The alien origin of the movement was
emphasized by the appearance of two Socialist members of the
German Reichstag, who made a tour of this country in 1881 to stir
up interest in the cause. It was soon apparent that the growth of
the Socialist party organization was hindered by the fact that
its methods were too studious and its discussions too abstract to
suit the energetic temper of the times. Many Socialists broke
away to join revolutionary clubs which were now organized in a
number of cities without any clearly defined principle save to
fight the existing system of government.
At this critical moment in the process of social disorganization,
the influence of foreign destructive thought made itself felt.
The arrival of Johann Most from Europe, in the fall of 1882,
supplied this revolutionary movement with a leader who made
anarchy its principle. Originally a German Socialist aiming to
make the State the sole landlord and capitalist, he had gone over
to anarchism and proposed to dissolve the State altogether,
trusting to voluntary association to supply all genuine social
needs. Driven from Germany, he had taken refuge in England, but
even the habitual British tolerance had given way under his
praise of the assassination of the Czar Alexander in 1881 and his
proposal to treat other rulers in the same way. He had just
completed a term of imprisonment before coming to the United
States.
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