1893*
Men and women, do you not realize that the State is the worst enemy you have? It is a machine that crushes you in order to sustain the ruling class, your masters. Like naïve children you put your trust in your political leaders. You make it possible for them to creep into your confidence, only to have them betray you to the first bidder. But even where there is no direct betrayal, the labor politicians make common cause with your enemies to keep you in leash, to prevent your direct action.
The State is the pillar of capitalism, and it is ridiculous to expect any redress from it. Do you not see the stupidity of asking relief from Albany with immense wealth within a stone’s throw from here? Fifth Avenue is laid in gold, every mansion is a citadel of money and power. Yet there you stand, a giant, starved and fettered, shorn of his strength.
Cardinal Manning long ago proclaimed that “necessity knows no law” and that “the starving man has a right to a share of his neighbor’s bread.” Cardinal Manning was an ecclesiastic steeped in the traditions of the Church, which has always been on the side of the rich against the poor. But he had some humanity, and he knew that hunger is a compelling force.
You, too, will have to learn that you have a right to share your neighbors bread. Your neighbors—they have not only stolen your bread, but they are sapping your blood. They will go on robbing you, your children, and your children’s children, unless you wake up, unless you become daring enough to demand your rights. Well, then, demonstrate before the palaces of the rich; demand work. If they do not give you work, demand bread. If they deny you both, take bread.
It is your sacred right!
* This speech was originally delivered to a crowd of thousands, at the height of a catastrophic economic depression; Goldman would be charged for “incitement to riot” and sentenced with a year of imprisonment. This version is drawn from her later recollections in Living My Life (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931), 122–123.