russia, caused a backlash against these radical groups in America. Police rounded up and deported a vast number of foreign-born people associated with leftist groups, including Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman.
Nationalists and nativists in the U.S. accused immigrants from eastern and southern European countries of being behind this leftist movement, initiating a “red scare” among an American public now terrified of a revolution. This fear spurred discrimination against new immigration and led to the expulsion of the five socialist members of the New York State Assembly.
Then, during the lead-up to May Day 1920, the attorney general claimed that there would be a communist uprising, but when the day passed without incident, it became clear that socialist revolution in the U.S. was not likely to happen.
At this point, the extreme backlash towards the leftists died down, and even the 1920 Wall Street bombing, in which an anarchist bomb killed 38 and wounded 143, was not able to fully revive this fear of the communist and anarchist threat.
As the 1920s came to a close, many of these radical leftist movements died down, and many activists became more involved in moderate political action. The reforms initiated by these activists led to greater freedom of collective bargaining and basic workers’ rights, including the prohibition of child labor.
By the early 1930s, most of the more radical leftist groups of recent years past had either come under the umbrella of the New Deal Democrats, led by President Roosevelt, or had lost their influence.
This radical period may be long over with, but many of the radical organizations on both the left and the right today can trace their ideological lineage back to the political organizations of the early 20th century.
And as today’s radicalized groups grow in voice and influence, we must reflect on the period in which radicalism truly flourished in the U.S. and hopefully learn from both the triumphs and mistakes of the past.
Next, to learn more about the communities from which much of this leftist activism sprang, check out these photos of immigrant life in early 20th century America. Then, see some intense photos from the worst riots in American history.
