Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
stands as a major figure in the history of American radicalism and feminism.
An influential and well-known anarchist of her day, Goldman was an early advocate
of free speech, birth control, women's equality and independence, and union
organization. Her criticism of mandatory conscription of young men into the
military during World War I led to a two-year imprisonment, followed by her
deportation in 1919. For the rest of her life until her death in 1940, she
continued to participate in the social and political movements of her age,
from the Russian Revolution to the Spanish Civil War.
Meet Emma Goldman
An online exhibition by the Emma Goldman Papers Project which
highlights Goldman's life and work.
See the new Emma Goldman Online Exhibition at the Jewish Women's Archive, created in
association with the Emma Goldman Papers Project!
Read testimonials by members of Emma's List, including Gloria Steinem, Cora Weiss, Howard Zinn and others.
About the Emma Goldman
Papers Project.
An overview of resources available on the Emma Goldman Papers
website.
Sample documents from Emma Goldman: A Documentary
History of the American Years (1890-1919), volume one,
Made for America, 1890-1901, University of
California Press, April 2003.
Selections from the printed guide to the 69-reel
microfilm collection of Goldman's papers, including
introductory, biographical and bibliographical essays, indexes
to the contents of the collection, and a detailed chronology.
Published by Chadwyck-Healey Inc., 1995.
An overview for students exploring the social and political
context of Emma Goldman's work. Uses primary historical
documents to examine issues related to immigration, freedom of
expression, women's rights, anti-militarism, and the art and
culture of social change.
Excerpts from Anarchism and Other Essays
(1910), The Social Significance of the Modern
Drama (1914), My Disillusionment in
Russia (1923), and Living My Life
(1931). Also featured are electronic texts of published
essays, pamphlets, and speeches.
Sample documents, letters, telegrams, and
handbills scanned from the originals.
Photographs of Emma Goldman and her
contemporaries.
Features
View a video of Resilient Rebels, the program of poets, scholars and activists that brought friends and supporters of the Emma Goldman Papers together.
Documents from Goldman's 50th Birthday, June 27, 1919. Spent
in Jefferson City Penitentiary, Jefferson City, Missouri.
Text of Emma Goldman's address to the jury at her 1917
anti-conscription trial.
The origins of Emma Goldman's
most famous quote examined and explained.
Emma Goldman and the Emma
Goldman Papers staff in the news.
Purchase Emma-related publications and
commemorative items and find out how to further the
Project's work.
Related websites and online resources.