Mahum Kudia

Hillesland

AP English -- Navy

27 September 2016

H.D. Research Paper Final Draft

The Motives of an Assassin

A man was shot at close range twice in the neck and then stabbed in the side twice.

Miraculously, he survived the attempted assassination, and made a full recovery. This leads us to

the logical question: What could have inspired someone to take such a drastic action? Capitalist

ideals that care for little except profits, have inspired laborers throughout the history of America

to take stands, such as in the Homestead Strike of 1892, against big money corporations--

ordinary people like Alexander Berkman were forced to make radical decisions to fight for their

rights--their motives for these decisions however, werent necessarily those of a good samaritan.

To understand Alexander Berkmans actions regarding the attempted assassination, it is

first necessary to delve deeply into the intricacies of his life. From a very young age, Berkman

was exposed to revolutionary ideas. According to an article on PBS, Berkman was born in

Russia in 1870 to a family of merchants with ties to the nihilists, a political group who rejected

all established authority. He grew up in St. Petersburg, where he first handedly experienced a

revolution in the making, when the windows in his class shattered. He later learned that Czar

Alexander II had been assassinated by the Peoples Will--this series of events was avidly

supported by Alexanders brother and uncle, who were revolutionaries themselves. Berkman was

profoundly influenced by this, and modeled himself to emulate his revolutionary uncle, Mark

Natanson. It is stated in Anarchist Portraits that Berkman was deeply moved by the martyrdom
of the populists. He was inspired by their idealism and courage, and their example lingered in his

thoughts," (Avrich). At 15, Alexander was expelled from school as a direct result of his godless

and insubordinate attitude, as well as his enthusiasm for revolutionary literature. With the death

of his father, Alexander and his family were forced into Kovno, a Jewish Pale Settlement, and

soon after, his mother died as well. Her death reinforces the fact that Berkman childhood was

fraught with turmoil. He experienced firsthand, the horrors of a powerful and oppressive central

authority, and the lengths people were willing to go, to fight for their ideals. As a Jew, Berkman

struggled with racism because of his identity, and the way he was treated, greatly contrasted

with what he yearned to be. Alexanders desire for prestige and importance, which was

specifically given to the courageous and determined revolutionaries he grew up with, inspired

Berkman to become just like them. In his eyes, the only way to earn that respect, was by

becoming one of those esteemed revolutionaries. Berkmans experiences during his childhood

are what eventually led him to this conclusion.

With the death of his mother, Berkman decided to immigrate to America for a fresh start.

An article on PBS, regarding Berkman, states that he became intrigued by the anarchist

movement, after he read about the execution of Chicago's Haymarket anarchists in 1887.

Therefore, with his arrival in New York City, he joined the Pioneers of Liberty, which was a

major Jewish anarchist group--according to Spartacus Educational. Anarchists believe that the

government should be abolished, and that society should be organized on a voluntary and

cooperative basis. Theyre part of a social movement that seeks liberation from oppressive

systems of control, which include capitalism, and racism. As an anarchist, Alexander Berkman

was strongly against capitalism and American bourgeois democracy, which he referred to as the

worst enemies of labor and progress. Berkman viewed capitalism, a vital part of American
society, as the enemy of progress, and proposed anarchism as its replacement. His beliefs reveal

a lot about his motives for attempting to assassinate Henry Clay Frick, during the Homestead

Strike of 1892. The strike was a classic example of capitalism at its worst, with a combination of

wage cuts to maximize profits, insensitivity to the workers plight, the employment of

strikebreakers, and taking advantage of the laborers economic vulnerability to dissolve a union.

Henry Frick played an important part in the Homestead Strike, as the general manager of

the Carnegie Steel Company in Homestead, Pennsylvania. An article on PBS regarding the

Homestead Strike, declares that Frick, In the face of depressed steel prices, was determined to

cut wages and break the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, one of the

strongest craft unions in the country. In the case of Frick, some of his actions were necessary to

ensure the future success of the plant--specifically the wage cuts, as the price of steel had gone

down. Carnegies Steel Company however, had an already existing 3-year agreement with the

union regarding wages, and they planned to step up production demands and decrease wages

once the contract expired ( Homestead Strike). If the union refused to accept these conditions,

Frick was ordered to shut down the plant until the workers caved to the demands. However,

things didnt go according to plan--some several thousand workers banded together with the

union, which refused to accept the terms, as the proposed wages would be very detrimental to the

economic health of the plant workers. As a result, they all went on strike, which forced Frick to

take defensive measures. According to PBS, Frick transformed the factory into a fort with walls

12 feet high, he locked the striking laborers outside, and hired 300 Pinkertons to break the strike.

This made Berkman furious, because there were thousands of good people that were protesting

for fair wages to support their families. He knew that capitalism was to blame in this situation,

because unfortunately, Carnegie and Frick focused more on maximizing profits, rather than the
well-being of their workers. The only thing on their minds, as a private company, was business

and making money--nothing else mattered. After all, in a capitalist society, the only thing private

companies are concerned about is the profit at the end of the day--theyre not obliged to care for

the wellbeing of their workers. This systematic capitalist oppression of the workers is what drove

Berkman to attempt assassination on Henry Frick.

On July 23, 1892, Berkman burst into Fricks office and shot him three times. An article

in the newspaper The Morning Call, states that the first cartridge did not explode, the second

shot entered the back of Fricks neck, and passed out below the armpit. The third time Berkman

fired, the ball entered the left side of the neck, and passed under the right ear. After all three of

these shots were unsuccessful, Berkman attempted to stab Frick--however, he was stopped by

Mr. Leishman, a business partner of Fricks. When asked why he tried to kill Frick, Berkman

replied in the same article, He [Frick] had made thousands miserable in Homestead. People

would soon be suffering the pangs of hunger, and thousands are idle because they cant return to

work without losing their self-respect. He then declared that Frick should die for what he did,

and added that he attempted to murder Frick to help the workers win the strike. Berkman wanted

laborers throughout the country to rejoice, and to be celebrated as a hero. His success wouldve

also promoted his anarchist beliefs, furthering his goal towards an anarchist society. His

motivations were clearly more than simply doing the right thing.

Following the ideals of anarchism, Berkman attempted to liberate people from the

oppression of capitalism, which is a political and economic ideology, where private companies

control a countrys trade and industry, and work towards profits, rather than the betterment of the

state. Berkman believed Americans would be happy only after the horrors of capitalism were

gone. Alexander Berkman once said, When the highwayman holds his gun to your head, you
turn your valuables over to him. You 'consent' alright, but you do so because you cannot help

yourself, because you are compelled by his gun. Are you not compelled to work for an

employer? Your need compels you, just as the highwayman's gun." Essentially, Berkman is

comparing capitalism to a highwayman, or a robber--he argues that we are forced to choose

between our lives, or our wealth. He is essentially calling out capitalism as a criminal ideology

that forces people to do its bidding, benefitting none but the highwaymen (private companies).

Berkman argues that replacing capitalism with anarchism will bring harmony to the nation as

well as order. This clearly proves that his belief in anarchism was a key factor in his decisions.

Every single action that we take, must have a reason behind it. It may not be clear at first,

but with closer inspection, we can begin to understand the complex processes of motivation, and

how our experiences as people can affect the decisions we make. Alexander Berkmans early

exposure to revolutionary activity profoundly affected all of his future decisions as well as how

he developed as a person. He became a revolutionary figure, who in the name of equality, fought

to promote anarchy. Under the guise of standing up for peoples rights, Alexander Berkman was

essentially on the front lines, fighting a war against the core of Americas economic policy,

capitalism. He fought valiantly to promote his shared ideology of anarchism. Unfortunately for

him, the power of big money corporations was too overwhelming to fight by himself.
 Works Cited

Avrich, Paul. Anarchist Portraits. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1988. Print.

I used this book to give me more insight into Berkman character and who he was as

person. It gave me information on his motivations and ideals. It really showed how he was

affected by the revolution that took place during his childhood.

Berkman, Alexander. "Alexander Berkman Famous Quotes." Inspiringquotes.us. Web. 28

Sept. 2016. http://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/8449-alexander-berkman

I used this website as a primary source. It was filled with Alexander Berkman quotes,

which I directly quoted and paraphrased into my essay. The quotes were perfect for

supplementing what I wrote, and were very useful in proving Berkmans point of view.

Simkin, John . "Andrew Berkman." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational. Web.

06 Sept. 2016. http://spartacus-educational.com/USAberkman.htm

Alexander Berkman. PBS. PBS. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldman/peopleevents/p_berkman.html

"Homestead Strike." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

http://www.history.com/topics/homestead-strike

Shot and Stabbed. The Morning Call: San Francisco Call Co., 24 July 1892, p. 2.

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn94052989/1892-07-24/ed-1/seq-1/

I used this newspaper article as a primary source. It gave me information on the details of

how Alexander Berkman attempted murder on Henry Frick. It was very informative, as it

gave details on the actual crime itself, as well as Berkmans motives and reasons for

taking such a radical decision. It clearly explained everything in fine detail.

The Homestead Strike. PBS. PBS. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/peopleevents/pande04.html