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Goddess of Anarchy

Page 54

by Jacqueline Jones


  leaves town as fugitive, 134–135, 136, 139–140, 142–143, 152–153

  as martyr for the cause, 144–145, 277–278

  in prison, 147–148, 186–187, 193

  refuses to petition for clemency, 197–200

  as suspect, 129, 141, 146

  trial, 142–145, 149, 150–151, 154, 162–163

  Parsons, Albert R., money-making activities

  Chicago newspapers, 46, 48, 62–63, 69

  Confederate soldier, 8–9

  for IRS, 31, 37

  life insurance agent, 23–24

  postwar career, 14–15

  Texas newspapers, 8, 23–26, 39–40

  Parsons, Albert R., political work

  for black civil rights in TX, 22, 24, 32–33, 36, 56

  eight-hour-day movement, 78, 83, 119, 123

  embraces anarchism, 89–91

  embraces socialism, 45–49

  with labor unions, 93, 120–121

  political career in Texas, 15–16, 18, 21–22, 26–27, 31–34, 35–36

  runs for public office as socialist, 59, 70, 71, 79, 82, 84

  Parsons, Albert R., public speaking

  at Board of Trade building protest, 96, 97–98

  cultivates relationship with undercover detectives, 95–96, 98, 108

  and Great Railroad Strike, 60, 61–63, 65–66

  at Haymarket trial, 150–151, 162–163

  in IWPA, 93–94, 129

  out-of-town trips, 113–116

  in SDP/WPUS, 56–57, 58

  in Texas, 21–22, 24–25, 35–36

  Parsons, Albert R., publishing business

  Chicago newspapers, 46, 48, 62–63, 69, 120–121

  editor of Socialist, 70

  Republican newspaper, 21

  Texas newspapers, 8, 23–26, 39–40

  See also Alarm (paper)

  Parsons, Albert R., relationship with Lucy, xiv, 347

  and Haymarket events, 135, 137–138, 156–159, 184–185, 187–188

  marriage, ix, 5, 37–38

  public knowledge of in Waco, 31

  relationship begins, 26, 29–30

  strength of, 87–88

  Parsons, Albert R., writings by

  Anarchism: Its Philosophy and Scientific Basis, 92, 196–197, 200, 205, 211, 214

  in Arbeiter Zeitung, 86

  autobiography of, 22, 26

  IWPA manifesto, 92

  in Labor Enquirer, 92, 93

  “Letters from Waco,” 23, 25–26

  in The Socialist, 80

  “To the American People” (letter), 193–194, 195

  in Truth, 92

  See also Alarm (paper)

  Parsons, Edgar (Albert’s nephew), 310

  Parsons, Hannah (Albert’s mother), 6

  Parsons, Lucy

  advocates free speech, 210

  on Albert’s execution, 206

  assists with Albert’s book, 196–197

  birth of, ix

  on charity, 224

  compared to French revolutionaries, 109, 157

  contradictions in views of, xi–xii, 347–350

  death, 342, 343–346

  defends Bolsheviks, 324

  determination of, 116

  disagrees with other radicals, 233–234

  distance from African Americans, xi–xii, xiii, 56, 138, 178, 241, 272, 301–302, 330

  and founding of IWW, 264–265, 267

  and founding of SLNA, 287

  house fires, xiv, 250–251, 342

  house she built in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood, 220, 221

  initiates lawsuits, xii, 57, 250, 252

  leaves Waco for Chicago, 3, 5, 39, 41–42, 48

  life after executions of Haymarket anarchists, 210–211, 213–217

  lives in immigrant neighborhood in Chicago, 86–87

  mode of speaking, xi, xiii, 170–174, 231

  names used by, 37, 41–42, 77–78, 88, 323, 346

  narrative of her as distraught/broken down, 185

  national reputation of, x–xi, xii–xiii

  and Nina van Zandt, 186

  obituaries of, 344–345

  in old age, 311, 320, 323–326, 335–339, 340–341

  opposes voting, 265

  and our own times, xv

  physical appearance of, xiii, 4, 86, 108, 138, 174–175, 175–177, 216, 250, 254, 335–336

  rejects partisan politics, 260, 333

  and response to WWI, 299

  as symbol of class struggle, ix, 263, 264–265, 335–336

  uses her children in public, 221–222

  utopian vision of, 226, 260–261

  See also feuds among radicals

  Parsons, Lucy, and Haymarket events

  activities leading up to, 131, 132, 133, 135

  and Albert’s return to Chicago, 142, 143

  arrests, 136, 155, 193–194, 195

  is not charged in the case, 142

  media interest in relationship with Albert afterward, 137–138, 156–159

  and police raid of AZ office, 135–136

  Parsons, Lucy, and Haymarket trial

  and Albert’s execution, 198, 201–202, 203–204

  at Albert’s funeral, 204–205

  decision announced, 154, 163–164

  “makes a scene” at the jail, 200–201

  on need for martyrs in workers’ movement, 144–145

  on speaking tour, 161–162

  testimony regarding, 146, 149–150

  Parsons, Lucy, family of, xii, xiii, 180, 253

  brothers, 12, 30, 157

  first child (Champ), 20–21, 29, 30–31, 41

  household life with small children, 88

  See also Carter, Charlotte; Parsons, Albert Jr.; Parsons, Lulu Eda

  Parsons, Lucy, feuds with other radicals

  Emma Goldman, 247–249, 278–279, 282, 324, 336–337

  Eugene Debs, 249

  Jay Fox, 271

  Nina van Zandt, 338–339, 344–345

  Parsons, Lucy, in Chicago politics

  as anarchist, 89–91

  beginning of her public visibility, leadership role, 69

  at Board of Trade building protest (1885), 96

  criticizes Knights of Labor, 129

  dismisses/attacks unionists and other radicals, 120

  first years in Chicago (1873–1876), 45–59

  founds WWU, 72

  on Great Railroad Strike, 60, 66

  meets Johann Most, 91

  participates in WPUS meetings, 58

  rejects electoral system, 71, 81, 82

  speaks at IWPA meetings, 105

  on worthlessness of the two major parties, 66

  Parsons, Lucy, money-making activities, 214

  peddler, 250

  seamstress, 46, 48, 55, 69–70, 93, 109

  sells books/pamphlets, 192, 283, 289, 315–316, 327, 331

  Parsons, Lucy, other relationships

  Ben Reitman, 249

  Charles Secondo, 252, 332

  George Markstall, 289–290, 311, 332

  Johann Most, 236

  Martin Lacher, 217–219, 223

  Oliver Benton, 16–17, 20

  Parsons, Lucy, personal life, xiv–xv

  childhood, xiii, 12

  education, 17, 20, 156

  at end of nineteenth century, 249–250

  ethnicity of, xiii, 56

  false narratives of herself, 246–247

  mystery of, ix–x, xiii–xiv, 174

  reticence about, x, xiii, xiv, 348

  sexuality of, xii, xiv

  youth, 16–17, 20–21, 29–30, 253, 348

  See also Mexican heritage, Lucy’s story of

  Parsons, Lucy, public speaking career, x

  arrests, 189–191, 193–194, 195, 228, 244, 255, 285, 289, 296

  audiences, 177–178

  and Bowen Hall meeting, 294–297

  and cannery strike, 292

  and Coxey’s Army, 243–244

  desire for
, 110–111, 113

  free from arrest, 111–112, 167, 183

  during Haymarket trial, 161–162, 163–164, 164–165, 166–174

  itinerary of, 181

  at IWPA events, 110–112

  last recorded address, 341

  marketing for speeches, 169–170

  media attention to, xii–xiii, 166–167, 168, 169–170, 175–178, 179, 180, 190–191

  in old age, 315–316, 321–322, 330–331

  as orator, 109

  and reform movement, 213–214

  scrapbook of, 166–167

  speaking tours, 127, 189–191, 214, 215–217, 250, 251, 274–275, 283–285, 289, 292–294, 308–309

  sponsored/hosted by, 168, 214, 284, 298

  Parsons, Lucy, relationship with Albert, 347

  Albert’s view of, 39

  and Haymarket events, 135, 137–138, 156–159, 184–185, 187–188

  marriage, ix, xiv, 5, 37–38

  meets Albert, 26

  public knowledge of in Waco, 31

  strength of, 87–88

  Parsons, Lucy, writing by

  in The Alarm, 100, 102, 123, 127–128, 211, 215

  Altgeld’s Pardon of the Anarchists, 235, 259, 269

  “Christmas Story, A,” 103

  “Communistic Monopoly,” 103–104

  “Dynamite,” 102

  “Factory Child, The,” 102–103, 104

  Famous Speeches, 269, 289, 325, 327

  in Freedom, 227, 230

  introduction to Anarchism, 200

  “Just Blow at a Tyrant, A,” 230

  in Labor Enquirer, 92–93, 102, 136–137

  in Liberator, 269–270, 271–272, 272–274, 274–275, 276

  “Negro, The,” 127–128

  “Objections to Variety,” 246

  in One Big Union Monthly, 341

  “Parody, A” (poem), 82

  “Proposed Slaughter, The,” 276

  in Rebel, 236

  in Regeneración, 308–309

  in The Socialist, 76–77, 82

  “To Tramps, the Unemployed, the Disinherited, and Miserable,” 100–101, 104, 149, 156

  travelogues, 215, 274–275, 284

  “Woman Question Again, The,” 273–274

  writing style, 104

  See also Life of Albert R. Parsons

  Parsons, Lulu Eda (Lucy and Albert’s daughter)

  ashes of, 337

  birth, 88

  cared for by others, 88, 113, 161, 163–164, 186, 194, 217, 220

  death, 219–220

  and Haymarket events, 132, 197, 202

  at Haymarket meeting, 150, 153, 163, 170, 199–200, 344, 349

  illness, 186, 194

  Lucy avoids mentioning, 338

  Parsons, Mary (Albert’s sister), 6, 14, 26, 154

  Parsons, Richard (Albert’s brother), 8

  Parsons, Samuel (Albert’s father), 6

  Parsons, William H. (Albert’s brother), 6–7, 88, 259

  on Albert and Lucy’s marriage, 37

  in Anarchism, 205

  children of, 310

  Confederate soldier, 8–9

  death, 286

  and German immigrants, 34–35, 48

  and Haymarket events, 153–154, 155, 186, 194–195, 197

  moves to NYC, 38

  political career, 23, 26–27, 32, 34–35, 153

  Parsons & Co. (Lucy’s dressmaking business), 69–70, 109, 158

  Partido Liberal Mexicano (PLM—Mexican Liberal Party), 285–286

  partisan politics, rejection of, 66, 90, 260, 333

  patriotism, appeals to, 140, 143, 148, 170

  peddlers, Lucy as, 250

  Pettibone, George A. (labor activist), 276

  Pinkerton, Allan (head of private security force), 70

  Pinkerton, Robert (brother of Allan), 254–255

  Pinkerton, William (son of Allan), 141

  Pioneer Aid and Support Association (PASA)

  financial support of Lucy, 214, 220–221, 229, 236, 244, 250

  fundraisers for, 228–229

  and Haymarket commemoration, 340, 346

  Lucy’s feud with, 220–221, 229, 236, 244

  members of, 221, 319–320, 332

  Pittsburgh Daily Dispatch, 170

  pleasure outings, large

  and Communist party, 328

  in German American socialist culture, 59–60

  lakefront picnic rallies, 110–111

  numbers attracted by, 82–83

  the Parsonses plan, 75–76, 89, 112

  poetry, 321

  police. See law enforcement officials

  Pope, A. J. (editor of Firebrand), 246

  Popular Front, 334–335

  Populist Party, 238–239

  Powderly, Terence V. See under Knights of Labor

  Powell, Adam Clayton Jr. (NY politician), 335

  press and publicity

  freedom of, 269–270

  interest in relationship with Albert, 136–138, 144, 156–159

  manipulation of, 95, 96, 185, 193–194, 195–196

  monitor Lucy’s public appearances, xii–xiii, 166–167, 168, 169–170, 175–178, 179, 180, 183–184, 190–191, 254

  prisons, 273, 308

  Progress and Poverty (George), 168

  Progressive Era. See reform movement

  Progressive Party, 288, 297

  property interests, 52–53, 65, 310

  prostitutes, 5, 18, 190

  Pullman, George (railroad car magnate), 49, 121, 141

  Pullman strike (1894), 236, 241

  race

  discussions of Lucy’s heritage, 339, 346

  racism, 240, 254, 309–310

  See also African Americans; Mexican heritage, Lucy’s story of

  radical papers, 92, 246, 247, 282, 308

  anarchist papers, 91, 108–109, 245, 248, 254, 271, 277, 283, 287–288, 295 (See also Alarm; Arbeiter Zeitung)

  communist papers, 328, 335, 336, 340–341, 345

  Free Society, 236, 245, 254, 257, 259, 271

  IWW papers, 269–274, 270, 275, 276, 283, 289, 323, 341

  Knights of Labor, 87, 147, 187, 189

  Labor Enquirer, 92–93, 102, 129, 136, 145, 186

  lack of English-language publications, 58, 92, 109, 227

  Lucy’s obituaries in, 345

  Mother Earth, 275, 278, 282, 299, 303, 307

  Regeneración, 285–286, 288, 289, 303, 307, 308–309

  socialist papers, 70, 75, 76–77, 80, 82, 259, 296, 338, 345

  Radical Republicanism, 23, 32

  radicalism’s association with foreignness, 54, 84, 108, 138, 317–318

  railroads

  and Chicago’s economy, 40

  size of industry, 61

  strikes by workers, 117, 125, 129, 236, 241

  support for in Texas, 25, 35, 39

  rallies/marches/protests

  views of, 53

  See also pleasure outings, large; strikes

  Randolph, A. Philip (black union leader), 330

  Rantz Schwab, Mary (socialist organizer), 293

  “Reasons Why the Colored American Is Not in the World’s Columbian Exposition” (pamphlet, Wells-Barnett), 242

  Rebel: A Monthly Journal Devoted to the Exposition of Anarchist Communism (paper), 245

  Reconstruction in South, 15, 18–19

  Red Scares, x, 305–307, 317–318, 341–342

  reform movement

  and anarchists, 123–124, 256

  in Chicago, 213, 224–225

  and Lucy, 168–169, 179, 237, 257–258, 259, 298

  and response to WWI, 299

  and state socialism, 233

  Regeneración (paper), 285–286, 288, 289, 303, 307, 308–309

  Reitman, Ben (radical speaker), 279–280, 281, 320, 322, 337, 343–344

  Relief and Aid Society of Chicago, 47, 53

  religion

  Albert appeals to, 140, 148

  and collective action vs bootstr
aps narrative, 52

  critiques of, 100, 103–104, 122, 284–285

  religious revivals in Chicago, 126

  reporters/journalists. See press and publicity

  Republican Party

  Albert’s political career in, 15–16, 18, 21–22, 26–27, 31–34

  partnerships with business interests, 26, 34–35, 53

  in Texas, 5, 38

  William Parsons joins, 23

  respectability

  aspirational trade unionists, 120–121, 192

  in black community, 241

  Lucy claims lack of interest in, 231

  Lucy’s false narrative of, 108, 246–247, 248, 321, 348

  of socialist leaders, 192–193, 195, 229, 236, 255, 259

  See also reform movement

  Richardson, Willard (Galveston publisher), 8

  Robinson, Raymond (minister), 258

  Rockefeller, John D. (oil magnate), 51, 228, 308

  Rodgers, Elizabeth (WWU member), 72

  Roosevelt, Franklin D. (American president), 332

  Roosevelt, Theodore (American president), 281, 288

  Russia

  deportations to, 307, 311

  revolutionaries in, 266, 272, 304, 323–324

  Russian Jewish immigrants, 237, 271, 295. See also Goldman, Emma

  Ryan, Albert, 269

  sabotage of industry, 268, 287

  Sacco, Nicola (anarchist), 316, 327

  Saint John, Vincent (IWW leader), 282, 298, 307

  Salvation Army, 284–285

  San Antonio Express, 33

  San Francisco Co-Operative Employment Bureau, 294

  Sandburg, Carl, 321, 325

  scabs. See strikebreakers

  Schaak, Michael J. (detective)

  on free-speech rights, 126

  and Haymarket trial, 146, 155

  on Lucy’s calls for violence, 229

  surveillance of anarchists by, 59, 70, 108, 129, 141

  on van Zandt/Spies relationship, 186

  Schilling, George A. (labor radical)

  in communication with Lucy, 231–232, 336

  at Dil Pickle club, 321

  on executions of Haymarket anarchists, 210

  on Johann Most, 91

  leader of groups, 56, 59, 165

  in Life of Albert, 226–227, 231–232

  and Lucy’s return from England trip, 217

  named as informer to journalist, 325

  on need for radical change, 57

  respectability of in political establishment, 236

  Schnaubelt, Rudolph (anarchist), 141, 278

  schools, 17–18, 19–20, 34, 35

  Schuettler, Herman (Chicago detective), 285, 296

  Schwab, Justus (NY anarchist), 217

  Schwab, Maria Ann (wife of Michael Schwab), 196

  Schwab, Mary. See Rantz Schwab, Mary

  Schwab, Michael (business manager of AZ)

  arrested in connection with Haymarket, 135

  at Board of Trade building protest, 97

  as editor of AZ, 109

  in Haymarket trial, 141, 146, 149, 154

 

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