Most, Johann b. February 5, 1846;Augsburg, Bavaria d. March 11, 1906; Cincinnati, Ohio
Johann Most was an architect of the revolutionary anarchist movement in the United States. Neither its founder nor its intellectual figurehead, Most made his mark as a fiery orator and sharp-tongued editor who promoted anarchism in the United States, while making headlines in the process.
Following his arrival in New York in December 1882, the mainstream press treated him initially as a curiosity and eventually as a villain. But beyond the publicity and caricatures lay a restless soul with a deep commitment to his political ideals.Most’s youth was marked by loss and hardship. He lost his mother and a sister at an early age and later endured a rocky relationship with an often cruel stepmother. As a boy, Most contracted an inflammation of the jaw that was eventually cured by an operation, but that left his face markedly disfigured. His visible scars affected his confidence and shattered his dream of an acting career (an ambition he had inherited from his father). Instead, he was apprenticed to a bookbinder where he experienced unfair labor practices firsthand. Following that, he experienced a string of failed professional endeavors and personal rejections, which instilled in him a hatred of privilege and injustice.
In 1867 Most attended a labor festival in Switzerland. The speakers confronted issues he had often struggled with in isolation. He soon became a familiar face at such gatherings and eventually addressed audiences himself. His eloquence and humor delighted the workers, and his popularity grew. But it was in Austria that Most was to build
“John Most, the anarchist, addressing a meeting of sympathizers at Cooper Institute, April 4th, ” from a sketch in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, New York City, 1887.
(Library of Congress)his first strong following, marking the real beginning of his labor movement career. A Marxist of sorts, his speeches were straightforward and popular, though not vulgar. In 1871 he was expelled from Austria and returned to Germany, where he enjoyed a wide and growing audience. As a result he was elected to the Reichstag in 1874, but soon grew disillusioned with parliamentary politics, so he returned to the labor halls and beer gardens to address workers directly.
Most also excelled as the editor of a number of German labor journals, including the Chemnitzer Freie Presse (Chemnitz Free Press, 1871—1873), and the Berliner Freie Presse (Berlin Free Press, 1876—1878), of which he was coeditor. He explained complex theories in popular prose and combined critical journalism with tonguein-cheek humor. Although he was a cardcarrying Social Democrat, his brash posturing alarmed Socialist leaders who believed Most had become a liability in Germany’s politically repressive climate.
In December 1878 Most was expelled from Germany under the Anti-Socialist Law. He traveled to London, an exile haven, and took up the editorship of Freiheit (Freedom), an unofficial Socialist paper that was smuggled into Germany. Most steered Freiheit on an increasingly independent course, widening the rift between German exiles and the Socialist leadership at home, who shunned underground resistance. In August 1880 Johann Most was officially expelled from Germany’s Socialist Labor Party, largely because of Freiheits rhetoric of violence and insurrection. From 1880 to 1882, Most fell under the influence of a handful of revolutionar- ies—some Blanquists, some anarchists— who opened his mind to anarchism. In 1881 British authorities imprisoned Most for publishing the article “Endlich!” (At Last!) following the assassination of Czar Alexander II. Following his release, Most arrived in New York on December 18, 1882. He was welcomed by members of the Social-Revolutionary Club of New York, many of whom had themselves been expelled from the Socialist Labor Party of America.
Most—now an anarchist—brought Freiheit along with him, which continued publication until 1910. The majority of the prints were sent to London, the rest to new subscribers in cities like Philadelphia, Newark, Cincinnati, and St. Louis.During the spring of 1883, Most undertook two lecture tours across the northeastern United States, spreading a message of revolutionary anarchism. He revived a sleepy collection of radicals and converted many to anarchism. He was mocked in the mainstream press as a foreign lunatic. In October 1883 he helped organize a convention of social revolutionaries in Pittsburgh and almost single-handedly drafted a manifesto outlining principles of antiauthoritarian organization, the first such blueprint in American labor history. Thanks to his efforts, German American anarchists increasingly raised their voices, attended demonstrations, and appeared at picket lines.
From 1882 until his death in 1906, Johann Most devoted nearly all his time to the cause of anarchism. He spoke at countless meetings, managed the affairs of Freiheit, and authored dozens of widely circulated pamphlets such as Die Eigenthumsbestie (The Beast of Property, 1883), Die Gottespest (The God Pestilence, 1883), and Unsere Stel- lung in der Arbeiterbewegung (Our Position in the Labor Movement, 1890). He called for a radically new society that restored the independence of the worker. He advocated self-defense in the face of law enforcement violence, and penned his infamous manual on explosives, Reυolutionare Kriegswis- senschaf (Revolutionary War Science, 1885).
Most regarded loyalty to the cause as vital to survival in the face of repression. He viewed rival anarchist papers as competition and sought to maintain Freiheits monopoly. He was not known for tolerating dissenting opinions, and he easily ignited into impetuous rage. This pushed comrades away—even close friends like Emma Goldman and Justus Schwab. The result was a movement split into Mostian and autonomist factions.
To some extent, Most never felt completely at home in the United States. Although his public reactions were hotheaded and acerbic, in private he displayed feelings of tenderness and integrity. He wrestled with personal frustrations and contradictions. He dreamed of rousing the American proletariat, but came to loathe their selfish materialism.Tom Goyens
See also Anarchists; Bismarck’s Anti-Socialist Law; Freiheit; Schwab, Justus H.
References and Further Reading
Becker, Heiner. “Johann Most in Europe.”
The Raven. Anarchist Quarterly I, 4 (March 1988): 291-321.
Goldman, Emma. “Johann Most.” American Mercury 8 (June 1926): 158-166.
Nomad, Max. Apostles of Revolution. Boston: Little, Brown, 1939.
Rocker, Rudolf. Johann Most: Das Leben eines Rebellen. Foreword by Alexander Berkman. Glashutten im Taunus: Detlov Auvermann, 1973.
Trautmann, Frederic. The Voice of Terror: A Biography of Johann Most. Westport, CT, and London: Greenwood, 1980.