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Beer and Revolution: The German Anarchist Movement in New York City, 1880-1914
Understanding an infamous political movement's grounding in festivity and defiance Beer and Revolution examines the rollicking life and times of German immigrant anarchists in New York City from 1880 to 1914. Offering a new approach to an often misunderstood political movement, Tom Goyens puts a human face on anarchism and reveals a dedication less to bombs than to beer halls and saloons where political meetings, public lectures, discussion circles, fundraising events, and theater groups were held. Goyens brings to life the fascinating relationship between social space and politics by examining how the intersection of political ideals, entertainment, and social activism embodied anarchism not as an abstract idea, but as a chosen lifestyle for thousands of women and men. He shows how anarchist social gatherings were themselves events of defiance and resistance that aimed at establishing anarchism as an alternative lifestyle through the combination of German working-class conviviality and a dedication to the principle that coercive authority was not only unnecessary, but actually damaging to full and free human development as well. Goyens also explores the broader circumstances in both the United States and Germany that served as catalysts for the emergence of anarchism in urban America and how anarchist activism was hampered by police surveillance, ethnic insularity, and a widening gulf between the anarchists' message and the majority of American workers.
263 pages, Hardcover
First published November 12, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 30, 2016
The German Anarchist Movement in NYC met in saloons, published newspapers, argued about Johann Most and organized big picnics. There could have been more revolution, with or without the beer, if they'd gotten down to the business of organizing mass direct actions instead of lecture tours.
They seem to fall into two groups: Dogmatic followers of J Most, or proto-hippie lifestyle anarchists. It seems like my kind of 'anarchism' was more for the Chicago Germans than the New Yorkers.
At first, I thought Goyens, the author, was trying to hard to sweep 19th century anarchist violence under the rug, because he plays it down in the introduction. But he gets around to all the assassinations and attempts plus some stuff I didn't know about like some arsonists and actual armed anarchist militias (lehr und wehr vereine) that never shot anything but targets. By the end though, it's clear that most of the German anarchists were sitting around, drinking beer, arguing about articles in newspapers like Freiheit and Amerikanische Arbeiter Zeitung and weren't inciting riots or organizing strikes. For me, the funniest sort of whiff of violence in the book is a group that organized as a teach yourself chemistry club, presumably so they could build bombs. Har Har. It's like a 19th century "breaking bad."
It might be interesting to check out some of the specific locations in New Jersey mentioned in the book, to see who owned them then and who owns them now and how ownership changed. Could be that some of these 'oppositional spaces' survived the German Anarchist Movement in some other form? I'm told there's a plaque on the spot where Justus Schwab's Saloon in NYC's LES was. It would be cool to get some plaques up in Newark and Hudson County... There's probably also room for some plaques for Italian anarchism in Patterson and Newark as well, but that would be in a different book.
They seem to fall into two groups: Dogmatic followers of J Most, or proto-hippie lifestyle anarchists. It seems like my kind of 'anarchism' was more for the Chicago Germans than the New Yorkers.
At first, I thought Goyens, the author, was trying to hard to sweep 19th century anarchist violence under the rug, because he plays it down in the introduction. But he gets around to all the assassinations and attempts plus some stuff I didn't know about like some arsonists and actual armed anarchist militias (lehr und wehr vereine) that never shot anything but targets. By the end though, it's clear that most of the German anarchists were sitting around, drinking beer, arguing about articles in newspapers like Freiheit and Amerikanische Arbeiter Zeitung and weren't inciting riots or organizing strikes. For me, the funniest sort of whiff of violence in the book is a group that organized as a teach yourself chemistry club, presumably so they could build bombs. Har Har. It's like a 19th century "breaking bad."
It might be interesting to check out some of the specific locations in New Jersey mentioned in the book, to see who owned them then and who owns them now and how ownership changed. Could be that some of these 'oppositional spaces' survived the German Anarchist Movement in some other form? I'm told there's a plaque on the spot where Justus Schwab's Saloon in NYC's LES was. It would be cool to get some plaques up in Newark and Hudson County... There's probably also room for some plaques for Italian anarchism in Patterson and Newark as well, but that would be in a different book.
January 31, 2026
I generally do not write reviews on Goodreads. I have nothing against it; I just usually stick to rating. As I begin to prepare for my Master's comprehensive examinations, however, I feel that jotting down my thoughts on each book after finishing them (alongside more extensive notes not on this platform) would be a good way to cumulate what I had read.
In Beer and Revolution, Tom Goyens explores the largely German immigrant anarchist "scene" in New York at the turn of the 20th century. Through "mapping the anarchist movement's geopolitical space," he argues that German anarchists were not a "freak phenomenon," rather they were an integral part of the German immigrant community of NYC. Furthermore, he sees Anarchists use of this "geography" as not just a passive occupation of space, but rather Anarchists inscribed their own philosophy within. In other words, a "radical" action.
Thus, Goyens' main goal of the book is to map the geopolitical space previously mentioned. He does this successfully in the first chapter and part of the fifth. The rest of the book, unfortunately, seems disconnected from his thesis and does not do this. Within these chapters, he thoroughly narrates the interesting history of transnational radicalism between the United States and Germany and the many splits that hampered the "Socialist revolutionary" and Anarchist movements. Even though these chapters did not contribute to his argument, they do provide a useful reference on the often-neglected American anarchist scene.
Overall Goyens' book provides a thorough, much-needed cultural history of the U.S. anarchist scene at the turn of the century.
In Beer and Revolution, Tom Goyens explores the largely German immigrant anarchist "scene" in New York at the turn of the 20th century. Through "mapping the anarchist movement's geopolitical space," he argues that German anarchists were not a "freak phenomenon," rather they were an integral part of the German immigrant community of NYC. Furthermore, he sees Anarchists use of this "geography" as not just a passive occupation of space, but rather Anarchists inscribed their own philosophy within. In other words, a "radical" action.
Thus, Goyens' main goal of the book is to map the geopolitical space previously mentioned. He does this successfully in the first chapter and part of the fifth. The rest of the book, unfortunately, seems disconnected from his thesis and does not do this. Within these chapters, he thoroughly narrates the interesting history of transnational radicalism between the United States and Germany and the many splits that hampered the "Socialist revolutionary" and Anarchist movements. Even though these chapters did not contribute to his argument, they do provide a useful reference on the often-neglected American anarchist scene.
Overall Goyens' book provides a thorough, much-needed cultural history of the U.S. anarchist scene at the turn of the century.
April 26, 2013
This is a really solid look at the German anarchist movement in New York (and the larger United States) from 1880-1914. It is especially strong when dealing with New York (obviously), but also when discussing the International Working People's Association (IWPA), how the German anarchist movement functioned internally/externally, and the German anarchist press. It also did a very good job explaining their views on autonomy and smaller organizational forms. The author did a ton of research using Johann Most's paper Freiheit. Overall this is a very good history!
Want to read
October 28, 2011the repressed former straight edge kid in me is kind of embarrassed about wanting to read a book with this title. file under studies about 'structure of feeling'
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews