Luigi Galleani and the Red Scare

Luigi Galleani

(and the purity of the deed)

“When we talk about property, State, masters, Government, laws, and police, we say only that we don’t want any of them”.

Luigi Galleani, is arguably the most significant anarchist revolutionary of the twentieth century. Not for what he achieved, but for what he stood for and came to represent. He believed in the purity of the deed, in the propaganda of violence. He refused to compromise his principles or strike deals with other political factions. He was an insurrectionary anarchist who believed in the persuasive power of the bomb. For him anarchism was a crusade against evil and its dead adherents, martyrs.

He was born into a comfortable middle class family in Vercelli, Italy. Little is known of his early life but it appears to have been a fairly conventional one. It was while studying law as a young man at the University of Turin that he turned to anarchism. He very soon rejected the law believing that the State was contemptuous of the people and merely an instrument of oppression. His outspoken views and conspiratorial behaviour forced him to go into hiding. Finally, he was able to flee Italy for France only to be expelled following his involvement in a May Day riot. Returning to Italy, he was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment on the Island of Pantelleria. It wasn’t long before he made his escape however, and made his way to America.

In 1901, he settled in Patterson, New Jersey, where he edited the anarchist journal La Questione Sociale. He then took an active part in the local silk workers strike and was wounded when troops opened fire on the picket line. Again he was forced to flee, living for a time in Argentina, but returned before long. On 6 June, 1903, he founded the journal, Cronaca Sowersiva (Subversive Chronicles) where he would list the names of prominent lawmakers and businessmen; effectively, a list of those to be targeted. Though its circulation was probably never more than 5000, and its readership remained firmly within the Italian immigrant community, its influence was considerable. Indeed, Niccolo Sacco, a victim of one of the most famous ever miscarriages of justice, had a copy on his person at the time of his arrest. Tried for his role in the New Jersey Silk Workers Strike, Galleani acquitted.

Grateful for a lucky escape and aware that his days as a free man might be numbered he now worked more feverishly than ever, editing his journal, writing pamphlets, addressing crowds, and issuing orders to his followers.