The Ballot or the Bomb: The Anarchist-Socialist Split in the American Gilded Age
Anarchist Studies - Print ISSN 0967-3393 - Online ISSN 2633-8270
Volume 34 Number 1 (2026)
The Ballot or the Bomb: The Anarchist-Socialist Split in the American Gilded Age
Zachary Patrick pages 35‑60
DOI: 10.3898/AS.34.1.02
Abstract
In the late nineteenth century, the United States witnessed a considerable growth in socialist and anarchist movements, primarily in response to the emergence of industrial capitalism and political corruption characteristic of the Gilded Age. There is an extensive literature on the rise of American radicalism during this time, but the specific details and consequences of the conflict between American socialists have received less attention. This article examines how the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) distanced itself from the rising revolutionary fervour of the Gilded Age anarchist movement by developing a public and internal anti-anarchist strategy. The paper shows how the SLP and its later splinter organisations like the Socialist Party of America (SPA) responded to significant events, including the Haymarket Bombing, the attempted assassination of Henry Clay Frick by anarchist Alexander Berkman, and the assassination of President William McKinley by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. It argues that the SLP and SLA deepened their anti-anarchist stance instead of expressing solidarity or critical support of the anarchist labour movement.
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To cite this article
Zachary Patrick (2026) The Ballot or the Bomb: The Anarchist-Socialist Split in the American Gilded Age, Anarchist Studies, 34(1), 35-60 . https://doi.org/10.3898/AS.34.1.02