Gilded Rage:
Anarchy in the New America, 1886 - 1919

In the Gilded Age and Progressive Era in the United States, industrialization and the rise of immigration vastly augmented an underclass that lived and worked in relative squalor. At the same time, highly visible captains of industry were accumulating unheard-of wealth. Many of the country's underclass turned to radical political organizations that questioned the legitimacy of the capitalist system. One such group was the anarchists.

The political definition of "anarchy" is not "chaos." The word derives from the Greek an archos, "without a rule." A world without rules, anarchists argue, is one of justice and harmony, where human beings will naturally organize in a way that is beneficial to all.

The government is the chief legislator and enforcer of rules. In a world where anarchy exists, government does not-nor does any institution that mandates rules by which human beings should live, not even marriage. The political movement towards anarchy is called anarchism.

The anarchists did not lobby to change the rules they abhorred. Instead, they spoke publicly and published prolifically about such issues as poor working conditions, unemployment, education, women's liberation, birth control, and conscription. The anarchists were brave, outspoken individuals, many of whom were women and first-generation immigrants. By attempting to eliminate the inequality, coercion, and corruption of authority, anarchists affected some positive social change.

Some anarchists called for the assassination of key political leaders to ignite an anti-authoritarian revolution. On September 6, 1901, Polish immigrant Leon Czolgosz shot President William McKinley. Tragic acts of violence such as this overshadowed the broader philosophy of anarchism. The United States Government cracked down on radical organizations. Anarchism quickly became associated with destruction, and lost credibility with the American press and public.

Gilded Rage tells the story of the anarchists' mixed legacy.