ABSTRACT
As an ideology, which took— and continues to take— many forms, anarchism saw a proliferation after the French Revolution. American anarchism originated across the Atlantic, with a number of influential European thinkers first exploring anarchism. This transnational transmission of ideas played a key role in the radicalism of the Progressive Era. As a "movement", anarchism really arrived in the United States at the end of the nineteenth century. Despite its liabilities and reputation in the city, anarchist visitors filed through San Francisco. For example, Japanese anarchist Shusui Kotuku, influenced by Kropotkin, spent time in California during 1905 and 1906, mingling with militant and Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) members and enjoying the freedom to openly criticize his own imperialistic government. Anarchism most visibly arrived on American shores at the end of the summer of 1901. The William McKinley assassination resonated with the wider anarchist community, and the authorities presumed a wider conspiracy that included America's most famous anarchists.
