The “Good War” of Italian Immigrant Anarchists in the US 1914-1920

From Act for freedom now!

In the United States between 1914 and 1920, the greatest armed revolutionary offensive of the 20th century was unleashed against the governmental, judicial, industrial and financial institutions of the most important capitalist country on the planet. These direct actions weren’t the work of the militant factions of a political party or of a more or less radical mass movement, but of a handful of anarchists who had emigrated from Italy at the turn of the century. It was from this context that Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti came, sadly famous their execution on the electric chair in 1927.

The bad example for posterity is why the direct actions of these immigrant subversives have fallen into the hands of those who have every interest in pacifying, hiding and slandering them. But against all political realism, these anarchists, despite their limited numbers attacked all authority. Against all odds, they refused to resign to their limited means and stubbornly strove to overcome them. Against all illusory idealism, they did not hesitate to resort to violence. Against all strategic compromises, they never gave up their dreams. Against all clichés, they never set individual freedom against the need for association. Here a genuine ethic of life was forged out of love for freedom and the hatred of power, in defiance of any political ideology. It was here that the spark was ignited between dreams and reality, love and revolt, kisses and dynamite, roses and barricades, which characterized the “good war” of these Italian anarchists.

A history that knows neither authority nor obedience.

Roofdruk/Compass editions, January 2024, 336 pages // 12 euros

 

The book is available through: rupture.noblogs.org

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There are 14 Comments

In my humble opinion, it's disrespectful to the memory of Sacco and Vanzetti to write a summary this corny and full of shit. But that's just me.

In my humble opinion its stupid to think that this insults your idol sacco & vancetti. There was others that died in this time, so whats your point? Read the book, you´ll understand, although its true its not necesseraly true that it was the biggest offensive of the 20tiest century, but who cares about the blurb, its about the full book.

I'm sorry I questioned your idol, the author/editor of the summary. I'll never doubt them again. If the content of the book is good, I will pray you all allow me to covert to your church and forgive me for being an apostate, and I'll promise to never have different tastes ever again.

I have sinned again. I will open my Merriam-Webster dictionary and recite the definition to myself in the mirror (as well as continue to tell myself to never question sensationalist aesthetics ever again, to quietly follow the styles I'm told are the only acceptable ones)

I don't know the history so I don't know how to evaluate their presentation of it.

Sacco and vanzetti were followers of luigi galleani. Who was a big time advocate of propaganda of the deed. If you look into the whole life and movement about Sacco and vanzetti they definitely helped carry out attacks and propaganda against the state and capital in new england specifically in Massachusetts. People like to pretend they were just a bunch of immigrants but that is definitely some white washed shit. There is a good book about galleani as well. Sacco and vanzetti were definitely in the insurrection camp of anarchism.

https://www.akpress.org/luigi-galleani.html

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Galleani

https://www.saccoandvanzetti.org/

The book is about the "the greatest armed revolutionary offensive of the 20th century" and the description laments the fact that the "direct actions of these immigrant subversives have fallen into the hands of those who have every interest in pacifying, hiding and slandering them." Doesn't seem to be claiming at all that S&V were just "poor innocent immigrants"...

Paul Avrich's 'Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background' is a good read. I didn't say the summary was full of shit because Sacco and Vanzetti were actually pacifists or timid trade unionists or something, but because "the greatest armed revolutionary offensive of the 20th century" bit (and the whole thing really) is so ridiculously sensationalist, if you will. I don't think it's even true if we limit it to the United States (or ignore the fact that the Mexican Revolution had American, including anarchist, connections.)

Thanks. I agree. It sounds like it was a cool thing but I would want to see a lot of evidence that this earlier wave was "greater" than the mid 1960s to the early 1970s, if we are speaking only of that within U.S. borders.

I think the commenter above you was hinting at the Black, Queer and Native liberation movements... That were pretty absent from the workers revolutionary movement from 100 years ago. They also weren't based on that Worker identity.

This was a single act carried out over a decade before the period covered by the book, so I'm not sure why it's a meaningful reply here. (Czolgosz wasn't an Italian immigrant either though he was influenced by the Italian anarchist movement)

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