The Early Years: Emma Goldman Before the War
Emma Goldman's controversial activism during the prewar years garnered the fear and suspicion of many government officials. Her unpopular involvement in such causes as birth control, sexual freedom, and labor organization were seen as subversive and threatening to the stability of American society. In 1917 Attorney General Caffey asserted that Goldman's personal magnetism and persuasive powers made her "an exceedingly dangerous woman." J. Edgar Hoover, then a young Justice Department official, echoed this sentiment when he called Goldman "beyond doubt, [one] of the most dangerous anarchists in this country." Indeed, "dangerous" was a term often used to describe the young revolutionary. Nevertheless, Goldman refused to be intimidated by pressure from the authorities. On the contrary, official censure usually inspired "Red Emma" to pursue her beliefs with increased fervor.
(Emma Goldman as a young activist, from "The Emma Goldman Papers" http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Exhibition/youngwoman.html)
The right to free speech was of particular importance to Goldman, who was frequently harassed while lecturing in public. She was arrested in 1893 when she encouraged a group of unemployed New Yorkers to rise up against their plight. She appealed to the protections of the first amendment during her trial, but the courts apparently refused to recognize Goldman's freedom to speak her mind. She was convicted and served ten months in prison. This event illustrates the fact that basic civil liberties were not guaranteed to average citizens in turn of the century American society. It is also indicative of the kind of activism that earned Goldman the government's scorn. However, this experience did not inspire Goldman to refrain from speaking out against injustice. During the early 1900's, Goldman launched an aggressive campaign supporting birth control and a woman's right not to bear children. At least twice during this movement, Goldman was arrested for violating the 1873 Comstock Law, which prohibited the distribution of birth control literature. Again, the message was clear that the right to free speech was more of an ideal than a reality during this period of American history. Therefore, it would not be difficult for the government to adopt patterns of outright suppression when Wilson's foreign policy required it in 1917.
(Mug shot of Emma Goldman, arrested September 1, 1893 for inciting a riot at a Union Square demonstration of unemployed New Yorkers, from "The Emma Goldman Papers" http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Images/)
Goldman took many steps toward winning better first amendment guarantees. She helped found the nation's first Free Speech League, a precursor to the American Civil Liberties Union . Although Goldman's efforts were highly inspirational to followers such as Roger Baldwin (founder of the ACLU, who called Goldman "one of the chief inspirations of my life"), they earned her the resentment of many government officials. For example, the authorities lashed out at Goldman by subjecting her liberal-minded publication, Mother Earth, to frequent censorship. The magazine was a forum for socialist, anarchist, and progressive thinkers of all backgrounds. Mother Earth was important because by allowing radical thinkers to freely express their views, it issued a direct challenge to the government's suppressive attitude. The publication became a bastion of political dissent, commonly associated with foreign revolutionaries. As such, Mother Earth would become a prominent symbol of the anti-foreign hysteria that erupted during World War I.
(Roger Baldwin photograph from "The Emma Goldman Papers" http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Exhibition/freespeech.html)
Goldman often used her prominence as the editor of Mother Earth to bring attention to the causes she advocated. For example, a 1912 conflict between the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.) and local authorities brought Goldman to San Diego. She planned to speak in defense of the labor union, which she had long supported. California authorities had recently created a ban on outdoor political speeches. This law was aimed at preventing I.W.W. members and anarchists from speaking freely. Within one week, 150 Wobblies were jailed for resisting this law, while hundreds more were terrorized and chased out of town. One man was actually killed by two policemen armed with a gun and an ax. Goldman was outraged by these events, and abandoned her current lecture tour to join the struggle in San Diego. However, she was greeted by a violently hostile crowd, which chanted "we want the anarchist murderess." Goldman was compelled to hide in her hotel and refrain from making public appearances. When her companion Ben Rietman was abducted and beaten by vigilantes, Goldman was forced to flee San Diego on an early morning train, barely escaping with her life.
(Image from Mother Earth, June 1912. Source: "The Emma Goldman Papers" http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/Exhibition/freespeech.html )
The importance of the San Diego event lies in Goldman's ability to bring national attention to a small, previously unheard of conflict. Not only did she dedicate a special edition of Mother Earth to the injustices suffered by the San Diego Wobblies; she wrote letters to other prominent members of the press, alerting them to the gross violations of human and constitutional rights. Goldman's ability to reach so many Americans with her opinions is exactly what made her so dangerous in the eyes of government officials.