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Luigi Galleani

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Luigi Galleani was a prominent Italian insurrectionary anarchist and communist. He is best known for advocating a strategy called "propaganda of the deed." This concept involved using political assassinations and violent attacks to create social change. Galleani believed that the state and capitalism were inherently corrupt systems. He argued that these institutions could not be fixed through gradual reform. Instead, he believed in a continuous attack against them to force a revolution.

Pietro-Gori
Pietro-Gori

Galleani's political method relied on rejecting formal organizations. He believed that large groups and labor unions were naturally hierarchical. To him, hierarchy led to corruption and loss of true freedom. Instead, he encouraged followers to form small, tight-knit cells. These cells consisted of self-selecting individuals who worked together without central leaders. This anti-organizational approach became the dominant style within the Italian American anarchist movement. His most devoted followers were known as the Galleanisti.

Cronaca
Cronaca

Born on August 12, 1861, in Vercelli, Italy, Galleani was raised in a middle-class family. He studied law at the University of Turin. However, he eventually renounced his legal career to pursue anarchist propaganda. He became a powerful orator and writer for the Italian anarchist movement. In 1887, he helped reorient the Piedmontese movement toward labor activism. He established the newspaper Gazzetta Operaia to spread his revolutionary ideas. He also led strikes among factory workers in cities like Turin and Vercelli.

Merlino
Merlino

Conflict between different political groups shaped much of his early career. In 1892, Galleani attended the Genoa Workers' Congress to represent anarchists. There, he argued against the reformist social democrats led by Filippo Turati. A fierce argument broke out between the anarchist and socialist delegates. This conflict led to a split in the movement. The social democrats formed the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). Galleani's attempt to form a separate anarchist party was unsuccessful. This event caused many anarchists to feel disillusioned with the labor movement.

After being exiled to the island of Pantelleria, Galleani eventually fled to the United States in October 1901. He settled in Paterson, New Jersey, among Italian immigrant silk workers. In 1903, he launched the newspaper Cronaca Sovversiva in Barre, Vermont. This publication became the most influential Italian anarchist periodical in North America. In 1905, he published a bomb-making manual titled La Salute è in voi!. This manual included formulas for making nitroglycerine. The newspaper had a massive reach and received worldwide distribution.

New-York Tribune coverage of 1919 United States anarchist bombings
New-York Tribune coverage of 1919 United States anarchist bombings

His influence extended to many famous individuals, including Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. These men promoted Galleani's lectures and distributed his radical literature. During World War I, Galleani became a leader in the anti-war movement. He urged followers to refuse registration under the Selective Service Act of 1917. This activism made him a major target for the American government. Federal agents raided his newspaper offices in June 1917. Consequently, Galleani and eight followers were deported to Italy in June 1919. This deportation separated him from his family in the United States.

Life in Italy after his return was marked by intense political repression. Following the rise of fascism in 1922, the new authorities arrested him for sedition. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison. In 1925, he published his book, The End of Anarchism?. This work defended anarchist communism against reformist socialist critics. The book even led to his arrest for insulting the dictator Benito Mussolini. After serving time in various prisons, he was granted release in 1930 due to failing health. He lived under constant police surveillance until he died of a heart attack on November 4, 1931.

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