Emma Goldman Accomplishments

Emma Goldman was an accomplished activist for women’s rights during the Progressive era. Born on June 27th, 1869, in Kovno, Lithuania, Goldman’s family was deeply entrenched in poverty. For context, Lithuania, at this point in the 19th century, had just recently come under Russian rule. This entailed an extensive anti-Semitic campaign led by Tsar Alexander, which put millions of Jewish people in Lithuania in a form of destitution (Jewish Life in Lithuania Before the Holocaust). Unfortunately for the Goldman family, their Jewish religious background made them a target for systematic poverty. But unfortunately, poverty was not the only ailment Goldman went through during her childhood. Both of her parents were immensely abusive and utilized violence to properly discipline their children. Goldman’s

Besides being an anarchist, Goldman was also an avid communist and championed the end of American capitalism. She believed that communism was the reason for all the diseases that plagued American society, such as poverty, worker exploitation, and the wealth gap. This strong belief in both anarchism and communism led to her involvement in the Homestead strike of 1892. With Berkman, she hatched a plan to assassinate the chairman of Carnegie Steel Corporation, Henry Clack Frick (New York Historical Society). The two of them believed that by killing Frick, the strike would gain an undisputed victory and show the capitalist leaders of the world that the workers would become more powerful than them. But unfortunately for Goldman and Berkman, the assassination attempt failed, and Berkman ended up in prison for attempted manslaughter. However, Goldman did not go to prison due to a lack of evidence connecting her to the plot (Southwick). Post-Homestead strike, Goldman still fought for worker's rights and the fundamentals of communism and